King Vikrama summons Madhava, folio 15 from a Madhavanala-Kamakandala (c. 1720): Art, History and Details

King Vikrama summons Madhava, folio 15 from a Madhavanala-Kamakandala (c. 1720) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Having arrived at the border of his enemy’s kingdom, Madhava’s ally, King Vikrama, encamps by the riverbank. A crown and subtle halo behind his face testify to his righteousness. Separated from his beloved, Madhava has become so miserable that he has been unable to eat. Clutching his vina (stringed instrument), he converses with the king about how to accomplish his reunion with Kamakandala. The king promises to bring them back together.

Object facts

• Title: King Vikrama summons Madhava, folio 15 from a Madhavanala-Kamakandala
• Date: c. 1720
• Culture: Northern India, Pahari kingdoms
• Type: Painting
• Technique: gum tempera and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Page: 21.2 x 30.7 cm (8 3/8 x 12 1/16 in.); Image: 18.7 x 28.6 cm (7 3/8 x 11 1/4 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 2018.92

A detail from the museum

Madhava is depicted in an emaciated form unlike his other representations in the manuscript.

Collection credit

Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Griswold, William, Cameron Kitchin, Chase F. Robinson, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cincinnati Art Museum, and National Museum of Asian Art (Smithsonian Institution). Pahari Paintings: Art and Stories, edited by Sonya Rhie Mace, Sarang Sharma, and Vijay Sharma. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2026.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.