Scene from the Story Babhruvahana: Babhruvahana Meets Chitrangada and Ulipi (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
In the western Deccan, storytellers called chitrakathis (picture-story-men) painted sets of vibrant pictures showing episodes from regional versions of Hindu narratives. Traveling from village to village, they used these paintings to illustrate the principal incidents of takes they recited and sand to the accompaniment of musicians. They would hold up the paintings, usually pasted back-to-back, flipping them over as the story progressed. The illustrations—with their vibrant colors, rhyming shapes, and sweeping lines—are meant to seize an audience’s interest. Dramatic actions are conveyed by the gestures, stances, and exaggerated eyes of monumental figures in stagelike scenes. This example probably depicts a scene from the tale of Babhruvahana, adapted from a story in the Mahabharata. Babhruvahana is shown entering his family’s palace, where he tells his mother and stepmother that he has just killed their husband—his own father—Arjuna.
Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Gift of Paul Mellon
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.