Krishna Helps Draupadi

The two worlds of spirit and matter blend in Madhubani paintings. The wonderful flights of imagination and innovative skills of the artist can be discovered through an examination of paintings such as this.

In this narrative painting, the horizontal space arrangement has been so used to divide the work, indicating a keen awareness of the rural stage where incidents separated by time and space are portrayed at the same time. The painting pictorially narrates an incident from the Mahabharat. Draupadi was married to the five Pandava brothers. They were constantly harassed by their cousins, the Kauravas for the kingdom which rightfully belonged to the Pandavas. The Kaurava invited the latter for a game of dice and cheated them of their kingdom, their personal belongings and even their wife. To humiliate the Pandavas further, Duryodhana, one of the Kaurava brothers asked his younger brother to disrobe her in the gathering. The upper section shows the Pandava brothers looking on helplessly. At one corner on a separate mat sits Bhishma Pitamah, the guardian of the kingdom. When Draupadi's pleas for help to all quarters failed she appealed to Lord Krishna to save her honour. He obliged and as much the Kauravas tried to strip her clothes off, they kept increasing and prevented them from their heinous intention. The left section of the painting has Lord Krishna blessing Draupadi with yards and yards of cloth which the artist has shown flowing out of the pictorial space, signifying its endlessness. The dark men with crowns show the evil Kaurava brothers.

The pure lotus flowers are painted on either side of Lord Krishna and hang upside down over the five brothers. Rest of the empty space is filled by flowers and leaves of a different variety. The painting is so vivid by itself that narration of the episode seems superfluous.

This description by Kiranjyot

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Of Related Interest:

Draupadi's Chira-Haran (Madhubani Painting on Hand Made Paper treated with Cow Dung)

Draupadi (Paperback Comic Book)

The Disrobing of Draupadi (Doll)