JYOTI BHATT (B. 1934)

An early, highly stylized painting by the renowned artist, photographer and teacher Jyoti Bhatt, this work depicts a scene from the Sanskrit poet Kalidas' famous epic work Raghuvansha, which records the history and stories of the Raghu dynasty and its scion Dilipa, whose descendants include Lord Rama. The episode that Bhatt represents here takes place as King Dilipa is serving the cow Nandini, daughter of the divine Kamdhenu, to reverse a curse placed on him by the latter. On the twenty-second day of his service, a lion suddenly appears and pounces on Nandini. In an effort to save her, Dilipa pleads with the lion to kill him rather than Nandini, and by presenting himself without fear to the lion, successfully passes Kamdhenu's trial and is rewarded with the long-awaited birth of his son Raghu. Reminiscing about this work, Bhatt explained, "I had made this painting for a special art exhibition held annually at Ujjain, MP by Kalidas Academy. Every year one subject chosen from Kalidas' work was given and the participants had to mention the shloka that they had interpreted visually." (Artist statement, July 2019)