Image courtesy: Brig A.P. Singh - www.collectingmoment.in Event depicted from Mahabharata: Bhima slays Duhshasana. Draupadi stands by and ties her hair after her vow is fulfilled of washing it with Duhshasana’s blood, which she had taken when he has tried to disrobe her in public in court.
Image courtesy: Brig A.P. Singh - www.collectingmoment.in A rare sculptural depiction of the complex Chakravyuha fighting formation from the Mahabharata.
Image courtesy: Brig A.P. Singh - www.collectingmoment.in Event description from Mahabharata : Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna and Subhadra, is shown here fighting Drona while breaking into the Chakravyuha – a complex fighting formation with soldiers arranged in seven circles, an art he learnt while still inside his mother’s womb by listening to a conversation between Krishna and Subhadra. He, however, fell asleep when Krishna narrated the part of how to break out from inside. He was the only one from the Pandavas who knew how to break inside the formation, other than Arjuna. And thus, Abhimanyu could break in, but was killed (at the age of 16 years) while trying to break out.
Image courtesy: Brig A.P. Singh - www.collectingmoment.in Vasudeva carries baby Krishna, who is protected by Adisesa, across the Yamuna river and hands him over to Yashoda. The river is artfully depicted with tortoises and fishes inside it.
Image Courtesy: https://www.metmuseum.org/
Date: ca. 1800
According to the MET museum website, this banner was likely used in an annual festival commemorating Krishna’s marriage to his first wife, Rukmini, that is still celebrated today in parts of the Himalayan foothills. As the work was shown only periodically, the colors remain vivid. The brilliant hues were produced from vegetable dyes: red derived from cochineal and lac insects, blue and green from indigo plants, and orange from safflower. In contrast, the silk threads, which were bleached white or etched with mordant to enable black coloring to bond to the fibers, have disintegrated, making it possible to see the underdrawing. Painted in henna with details created in carbon black, the preparatory sketch served as the guide for the final embroidery. This technique is similar to that used to make preliminary sketches for paintings, which are also produced in red and black.