Damayanti

This oleograph depicts Damayanti, a mythical character whose story is narrated in the Vana Parva book of the Mahabarata. In the story, Damayanti (the princess of Vidarbha) and King Nala (of Nishada) fall in love without having met, simply by hearing of each other's noble traits, intelligence and beauty. Over time, Damayanti starts to pine for Nala, shunning food, sleep and other activities. In the scene depicted here, she is observed engrossed in his thoughts, possibly confiding in her attendant Keshini who stands nearby fanning her. It appears that Ravi Varma was quite taken with the love story of Nala-Damayanti as he painted multiple works that feature episodes from their tale.