The Yashoda and Krishna oil painting, by the renowned Indian artist Raja Ravi Varma, was sold at a record price of 167.2 crore at the Saffronart spring auction on Wednesday, April 1. This is why it became the most expensive Indian painting to have been auctioned off, beating the previous record by 49.2 crore – an increase of more than 40 per cent. The oil painting, signed Varma, is 35 x 28.25 that was done in the 1890s and portrays the popular mythological couple of Yashoda and Krishna and is regarded to be one of the most iconic paintings in Indian art history. According to experts, it is a universal topic, similar to the Madonna and Child in the Western culture and thus a cultural treasure with perennial prestige.
Meet Cyrus S. Poonawalla: Serum Institute Founder And Padma Awardee Who Bought Raja Ravi Varma’s ‘Yashoda and Krishna’ Painting For A Record ₹167.2 Crore
The buyer, Cyrus S. Poonawalla, is the founder and managing director of the Pune based Serum Institute of India. Poonawala is a vaccine industry pioneer, who established the institute in 1966 and expanded it to become the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world. He was a globally recognized pioneer in the field of healthcare and ranked as the 46th richest individual in the world, as well as the wealthiest healthcare billionaire, on the Hurun Global Rich List 2023. He and his family were listed ninth on the Forbes India 100 richest tycoons with a net worth of 22.1 billion in 2024 and the Hurun Rich List 2026 ranked them 4th in India.
Meet Cyrus S. Poonawalla: Padma Awardee And Study
Poonawala has received many of the highest awards in India such as the Padma Shri in 2005 and Padma Bhushan in 2022 due to his remarkable contributions to the field of medicine. He also has an honorary degree of Doctor of Science at the University of Oxford which is constructing the Cyrus Poonawala Vaccines Research Building. With AstraZeneca and Oxford University, the Covishield vaccine developed by the Serum Institute was the most widely used vaccine in India during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adar Poonawala, his son, is the CEO of the Serum Institute and a co owner of the Dharma Productions company owned by Karan Johar, and Natasha Poonawala, his wife is a well known socialite and fashion influencer.
What did Cyrus S. Poonawalla Say?
In remarks made about the sale, Ashish Anand, the MD and CEO of DAG referred to it as a landmark in the Indian art market. He said that Yashoda and Krishna, commonly described as the Mona Lisa of Indian art, had surpassed its lower estimate of 80 crores of rupees by 87.2 crores of rupees. On his part, Poonawala was pleased to have purchased the painting, saying, ‘I am honoured to have an opportunity to purchase, conserve and restore the legendary Raja Ravi Varma painting Yashoda and Krishna’. It is his duty to make the painting available to the public periodically henceforth.
