Krishna lifts Mount Govardhan

By Rajasthani Paintings (16th to 19th centuries)

1690 · Opaque watercolour · 35 in × 39 in · Mewar Style

Commission a hand-painted reproduction from Panchrang artists.

This folio comes from the Mewar Ramayana, one of the most celebrated illustrated manuscripts in Indian art. It belongs to the Yuddha Kanda (the sixth book, the "Book of Battle") and was painted by the master artist Sahibdin at Udaipur in 1652, under the patronage of Maharana Jagat Singh I of Mewar. The manuscript is now held at the British Library in London (Add. MS 15297).

The painting is a classic example of Sahibdin's continuous narrative method, in which several successive moments of the story unfold within a single unified composition rather than in separate frames. Here the viewer follows Ravana's grief, his violent impulse toward Sita, his restraint by Suparsva, and the mustering of his army — all read across one page. The style shows Sahibdin's signature fusion of bold Rajput colour and flat, patterned space with compositional ideas absorbed from Mughal painting, animated by strong emotional expression (rasa).