Laharu of Chamba Laharu was a painter related to the Chamba court in the eighteenth century. He belonged to a family of Gujarati artists and had worked in the Mughal workshop at Lahore before coming to the hill courts. Laharu painted brightly colored people against plain backgrounds. He split large scenes into horizontal rows so he could show several different storylines and narrations in just one painting. His unique style changed Chamba painting forever. This artwork is his version of Yogamaya Slips from the Hands of Kamsa’s Servant (1758). The artwork depicts two narrations in one frame together. The painting showcases two attendants of Kamsa (most probably washermen) trying to kill an infant which is revealed as Yogamaya in the second scene. In Purana's version Kamsa himself tried to kill the infant so that means the part where two washermen are carrying the infant is an imaginative scene created by Laharu himself. The artwork suggest two very different and unique backgrounds. One shows the land with clay coloured background where the washermen are shown carrying the infant on their feet. The second background shows of a complete different world, most probably the heaven in which the infant reveals herself as Yogamaya. Hence, this artwork carries multiple narrations and stories within itself. The artwork depicts the power and importance of a female hindu deity and a narrative of Hindu mythology. Yogamaya showcases illusory and shakti of god in hinduism. She is also referred to as a goddess who is a personification of Vishnu's powers of illusion. In the artwork she is showcasing her powers by rising above in heaven and escaping Kamsa's attempts to kill her. She represents God's internal energy and the artwork suggests usage of tricks and illusions by Yogamaya in order to elude Kamsa.
Laharu's painting showcases inevitability; it creates a narration of a short-lived illusion. No matter how carefully a tyrant plans or how his servant acts, they remain powerless against the cosmic law; it further portrays how humans often try to control things beyond their means. Regardless of human behaviour, divine will plays its role.
