The multicoloured Mahabharat

Allah Baksh's miniature paintings, compiled in a new four-volume book, are rich in colour, simple in form and compassionate in treatment

- PRATUL SHARMA

In the poignant last scene of Vyasa’s Mahabharat, Indra appears in his chariot to take Yudhishthira, the eldest of the Pandava brothers, to heaven. He refuses to leave unless his four brothers and his wife Draupadi, already dead, also find a place in heaven. He also wants his devoted dog—who revealed himself to be Dharma—to be taken there.

When Yudhishthira, his dog and Indra reach heaven, the deities stand up to greet him and ask him where he wants to live. “I would like to be in the region where Draupadi and my brothers reside,” he says in the mahaprasthanika parva (the final departure) chapter of the Mahabharat. The timeless tale comes alive in the miniature paintings of Allah Baksh, a 17th century artist from Mewar. Commissioned by Maharana Jai Singh, Baksh’s 4,000 exquisite paintings feature the stories of Mahabharat from beginning to end.