Krishna Slays the Horse-Demon Keshi in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, June 2018

Page from a Bhagavata Purana Series: Krishna Slays the Horse Demon Keshi (Primary Title)

Unknown (Artist)

Date: ca. 1680-1690

Culture: Indian

Category: Paintings, Works On Paper

Medium: opaque watercolor on paper

Collection: South Asian Art

Geography: Central India, India

Dimensions: Sheet: 4 5/8 × 7 in. (11.75 × 17.78 cm)
Mat: 16 × 20 in. (40.64 × 50.8 cm)

Object Number: 68.8.69


To hide him from his evil uncle, Krishna was raised by a foster family in the pastoral community of Vrindavan. Eventually, though, Kansa discovered the young god’s whereabouts and dispatched a series of demons to kill him. One was the gigantic horse Keshi. When the beast attacked, Krishna plunged his left arm down its throat, expanding his appendage to such a vast size that it suffocated the demon. This depiction shows an earlier moment of the encounter. Krishna grabs the charging horse-demon’s nose, brandishing his magical discus weapon, as fellow cowherds rush to his aid. In the visual shorthand typical of Central Indian painting, the two trees on the right indicate Vrindavan’s forests. The picture has plainly been trimmed along its left edge.

Text from: www.vmfa.museum/piction/6027262-79573911