Shantanu Meets Goddess Ganga

Description

Commissioned for the literary collection Folk Tales of Bengal by L.B. Day, published by MacMillan in 1912.

Historical context

This evocative illustration captures a moment of sublime wonder from the epic Mahabharata. King Shantanu, wandering near the banks of the sacred river, encounters the celestial Ganga who has manifested in human form. Warwick Goble treats the scene with a dreamlike reverence, focusing on the ethereal glow surrounding the Goddess, which contrasts beautifully with the dense, shadowed foliage of the riverbank. It is a work of delicate fantasy that honors the mythic weight of the encounter, where the mortal king stands humbled before the divine presence of the river mother.