Pradyumna Enters the Palace of the Demon Sambar and Challenges him to Battle, page from a Dispersed Bhagavata Purana manuscript
c. 1775
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor on paper
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- 36.2 × 52.7 cm (14 1/4 × 20 3/4 in.)
- Culture
- Nepal
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Asia
- Credit line
- Gift of Everett McNear
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Adult profiles and older: its museum's description or title mentions violence, death or gore. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Pradyumna (painted in blue), now grown up and dressed as a young crowned prince, stands at the center of the painting with his arms spread wide, as he challenges the demon Sambar enthroned in a pavillion (in dark blue top and red skirt at upper left). The demon emerges in the field behind the palace and ascends the clouds. He showers the young Pradyumna with a massive hale of magical, illusionary weapons of flames, swords, daggers, arrows, hail, and stones- but all to no avail. In the end (not shown), Pradyumna cuts off Sambar's head and returns by air to his father's palace in Dwarka.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
