Vishnu as Matsya, slaying Hayagrua
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Vishnu as Matsya, slaying Hayagrua” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not on view at present. Checked September 25, 2026.
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
This painting is one of a collection of prints, paintings and drawings, some bound in an album, given to the museum by Rudyard Kipling in 1917. They were all collected about 25 years previously by Rudyard Kipling's father, J. Lockwood Kipling, when he was Director of the Lahore School of Art. Most of the collection was bought in Amritsar and Lahore, though some sheets were bought in Calcutta and Bombay.
Many of the works depict popular subjects of Sikhism or, as here, Hinduism. Vishnu is shown as the fish avatar, Matsya, slaying the raksha Hayagriva, who attempted to steal Brahma's vedas which remain lost in the sea. Garuda, the mount of Vishnu, flies above.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- IM.2:214-1917
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
