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The Disrobing of Draupadi

Attributed to Nainsukh Indian
ca. 1760–65
Not on view
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

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Disrobing of Draupadi
  • Artist: Attributed to Nainsukh (active ca. 1735–78)
  • Date: ca. 1760–65
  • Culture: India, Himachal Pradesh, Guler
  • Medium: Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 9 11/16 × 13 7/16 in. (24.6 × 34.2 cm)
    Framed: 18 1/8 × 14 1/2 × 3/4 in. (46 × 36.8 × 1.9 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Howard Hodgkin Collection, Purchase, Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, by exchange, 2022
  • Object Number: 2022.247
  • Rights and Reproduction: Image © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

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A Lady with Attendants, Nainsukh Indian, Ink and transparent watercolor on paper, India (Pahari Hills, Kangra)
A Lady with Attendants
Nainsukh
ca. 1775–80
Drawing for an Illustration from a Sat Sai of Bihari Lal Series: The Message of the Eyes (recto); Lady in Search of Her Lover on a Dark Night (verso), Nainsukh Indian, Ochre on paper, India (Pahari Hills, Kangra)
Drawing for an Illustration from a Sat Sai of Bihari Lal Series: The Message of the Eyes (recto); Lady in Search of Her Lover on a Dark Night (verso)
Nainsukh
Fattu
ca. 1785–90
Krishna Subdues the Serpent Kaliya in the Yamuna River: Illustration from a Bhagavata Purana Series, Nainsukh Indian, Ink and wash on paper, India (Pahari Hills, Guler or Kangra)
Krishna Subdues the Serpent Kaliya in the Yamuna River: Illustration from a Bhagavata Purana Series
Nainsukh
ca. 1780
Durga, Kali, and the Matrikas Battle the Demon Raktabija: Scene from the Devi Mahatmya , Nainsukh Indian, Ink, ocher and underdrawing, India (Himachal Pradesh, Guler)

Durga, Kali, and the Matrikas Battle the Demon Raktabija: Scene from the Devi Mahatmya

Nainsukh
ca. 1780
Durga Confronts the Buffalo Demon Mahisha: Scene from the Devi Mahatmya, Nainsukh Indian, Charcoal and opaque watercolor on paper, India (Himachal Pradesh, Guler)
Durga Confronts the Buffalo Demon Mahisha: Scene from the Devi Mahatmya
Nainsukh
ca. 1780

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