Priyanka Paul’s painting pinpoints to the consequences of negative karma.
Let us discuss the demon who kills himself. Demise was brought to him by karma.
According to the Bhagvata Purana, Hiranyakashipu, the demon king, was executed by Narasimha Dev, the manifestation of Lord Vishnu. People of all ages find the story reassuring. The story’s central idea is that the Lord defends humanity by destroying the villain. Being protected by the Almighty offers the readers a sense of security.
The tale ended with the destruction of evil. In India, the story is well revered. The majority of people are aware of this.
A painting by Kolkata, India-based artist Priyanka Paul offers a fresh take on the narrative. The artwork defies accepted wisdom. “The law of Karma-Hirnyakashipu Vadh,” she calls it. The painting’s title makes it quite evident that it is about Hirnyakashipu’s execution. According to popular custom, the lord always kills the king anytime Lord Narasimha and Hiranyakasipa are depicted in any form of media. But, it is depicted in a different way in Priyanka Paul’s painting, though.
The son of the king, Prahlada is a devotee of Lord Vishnu and perceives the Lord’s presence everywhere. On the other hand, The king believes that the Lord is against him. Hirnyakashipu strikes it with his club because he is horrified that the Lord is even perched on a pillar in front of him, as his son has said. In the actual story, the Lord arrives from the collapsed pillar and destroys the daemon.
It is depicted in the painting that the Lord manifested himself as the pillar was struck by the club. However, the Lord is protecting his devotee from falling pillar pieces rather than killing Hirnyakashipu. Hirnyakashipu is seen praising his strength by bending over his club while being unaware of the object crashing on his head. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that numerous individuals extol the demon king. Well, the painter provided a wonderful justification for her representational manner when asked.
Even though the demon was ultimately killed by the Lord, his karma was what led to this outcome. He was killed by none other than his own ego, to put it sarcastically. The pillar on which he hit represents his ego. Being merged in self-conceit, the king was unaware of the consequences of his deed. He even overlooked the idea that the fractured pillar would fall on his head and he would die.
The people who are shown to praise him are basically reflections of his different pompous illusions about him being the greatest in different facets of life. The Lord is shown saving his devotee, the son of the king, from falling debris.
Priyanka states that, from the artist’s point of view, it is similar to our lives in the present time. We play with nature every now and then to satiate our egos. We human beings are prone to subjectivity in thinking. We assume that we are powerful enough to control everything. Biased with imperious thoughts, we are overusing every natural resource in a devastating way. Thus bringing ourselves to the verge of destruction day by day. The idea in Priyanka Paul’s painting, “The Law of Karma-Hirnyakashipu Vadh” has both sarcastic and serious faces.
