The Humiliation of Draupadi

Krishen Khanna recreates in this work, which he paints in his distinctive style, the horrific assault on Draupadi from the epic Mahabharata where she was lost in a game of dice by her husband, Yudhishthir. While Draupadi is shown covering her eyes in abject humiliation, we see the lecherous gaze of Duryodhana even as he forces her to sit on his lap. Also painted is a dog under the chair—the artist’s quite literal reference to ‘unleashing the dogs of war’—for, ultimately, it is Draupadi’s call for justice that leads to the Mahabharata war.