The painting I chose depicts the part of the story where the king dies and his wives are crowded around him. What really strikes me here is that when I was originally reading the story I envisioned women sobbing and crying on the floor around the kings bed with the exception of the one wife that caused his death, Kaikeyi. However, looking at the painting the only person that seems to have a frown on her face is the woman in the doorway. I am unsure of which wife is supposed to be which in the painting but the majority of the wives look like they almost have a smile on their faces. Two of the women at the foot of his bed have a hand up to their cheek, which is probably symbolic of something such as mourning. The scene itself seems to be from the outside looking in. There is what looks like a giant hole in the palace wall, which perhaps symbolizes that the citizens are unaware of what is going on inside the palace and all they know is that the king is dying. It has almost a frustrating feel to it in the sense that it seems to be a scene closed off to outsiders and the citizens are stuck not knowing what’s really going on inside the palace.
In the book this scene was a morbid and awful one, or at least, that’s the way I imagined it while reading. However, this painting shows a different scene. It is a peaceful depiction of what seems to be an old man passing in his sleep as his loved ones watch. In the book it is a very different situation when Kausalaya entered the dying kings bedroom and “Unable to bear the spectacle of an inert, lifeless husband she uttered a loud wail. Her cries were so loud that the guests in the assembly hall were startled, and requested Sage Vasishtha to go up immediately and find out the cause.” In the painting, there is no wailing woman and the atmosphere is far from despondent.
-Daiana Gorbach