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Collections: Asian Art: Relief Tile Depicting Balarama Abducted by the Demon Pralamba

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Relief Tile Depicting Balarama Abducted by the Demon Pralamba

Medium: Terracotta, traces of polychromy
Place Made: Uttar Pradesh, India
Dates: 5th century
Collections: Asian Art
Museum Location: This item is not on view
Accession Number: L1998.2.1
Credit Line: Promised gift of Gwenn Miller in memory of Barbara Stoler Miller
Image: Overall, L1998.2.1_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2009

Catalogue Description: Male sitting astride the shoulders of a demon dwarf. The pair appear to depict the story of Balarama (an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu and the brother of Krishna) subduing the whirlwind demon, Pralamba. Pralamba attempted to abduct Balarama by using his form as a tornado to lift him into the sky, but the deity made himself heavy and eventually grounded the demon.

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