Tag Archives: Madhubani Painting

Seven occasions when Lord Krishna saved Pandavas

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Shri Krishna saved Pandavas on numerous occasions. Pandavas could not have survived the various designs of Shakuni and Duryodhana, if Shri Krishna would not have been around. Here are some of the interesting incidents when lord saved Pandavas.

Saving from wrath of Sage Durvasa

Sage Durvasa has been famous for his ill temper and curses. Once Duryodhana served him well and pleased, he asked him for a boon. Duryodhana cleverly asked him to pay a visit to Pandavas at afternoon as he knew that Pandavas would not be able to serve him at that time of the day and this will bring wrath of the sage on Pandavas. Thus, Duryodhana tried to made life tougher for Pandavas.

Durvasa complied and duly paid a visit to Pandavas alongwith his disciples. This incident put pandavas in a fix as Draupadi had eaten from the akshaypatra and no more food could be taken from it.

In this precarious situation, Lord Krishna came to the rescue. He appeared at Pandava’s abode and asked Draupadi for food. Draupadi meekly replied – Lord, there is no food and we are helpless as we cannot service sage Durvasa.

Lord Krishna , Pandavas and Draupadi with Akshaypatra saving from Durvasa
Lord Krishna , Pandavas and Draupadi with Akshaypatra saving from Durvasa

The lord smiled and said – Dear Draupadi, please give me that one grain of rice which is still lying in the akshaypatra. Draupadi offered that to lord and immediately Lord’s hunger was satiated.

Surprisingly, Sage Durvasa and his troops also felt the same and they have to discreetly go away from that place as they were invited by Pandavas.

 Saving Arjuna from Shakti

After Karna gave his kavach and kundal to Lord Indra, he was granted the Shakti weapon which was infallible, but could be used just once. Karna saved it use on Arjuna and Krishna knew that he had to do something about it.

He summoned Ghatotkacha and soon, the mighty son of Bhima caused havoc on Kauravas army. Out of desperation Duryodhana requested to use the weapon on Ghatotkacha or all of them would die. Karna used it on Ghatotkacha and knew that he had just blew the chance of killing Arjuna.

Ghatotkacha's death
Ghatotkacha’s death

Saving Bhima from Dhritrashtra

After the war of Mahabharata was completed, all Pandavas went to meet Dhritrashtra. When Bhima started to go to Dhritrashtra to pay his respects, Shri Krishna put him aside and instead presented the iron statue of Bhima which was used by Duryodhana to practice.

Dhritrashtra, understanding that he was meeting Bhima, crushed his statue. Thus using his presence of mind, Lord saved Bhima from certain death.

Dhritrashtra attempts to kill Bhima

Karna, Arjuna and Nagastra

Apart from Shakti, there was Nagastra with Karna which could potentially kill Arjuna. When Karna shot Nagastra on Arjuna, Krishna applied pressure to the chariot by his foot and thus sunk it, as a result of which the astra missed Arjuna’s head and hit his crown instead.

Duryodhana vulnerability

Just prior to Mahabharta war, Gandhari asked Duryodhana to appear before her without clothes. This would have made Duryodhana’s body as hard as a rock, so no person could kill him. When Lord came to know about this, he approached Duryodhana and said that how he would look naked before her mother as he is no longer a kid.

Convinced of this, Duryodhana, decided to use a loincloth. When Gandhari removed her blindfold, she shook her head in disbelief. But the die had been cast. Duryodhana’s body became a rock wherever Gandhari’s gaze fell. The part hidden by loincloth remained weak and Bhima used this weakness to kill Duryodhana.

Duryodhana-Gandhari
Duryodhana-Gandhari

Jarasandha’s death

Jarasandha was a powerful king of Magadh and his death was important for Pandavas. Shri Krishna challenged him for a fight and Jarasandha chose Bhima for the duel. He played an instrumental role in Jarasandha’s death. He gives the vital secret to Bhima by pulling apart a straw and throwing it opposite directions thus indicating the way of killing Jarasandha. Bhima obliged and a great threat to Pandavas was neutralized.

Jarasandh Vadha - Bheema in Mahabharat
Jarasandh Vadha – Bheema in Mahabharat

Saving Draupadi

After Yudhishthira lost his kingdom, his brothers and wife to Duryodhana. Duryodhana asked Dushashana to bring Draupadi to royal court and disrobe her. Draupadi frantically pleaded, but no avail. Lord came to her rescue and when Dushshana started to pull her sari, that sari never ended. An exhausted Dushashana slumped to the floor and Draupadi’s pride could be saved by Lord.

Draupadi's saviour - Shri Krishna
Draupadi’s saviour – Shri Krishna

Following is depiction of this unhonourable incident by Madhubani painting.

Draupadi cheerharan - Madhubani PaintingDraupadi cheerharan - Madhubani Painting
Draupadi cheerharan – Madhubani Painting

More stories about Lord Krishna

Madhubani paintings and Indian mythology (in pictures)

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Madhubani painting – a folk art form

Madhubani painting is a popular folk art form from India. This folk art form is originated in a small town of bihar, India and gained popularity. The subject is often nature, hindu gods and mythological stories. Let u shave a look at some of them.

 Ganesha

The following pic narrates the story of Ganesha and how he got his elephant head.

Ganesha getting an elephant head – Madhubani Painting

Dashavataras in madhubani paintaings

Following picture tells about the dashavataras, ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu.

Dashavatara – Ten incarnations of Vishnu through Madhubani painting

 Navadurga’s nine forms

Goddess durga’s nine forms are shown in the following madhubani painting.

Nine forms of Durga (Shakti) – Madhubani painting

Ravana and Sita

Ravana threatening Sita in ashok vatika is narrated here. On the tree, hanuman is observing this incident. They are surrounded by demons

Ravana threatens Sita at Ashok Vatika in Lanka (The Ramayana)

 Ardhnarishwar or Ardhnarishvar

Ardhnarishwar represents Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati, in a single form. This is also believed to be an incarnation of Lord Shiva. The Matasya Purana describes how Brahma, pleased with a penance performed by Parvati, rewards her by blessing her with a golden complexion. This renders her more attractive to Shiva, to whom she later merges as one half of his body

Ardhnarishwar – Shiva’s form

Rama and Sita swayamvar

Following is a scene from the Ramayana, depicting swayamvar of Rama and Sita.

Lord Rama and Sita

 Shri Krishna and Radha

Life of Shri Krishna and Radha is also depicted by Madhubani paintings. Following is an example.

Shri Krishna and Radha

 Mahakali – a form of Shakti

Mahakali is a consort of Lord Shiva and represent Adi Shakti, the primeval force of this universe. Her most common four armed iconographic image shows each hand carrying variously a sword, a trishul (trident), a severed head and a bowl or skull-cup (kapala) catching the blood of the severed head.

Mahakali – Madhubani paintings

Putna vadh

Putna was employed by Kansa to kill the child Krishna. But Shri Krishna killed the demoness.

Putna vadh

Lanka Dahan

Hanuman burned lanka when he went to search for Sita. He then went back to Kishkindha.

Hanuman destroying Lanka

 

Following painting depicts the infamous incident of Draupadi Cheerharan. The main protagonists were Duryodhana and Dushashana, who  had to pay dearly for their misconduct. They had to part with their lives. The pic shows the game of dice being played and Pandavas are helpless.

Draupadi cheerharan - Madhubani PaintingDraupadi cheerharan - Madhubani Painting

Draupadi cheerharan – Madhubani Painting

 

 

What is Folk Art

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Indian, Japanese and Chinese Folk Art

Folk  art is any form of  art which is local to a particular geography, and may have slowly gained the stature of importance. A folk art is not limited to any particular discipline. for example, music, painting and even sports can take the form of a folk art.

Weaving, jewellery making, are some forms of folk art which have gained credence. Sometimes, these folk art become so important that they are sought all over the world. An example of these is Madhubani paintings. This form of art has started from a small place in Bihar, India. Madhubani paintings are sought after around the world.  Another form of folk art is miniature paintings.  Art galleries over the world keep famous folk arts as well.

Decorative artistic things are used for home decorative ideas. Madhubani paintings, miniature paintings, wood handicrafts are few forms of folk art, which are used extensively.

Chinese art

There are different Chinese art forms, but the two most important  Chinese art forms are Chinese paper cutting and  Chinese paper folding.  These art forms date back to han dynasty. Similarly kite is also given by China and noted as an important contribution to Europe.  Kite flying is also a tradition in India. Here on independence day, kites are flown all over  the country. Puppetry is also widely used chinese art, a form of folk art.

Indian Art

Indian Paintings have always been famous for  creativity and imagination. Warli Paintings are the ancient Indian folk art tradition of Warli Tribe in Maharashtra.  Walri or Varli tribe is an ancient East Indian Tribe of India. These tribes are the scheduled Tribes of India. Warli is a small tribe inhabiting in the remote regions of Maharashtra. The style is some what similar to the pre historic cave paintings. These paintings are exquisite. This art was first discovered in early seventies of the last century. Since then the art has traveled across borders and has now become a famous art found on various home décor products.

indian-folk-art-warli-home-decorative-ideas

Indian folk art by Warli tribe of Maharashtra

Miniature painting is another form of folk art which was made famous during the period of Mughals. The style gradually spread in the next two centuries to influence painting on paper in both Muslim and Hindu princely courts, developing into a number of regional styles often called “sub-Mughal”, including Kangra painting and Rajput painting, and finally Company painting, a hybrid watercolour style influenced by European art and largely patronized by the people of the British raj.

Miniature painitng - Folk Art - Shri Krishna

Miniature painitng – Folk Art – Shri Krishna

Japanese Folk Art

Etegami, a form of Japanese folk art consisting of simple hand-painted drawings. This has become popular from 1970s. These are done on small canvas, such as postcards, so that, it becomes easy to mail them.  The basic concept has been around for a long time; the tradition of handmade New Years cards testifies to this.  Today, etegami is very popular folk art.

etegami-japanese-folk-art

Etegami – A form of Folk art (Japanese)

Madhubani painting – A folk art

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This folk art painting originated in a small town Madhubani in Bihar, India. This is known as Mithila painting or Madhubani painting of Bihar . This art is characterised for its distinctive style, bright colours and natural paints. Today this art is popular not only in India but is very popular internationally.
The time of origination is not very clear. According to a legend it came into vogue during the time of Ramayan. At the time of sita’s wedding his father King Janak ordered the artists to decorate the city. Initially women use to paint on the walls and doors of their homes. Today also you can find this art done in many houses in Mithila.
Theme of Madhubani painting is religious and revolve around Hindu deities like, Krishna, Shiv, Ram, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati. It also depict natural objects like sun, moon, holy basil (tulsi). It also include themes of social events like, wedding, child birth. The space left after the main theme is normally filled with designs of birds, animals, flowers and geometrical designs.
The brush used for the Madhubani painting is made of cotton wrapped around a bamboo stick. The paints used are natural colours, deep red is obtained from a flower (kusum), green from bel tree, light yellow from turmeric mixed with banyan leaf milk, blue from indigo and orange from palash flower.
For commercial purposes, these are done on hand made papers,cloths and canvas, but the theme and equipments of painting is still the same.
Few Madhubani designs.

Slowly and gradually this folk art of painting has crossed the traditional boundaries and reached the connoisseurs of art at national as well as international level.