Page from a Bhagavata Purana Series: Krishna Slays Bakasura (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
This picture continues the tale from the Bhagavata Purana begun in the painting to the left, but it does so in a very different pictorial style. As Krishna, his brother Balarama, and the other cowherds stopped to water their cattle, Bakasura—the demon in the form of a giant crane—suddenly swooped down and attempted to swallow Krishna. Heating himself with divine energy, the blue-skinned god became so hot that Bakasura had to disgorge him. This painting shows the episode’s final moment: as villagers and herdsmen run to help, Krishna slays the crane-demon by ripping apart its great beak. The painting, with its exceptionally flat spatial plane and densely packed floral decoration, resembles Gujarat’s embroidered textiles.
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