Home›Sacred Objects, Dress & Symbols›Sacred Art & Iconography›Bhima and King Virata (Victoria and Albert Museum, IS.38-1959)Sacred Art & IconographyBhima and King Virata (Victoria and Albert Museum, IS.38-1959)Kalighat painting, watercolour and tin alloy on paper, Kolkata, ca. 1890, Victoria and Albert Museum IS.38-1959Citation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextDivinity Atlas. "Bhima and King Virata (Victoria and Albert Museum, IS.38-1959)." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/sacred-art-iconography/bhima-king-virata-va-is-38-1959.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextDivinity Atlas. (n.d.). Bhima and King Virata (Victoria and Albert Museum, IS.38-1959). Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/sacred-art-iconography/bhima-king-virata-va-is-38-1959Copy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{divinityatlas-bhima-and-king-virata-victoria-and-alber, author = {Divinity Atlas}, title = {Bhima and King Virata (Victoria and Albert Museum, IS.38-1959)}, year = {2026}, url = {https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/sacred-art-iconography/bhima-king-virata-va-is-38-1959}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXScriptural and Theological TraditionVerifiedA Kalighat painting titled "Bhima and King Virata," in watercolour and tin alloy on paper, made in Kolkata around 1890 by an unnamed artist of the Kalighat bazaar tradition. It shows an episode from the Mahabharata's Virata Parva, the Pandava Bhima serving King Virata as a palace cook during the Pandavas' year of exile in disguise. Held today by the Victoria and Albert Museum under accession IS.38-1959, given by R. W. Skelton in 1959.Cross-Tradition ConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)Cross-Tradition ConnectionsAssociated WithBhima, Figures Well-attested This source names Bhima directly: "A Kalighat painting titled "Bhima and King Virata," in watercolour and tin alloy on paper, made in Kolkata around 1890 by an unnamed artist of the Kalighat bazaar tradition."Source Bhima and King Virata, accession IS.38-1959 (Victoria and Albert Museum)tier 1Kolkata, Cities Well-attested This source names Kolkata directly: "and tin alloy on paper, made in Kolkata around 1890 by an unnamed artist of the Kalighat bazaar tradition."Source Bhima and King Virata, accession IS.38-1959 (Victoria and Albert Museum)tier 1The Pandavas, Figures Well-attested This source names The Pandavas directly: "King Virata as a palace cook during the Pandavas' year of exile in disguise."Source Bhima and King Virata, accession IS.38-1959 (Victoria and Albert Museum)tier 1Belongs to TraditionHinduism, Religions Well-attested Source Bhima and King Virata, accession IS.38-1959 (Victoria and Albert Museum)tier 1DepictsKing Virata, Figures Well-attested The V&A's own title for this painting names the subject outright, "King Virata," a direct identification rather than a bare thematic tag.Source Bhima and King Virata, accession IS.38-1959 (Victoria and Albert Museum)tier 1SourcesBhima and King Virata, accession IS.38-1959 (Victoria and Albert Museum)tier 1Victoria and Albert Museumaccession IS.38-1959View the SourceComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year