Image: Sauti recites the slokas of the Mahabharata

Description: In this miniature artist has narrated the opening episode of the epic, in which the Mahabharata was first recited by rishi Vaisampayana and Maharishi Saunaka at the occasion of Sarpa Yajna or snake sacrifice for king Janamajeya in the Naimesha forest. Artist has also written the test in four lines at the upper space of the painting. The whole painting had divided in three parts. At upper space floral design was made in a box, after that artist has written the text related to the episode. In the middle space of the painting artist has narrated the recitation of the epic Mahabharata among the sages. In an octagonal space fifteen sages has shown discussing the epic. Two sages are reciting the text, one of them Sauti is sitting on a decorated throne and other one is wearing turban. Saumaka is sitting on the deer skin by his side. This octagonal space has surrounded by fifteen thatched huts that must be the living space of the sages. In the foreground, five brahmanas and a noble man wearing a turban are performing a Yajna in a sacrifice pit, on the bank of river.
Title: Sauti recites the slokas of the Mahabharata
Credit: From Birla razmnama dated 1605.
Author: mughal artists.
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Attribution Required?: Yes