Arkivism
A Serpent Protects Vasudeva Taking His Infant Son Krishna to Safety
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A Serpent Protects Vasudeva Taking His Infant Son Krishna to Safety

c. 1890 · Gum tempera, graphite, ink, and tin on paper

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.

About this work

In the dead of night, Krishna was born to parents who were imprisoned by his evil uncle, the usurper King Kamsa. While a goddess compelled the guards to sleep, Krishna’s father, Vasudeva, in the middle of a storm, spirited the newborn to safety in a cowherd village, where he exchanged Krishna for another infant. In the morning, Kamsa murdered the infant he thought was the child of Vasudeva, and Krishna lived to be raised by the herders.

Cleveland Museum of Art’s own description
Credit lineA Serpent Protects Vasudeva Taking His Infant Son Krishna to Safety, c. 1890. Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat. Gum tempera, graphite, ink, and tin on paper; painting only: 45 x 27.7 cm (17 11/16 x 10 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward, 2003.153

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