The blind Dhritarashtra attacks the statue of Bhima

The blind Dhritarashtra attacks the statue of Bhima

38.8 x 24 cm

Gouache with gold on paper

The Razmnama is a Persian translation of the Mahabharata, the great Indian epic concerning the war between the Pandavas and their Kaurava cousins. Near the end, the blind Kaurava king Dhritarashtra meets the Pandava princes again. Grieving for his dead sons, he attacks prince Bhima. But Krishna, the Pandavas’ ally, miraculously substitutes an iron statue of Bhima, which the king crushes with his bare hands. This manuscript was prepared by artists working for Abd ur-Rahim Khankhanan, a leading Mughal courtier.

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