Madhavya Looking at the Empty Throne of Hastinapur

The folio depicts an occasion in the tale when King Dushyant has left for the hermitage of sage Kanva and Madhavya, his trusted companion, stares ponderously at the king’s empty throne leaning his arms on his staff. So besotted is the King with Shakuntala the beautiful foster daughter of the sage Kanva, that he neglects his duties as a king, camping at the outskirts of the hermitage to be close to his beloved, and refuses to entertain the thoughts of going back to his capital Hastinapur.

On the right, the empty throne poignantly alludes to the dereliction of duty by King Dushyant. Madhavya, his close confidante gazes despondently at the throne and muses over the turn of the events.

Although the text of the play passingly mentions Madhavya admonishing the king for his obsession with Shakuntala and his neglect of his duties, the artist has devoted an entire painting on the subject. Setting the scene in the temporary camp of the king, the artist prominently places the empty throne as a focus of the viewer’s attention, attenuating its centrality in the visual narrative with three of the courtiers present in the king’s court staring in its direction, while a fourth courtier looks down despondently musing at the turn of the events. Apart from the king’s close attendants the court is remarkably empty and no business takes place.

Outside the parapet that marks the boundary of the court, the soldiers guarding the court sit anxiously waiting for the king to return from his tryst with Shakuntala in the hermitage.

The artist combines a palette of bright striking hues with bold delineation of outlines and intricate line-work, making every little detail stand out from its background. The drape of the textiles with its folds and contours, twists, and falls are definitely marked as is the intricate gold weaving of the fabric. The motifs of the fabric are small and dainty and the artist effectively scales the motifs according to the area which it covers in the paintings creating a repetition of patterning as well as contributing to the effect of scale as well.

Repeating select colours - mauves, pinks, oranges, greens and yellow, the artist creates a compact composition leading the eye in an ordered arrangement. For instance, the skillful use of green in the attire of every courtier links all of them compositionally, and the use of the colour along the border of the red carpet of the court restrains the movement of the viewer’s eye around the court area and on the courtiers.