- Title
- Krishna Quelling the Serpent King Kaliya, Folio from a Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Stories of the Lord)
- Date Made
- circa 1775-1800
- Medium
- Ink and opaque watercolor on paper
- Dimensions
- Image: 9 x 6 3/4 in. (22.86 x 17.14 cm); Sheet: 11 3/4 x 9 1/4 in. (29.84 x 23.49 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.77.154.30
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
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. To fulfill his role as the guardian of the world, Vishnu manifests as a succession of heroic animals and semi-mortal saviors, called avatars.
This preparatory drawing from a Bhagavata Purana depicts Krishna quelling the Serpent King Kaliya, who was terrorizing villagers living by the Yamuna River in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh. In his previous life, Kaliya had been the sage Vedshira, but because of his hostility and envy he had been cursed by the sage Ashvashira to be reborn as a thousand-headed poisonous snake. According to the legend, Kaliya’s fiery poison had contaminated the water of the Yamuna. When Krishna dove into the river, Kaliya entrapped him in his coils to kill him. But Krishna expanded his body to force Kaliya to release him. Then Krishna danced on his serpent hoods until Kaliya vomited blood. When Kaliya’s wives (nagapatnis) beseeched Krishna to spare their husband, Krishna forgave Kaliya after he promised to leave the Yamuna and never harm anyone again (Bhagavata Purana 10:16).
Here, Krishna dances on Kaliya to subdue him while the serpent’s wives pray for his forgiveness. Sick cowherders lie strewn on the riverbank. The artist has left brief color key notations for the subsequent colorist.
- Selected Bibliography
- Pal, Pratapaditya and Catherine Glynn. The Sensuous Line: Indian Drawings from the Paul F. Walter Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1976.
