Krishna Battles the Armies of the Demon Naraka: Page from a Bhagavata Purana Manuscript

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Bhagavata Purana describes Vishnu’s avatars with particular attention to his form as Krishna. In this painted folio, the demon Naraka and his consort are seen in the palace interior of their fortified city of Pragyotisha, overseeing a fierce battle scene. Krishna and his consort Satyabhama enter the fray, carried by Vishnu’s birdman mount, Garuda. The figure-types and soldier’s attire directly borrow from Muslim Sultanate-period painting conventions of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art