Krishna Uproots the Parijata Tree (recto), Text (verso), Folio from the “Palam” Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Stories of the Lord)

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Krishna Uproots the Parijata Tree (recto), Text (verso), Folio from the “Palam” Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Stories of the Lord)

India, Delhi-Agra region, possibly Mathura, circa 1520-1530
Drawings; watercolors
Opaque watercolor and ink on paper
Image: 7 x 9 1/2 in. (17.78 x 24.13 cm); Sheet: 7 1/4 x 9 1/2 in. (18.42 x 24.13 cm)
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase (M.72.1.26)
South and Southeast Asian Art
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

The Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Stories of the Lord) is traditionally ascribed to the legendary poet-sage Vyasa in the 8th-10th century CE....
The Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Stories of the Lord) is traditionally ascribed to the legendary poet-sage Vyasa in the 8th-10th century CE. It stresses the path of devotion (bhakti) to Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, the Hindu God of Preservation. Vishnu appears in times of crisis as a succession of heroic animals and semi-mortal saviors, called avatars. This folio is from the “Palam” Bhagavata Purana, so named after the suburb of Delhi reportedly listed in an owner’s colophon. Now dispersed, it consisted of about 300 folios, of which some 200 survive. Sanskrit text is on the reverse. Inscribed with the owner’s name, Sa Nana. Here, Krishna (pictured as the four-armed Vishnu) uproots the celestial Parijata Tree in Indra’s heaven. The tree, Krishna, and his wife Satyabhama are carried aloft by the half-avian, half-human Garuda. The thousand-eyed Indra reveres Krishna from a pavilion. See its series mates M.71.1.8, M.71.1.9, and M.91.69. Additional folios are in the Bharat Kala Bhavan, Varanasi (10663), British Museum, London (1958,1011,0.4), Brooklyn Museum (80.41), Cleveland Museum of Art (1960.53 and 1971.171), Fralin Museum of Art, Charlottesville (1999.20), Museum Rietberg, Zurich (RVI 907, 915, 1870, and 1912), National Museum, New Delhi (63.1598), National Museum of Asian Art, Washington (F1966.32), Philadelphia Museum of Art (2004-149-8), San Diego Museum of Art (1990.581), Victoria and Albert Museum, London (IS.1-1977), and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (64.36.1).
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Bibliography

  • Keene, Bryan C., editor. Toward a Global Middle Ages: Encountering the World Through Illuminated Manuscripts. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2019.
  • Rosenfield, John.  The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection.  Boston:  Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1966.
  • Keene, Bryan C., editor. Toward a Global Middle Ages: Encountering the World Through Illuminated Manuscripts. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2019.
  • Rosenfield, John.  The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection.  Boston:  Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1966.
  • Trabold, J. The Art of India, An Historical Profile.  Northridge, CA:  California State University Press, 1975.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Painting, vol.1. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1993.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya. In Pursuit of the Past: Collecting Old Art in Modern India, circa 1875-1950. Mumbai: Marg Foundation, 2015.
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