The painting depicts an extreme and violent battle in the Mahabharata, one of ancient India's great epics. Right in the center, two war chariots collide headon, causing the horses to rear up wildly in midair. Like a warrior on the right flies straight back out of his chariot where he's struck with an arrow, you feel violence in the moment. Nearby, other soldiers battle on foot. Some draw their bows to fire, others raise their swords and shields in attack or defense. The artist portrayed the sense of movement for each person and animal with delicate ink lines and wonderfully soft shading. Except for the war itself, this documentation wouldn´t be complete without a heavy atmosphere combined with menacing looking backdrops like snake-shaped trees and ratty rock peaks. Flanked at each end and written in faded Persian script is the title naming all three brothers Yudhishthira, Nakula, Sahadeva as they face their opposing champions. It is a powerful glimpse of an old story, centering on the primal fury of war.
