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Kamsa deploys Akrura and Keshi to Braj, from a Bhagavata Purana

c. 1830

Medium: Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Classification: Painting
Dimensions: Overall: 29.2 x 37.4 cm (11 1/2 x 14 3/4 in.); Painting only: 22.9 x 32.4 cm (9 x 12 3/4 in.)
Culture: Northern India, Pahari kingdoms
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art, Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Credit line: Bequest of Harley C. Lee and Elizabeth K. Lee
Rights: Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it: Teens profiles and older: its museum says too little about what it shows to place it for younger viewers. How works are placed

About this work

The king on the low gold throne at center is Kamsa, evil tyrant and uncle of the Hindu god Krishna. He heard that Krishna would one day kill him, so he asked his friend Akrura to bring Krishna to the court for a wrestling match, where he plans to have Krishna murdered. Akrura, in green, stands reverently before him, bowing slightly. Wrestlers sit behind Akrura.

The decorative patterns, crisp lines, pale colors, and interest in conveying spatial depth are stylistic characteristics associated with painting of the mid-1800s. After this time, royal patrons began to prefer photography, printed books, and oil paintings, signaling a new era of visual culture in India.