Draupadi Rescued from Abduction, from a Mahabharata
1615
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1615
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Draupadi Rescued from Abduction, from a Mahabharata is a 1615 unspecified by Unknown, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see two wrestlers locked in combat while a woman watches from behind. One man wears a necklace of bells; the other has an orange loincloth. Four onlookers stand nearby, dressed in fine clothes. This scene comes from a famous Indian story, the *Mahabharata*. The wrestlers are actually princes in disguise, fighting over the woman, Draupadi. The painting was probably made in Bikaner, where artists mixed local styles with Mughal techniques. To see more like it, look up popular Mughal school.
Bhima and Jayadrath, dressed like wrestlers, duel while his four brothers (Pandavas) and their noble attendants look on. Bhima appears to be the wrestler taller in stature and wears a necklace of bells, and Jayadratha is the one wearing an orange loincloth. Draupadi stands behind Bhima, already being rescued from Jayadratha’s clutches.
Draupadi had five husbands, the Pandava brothers.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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