Terms and conditions of use
Vishvarupa
(late 19th century)
- Medium
- opaque watercolour and gold on cotton
- Measurements
- 136.6 × 104.5 cm
- Place/s of Execution
- (Gujarat / Rajasthan), India
- Inscription
- inscribed in red paint (in a version of Devanagari script) u.c.:
inscribed in white paint (in a version of Devanagari script) c.:
inscribed in black paint (in a version of Devanagari script) l.l.:
inscribed in black paint (in a version of Devanagari script) l.r.: - Accession Number
- 2013.105
- Department
- Asian Art
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of John McCarthy in memory of Edwin and Margot McCarthy through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2013
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Gordon Darling Foundation - Gallery location
- Not on display
- Physical description
- The image is painted in opaque watercolour on cotton cloth. The painting depicts Krishna in his cosmic form, Vishvarupa, which he revealed to the warrior Arjuna during the Battle of Kurukshetra, as described in the Bhagavad Gita, part of the Indian epic Mahabharata. Krishna is one of the most popular of the Hindu deities, the archetypal god of love and devotion, and an avatar or incarnation of Vishnu, the Hindu god of preservation. Therefore this painting also depicts the cosmic form of Vishnu, his multi-headed and multi-armed form indicating that all aspects of this omnipresent and cosmic form of the god are portrayed and that he is the Universe incarnate. In this complex painting, Krishna appears inside an oval form with a border of seven-bands in rainbow colours, referring to the seven oceans of the earth and the creation of the Universe and recalling the creation myths in which Vishnu floated on the cosmic ocean before the universe was formed. The figure is crowned, indicating his regal status, and holds distinctive attributes in his ten hands, to illustrate aspects of his personality. His four main attributes, the conch, discus, lotus and mace, appear in the corners of the painting. The god’s abdomen is represented as a diagram of earth surrounded by water in which lotuses and turtles appear. Krishna is attended by the god Brahma and his consort Lakshmi in pavilions at either side, each positioned above a cow, alluding to Krishna’s life on earth as a cowherder. Above them, on either side of the main figure, Shiva and his consort Parvati, with Nandi the bull, are seated on Mount Kailasa and Vishnu and Lakshmi appear on Mount Vaikuntha. The four monkey headed figures standing respectfully at either side represent the four Vedas, Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda, the sources of all knowledge.
