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Kamakandala dies on hearing the news of Madhava’s death, folio 19 from a Madhavanala-Kamakandala of Alam

c. 1720

Medium: gum tempera and gold on paper
Classification: Painting
Dimensions: Image: 17.6 x 28.5 cm (6 15/16 x 11 1/4 in.); Page: 20.2 x 31 cm (7 15/16 x 12 3/16 in.)
Culture: Northern India, Pahari kingdoms
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art, Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Credit line: Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
Rights: Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it: Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed

About this work

Having seen how desperately Madhava loves Kamakandala, King Vikrama decides to test Kamakandala to ensure she loves him equally. Time is compressed in this scene. King Vikrama is shown delivering the false news that Madhava died from a broken heart. In response, Kamakandala faints, and her friend sees that her tongue has turned black, according to the poem. Kamakandala then dies, and her friends cry and wail, letting their hair loose in an act of mourning; the king’s groom looks downcast.

At the end, Madhava dies after hearing of Kamakandala’s death. King Vikrama is seized with deep regret, until a celestial being restores their lives, and the lovers are reunited.