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The Demon Hiranyaksha Departs the Demon Palace: Folio from a Bhagavata Purana Series

ca. 1740
Not on view
The demon-king Hiranyakashipu’s intense hostility toward Vishnu has its origins in an early episode in the Bhagavata Purana, which relates how the demon-king’s brother Hiranyaksha brutalized Mother Earth at the time of creation and attempted to drown her in the cosmic ocean. Vishnu was summoned to rescue her from the Great Flood, which he did by assuming his boar avatar, Varaha, slaying the demon, and lifting Mother Earth from the depths of the ocean to safety. Hiranyakashipu’s hatred for Vishnu ultimately led to his own death at the hands of Vishnu’s avatar Narasimha, as seen elsewhere in this exhibition. In this painting, we see Hiranyaksha departing from his palace to attack Mother Earth, who is unprotected during Vishnu’s cosmic sleep.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Demon Hiranyaksha Departs the Demon Palace: Folio from a Bhagavata Purana Series
  • Date: ca. 1740
  • Culture: Northern India, Guler, Himachal Pradesh
  • Medium: Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper
  • Dimensions: Page: 8 1/2 x 12 3/4 in. (21.6 x 32.4 cm)
    Image: 7 1/16 x 11 1/4 in. (17.9 x 28.6 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky Fund, 2002
  • Object Number: 2002.179
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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Hiranyakashipu commands his demon warriors to threaten and injure Prahlada. Preparatory drawing from the ‘Small Bhagavata Purana’ Series, Manaku Indian, Brush drawing on paper, India, Guler, Himachal Pradesh
Hiranyakashipu commands his demon warriors to threaten and injure Prahlada. Preparatory drawing from the ‘Small Bhagavata Purana’ Series
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Rama Releases the Demon Spies Shuka and Sarana: Folio from the Siege of Lanka series , Manaku Indian, Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper, India, Guler, Himachal Pradesh

Rama Releases the Demon Spies Shuka and Sarana: Folio from the Siege of Lanka series

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The Disrobing of Draupadi, Nainsukh Indian, Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, India, Himachal Pradesh, Guler
The Disrobing of Draupadi
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The Demon Hiranyaksha Departs the Demon Palace: Folio from a Bhagavata Purana Series - Northern India, Guler, Himachal Pradesh - The Metropolitan Museum of Art