Curator

  • Art Institute Chicago
  • Harvard art museum
  • My Exhibition
Battle Between Ghatotkacha and Karna, illustrated folio from a manuscript of the Mahabharata

Battle Between Ghatotkacha and Karna, illustrated folio from a manuscript of the Mahabharata

Indian

This is a detached folio from a manuscript of the Mahabharata. The text is written in black ink in Devanagari script on both sides, and on the recto it surrounds a painting. The painting depicts a climactic moment in the Kurukshetra war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Specifically, this is the battle between the magically-powered and comparatively coarse-featured Ghatotkacha (upper right, identified by a label in the margin above) and Karna, the best fighter on the Kaurava side.

Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Manuscripts