Sambara
Painting
ca. 1760 - ca. 1765 (made)
ca. 1760 - ca. 1765 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This painting is one of a series of illustrations to the Bhagavata Purana, a Sanskrit text whose tenth book deals with the life of the god Krishna. A prophecy told that the demon king Shambara would be killed by Krishna’s son Pradyumna. When Pradyumna was born Shambara seized him and threw him into the sea, where he was swallowed by a fish. However, fishermen caught the fish and presented it to the demon king. When his wife cut it open she found the baby and raised him, enabling the prophecy to be fulfilled.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Sambara (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Painted in opaque water-colour and gold on paper |
| Brief description | Painting, Bhagavata Purana, Sambara receives fish, Guler style at Basohli, ca. 1760-1765 |
| Physical description | Painting, in opaque water-colour and gold on paper, from a 'fifth' Bhagavata Purana series, the demon Shambara (Sambara), with mottled grey skin, a boar's tusks and an ape's tail, sits on a dark blue throne attended by two demon courtiers, one of them orange-red and the other greenish black. Two fishermen, one holding up the fish that had swallowed Krishna's son, Pradyumna, stand on the right of the pavilion. There is a tree beside them. |
| Dimensions |
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| Content description | The demon Shambara (Sambara), with mottled grey skin, a boar's tusks and an ape's tail, sits on a dark blue throne attended by two demon courtiers, one of them orange-red and the other greenish black. Two fishermen, one holding up the fish that had swallowed Krishna's son, Pradyumna, stand on the right of the pavilion. There is a tree beside them. |
| Styles | |
| Gallery label | SHAMBARA RECEIVES THE FISH
Opaque water-colour and gold on paper
Basohli, Punjab Hills
c. 1760-65
IS.4-1960
This painting, like the adjacent two, is one of a series of illustrations to the Bhagavata Purana. A prophecy told that the demon king Shambara would be killed by Krishna's son Pradyumna. When Pradyumna was born Shambara seized him and threw him into the sea, where he was swallowed by a fish. However, fishermen caught the fish and presented it to the demon king. When his wife cut it open she found the baby and raised him, enabling the prophecy to be fulfilled.(06/2008) |
| Production | Guler style at Basohli |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Literary reference | Bhagavata Purana |
| Summary | This painting is one of a series of illustrations to the Bhagavata Purana, a Sanskrit text whose tenth book deals with the life of the god Krishna. A prophecy told that the demon king Shambara would be killed by Krishna’s son Pradyumna. When Pradyumna was born Shambara seized him and threw him into the sea, where he was swallowed by a fish. However, fishermen caught the fish and presented it to the demon king. When his wife cut it open she found the baby and raised him, enabling the prophecy to be fulfilled. |
| Bibliographic reference | Indian paintings from the Punjab Hills : a survey and history of Pahari miniature painting / by W. G. Archer ; foreword by Sherman E. Lee. London :Delhi: Sotheby Parke Bernet ;Oxford University Press, 1973 Number: 0856670022
p. 50, cat. no. 22 xi |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.4-1960 |
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| Record created | July 21, 2000 |
| Record URL |
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