1744
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Folio 18 from a Chandana Malayagiri Varta (Story of King Chandana and Queen Malayagiri) of Karamachand: Ravana battles the great vulture Jatayu and defeats him by throwing stones in his mouth (recto); Jatayu approaches Rama and Lakshmana who are wondering where Sita could be (verso) is a 1744 unspecified by Unknown, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see two scenes side by side: a demon hurling stones into a giant bird’s mouth, and the same wounded bird later talking to two princes in a forest. The pages come from a handwritten book made in 1744 for a small royal court in Kishangarh. Each picture is packed with bright colors and tiny patterns—like a comic strip for a king. If you like these bold, storybook images, look up the subject rajput kingdom of kishangarh.
Scenes pertaining to the loss and rescue of Sita have been embedded in a popular tale written by Bhadrasena (active c. 1620), and expanded by the poet Karamacand in 1629–30. The pages from this manuscript are dispersed among many collections. Its last page, known from a photograph provided by Arun Bharany in New Delhi, includes a colophon statement. It informs us that the manuscript was written in Samvat 1802 (equivalent to 1744–45) in Kishangarh for five patrons named Rikhaji, Karamchandji, Mahataji, Shri Jagamalaji, and his son Motichandji. The scribe was a monk named Udayasagar in the…
Reciting, hearing, and meditating on this story was thought to bring merit for ten million eons (a crore of kalpas).
Read the full account in the museum source.
Your cart is empty
Explore artworks →
