Art, Symbol & Imagination
Yama and Nachiketas: Nanda Lal Bose’s Dialogue with Death
Original caption: Yama and Nachiketas
Bose places Yama and Nachiketas in a close encounter divided by a dark opening and the strong warmth of the background. The boy’s journey is a dialogue with Death rather than a battle against him. After Nachiketas waits unfed for three days, Yama grants three boons; the final request asks what follows death. Wealth, long life and pleasure are offered as alternatives, but the questioner refuses them. The illustration accompanies a story in which persistence and discernment matter more than force, and the exchange between host and guest becomes a search for knowledge of the self.
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Citation
Nanda Lal Bose. "Yama and Nachiketas: Nanda Lal Bose’s Dialogue with Death" [source caption]. In Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists, Sister Nivedita and Ananda K. Coomaraswamy. Original scan, 1914, George G. Harrap & Co.. Source scan leaf 405. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/hindu-yama-nachiketas
Source details
Title from the printed caption. Editorial description. Source details from the Library catalogue.
Artist credited in the printed list of illustrations. Full source leaf and the adjacent narrative reviewed; historical scan colour and texture retained.
Sources
From the book
Myths of the Hindus and BuddhistsSister Nivedita and Ananda K. Coomaraswamy1914More from this book
Garuda: Nanda Lal Bose’s Mythological Bird Figure
Rama’s Marriage: K. Venkatappa’s Ramayana Illustration
The Death of Maricha: K. Venkatappa’s IllustrationRelated illustrations
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Cite this illustration
Nanda Lal Bose. Yama and Nachiketas: Nanda Lal Bose’s Dialogue with Death. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists. Scan leaf 405. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/hindu-yama-nachiketas