Bhima Slays Jarasandha: Page from a Bhagavata Purana Manuscript

Art Historical Context

In this painted manuscript page, the story unfolds across stacked compartments framed by decorative borders. Bold areas of red, green, and yellow set the stage for dynamic figures rendered in opaque watercolor and ink. Muscular warriors in patterned garments appear in combat, with one central figure dramatically lifted and torn apart, while blue-skinned Krishna and other attendants observe or converse in adjacent scenes. The flat, graphic style emphasizes clear outlines and expressive poses rather than shading or depth. This work, titled Bhima Slays Jarasandha: Page from a Bhagavata Purana Manuscript, was created around 1540 in the Delhi or Agra region of Northern India. Painted by an unknown artist in opaque watercolor and ink on paper, it illustrates a pivotal episode from the Bhagavata Purana, in which the hero Bhima defeats the tyrant Jarasandha with Krishna’s guidance. Such illustrated manuscripts brought sacred stories to life for courtly and devotional audiences, preserving epic narratives through vivid, sequential imagery characteristic of early sixteenth-century painting traditions in northern India.