The First Adventure of the White Horse, Page from the Khan Khanan's Razm Nama (Book of Wars)
Unknown Artist
c. 1610–17
Medium
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
38 × 22.4 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
James Parmelee Fund
Accession Number
1964.52
About this artwork
After the five Pandava brothers defeated their cousins, the oldest, who became king, performed an ancient Vedic ritual known as the horse sacrifice in order to determine the physical extent of his rule. For one year a horse wanders freely around the country, attended by warriors, and every land through which the horse passes becomes part of the king’s territory. The warriors go to battle with any local resistance. In this case, the warrior following the horse is Arjuna, one of the five Pandava b...