The Disrobing of Draupadi
Attributed to Nainsukh Indian
This painting depicts one of the most shocking episodes in the Mahabharata: the attempted disrobing of Draupadi, virtuous wife of the Pandava brothers, after they lose everything in a game of dice. The painter illustrated the moment when Duhshasana tears Draupadi’s clothes from her, only to see them replaced miraculously by new ones, ensuring that Draupadi’s virtue is preserved. As Duhshasana’s fury escalates, so too does the pile of robes on the floor, represented as a wondrous stream of multicolored textiles. Opposite, the humiliated Pandava brothers sit huddled together. One reaches for his weapon to defend Draupadi’s honor, but he is restrained by Yudhishthira, whose recklessness led the clan into this impasse. Above, an arcade opens onto a court scene in which the Kaurava nobility are presided over by the blind king Dhritaraahtra. Each character is named in small inscriptions in the local Takri script
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