The origin of the Madhubani print can be traced back to the Ramayana, over 2500 years ago. The King of Mithila, Janaka, asked an artist to paint his daughter Sita’s wedding to Prince Rama. Women typically did paintings on walls and floors of homes for such special occasions with a paste made from powdered rice. William G. Archer, the British Colonial Officer in charge of the Madhubani district, officially discovered this print in 1934 when a massive earthquake hit Bihar. He came across the wall paintings while inspecting the damage caused by the natural disaster. 

Traditionally done on walls (bhittichitra) and floors (aripana), Madhubani art is now also done on clothes, papers, and canvases (patachitra). The art skills were passed down from generation to generation by women who painted people with natural and mythological elements from ancient epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. 

The production process begins with the artists creating meticulously detailed sketches of what will be printed onto the textile. They use bold, curved, and straight lines to highlight the subjects in their sketch. Next, the sketches are filled with various colours, and double outlines are created around the subjects.

After the central art portion of the process has been completed, bringing the design to a basic fabric is decided. Embroidery, applique work, painting, and printing are mainly used to introduce the designs to the material. Depending on the chosen method, the artists move further. 

If they decide to embroider the design, the sketch is lightly traced and positioned on the chosen fabric. Alternatively, pouncing is done where small holes are poked on the paper sketch at regular time intervals, and a powdered pigment is added through the holes onto the fabric in a ‘pouncing motion’ with a soft material. After this, stitches like the herringbone, cross, running, chain, and back are used to bring the beautiful Madhubani art on cloth finally.

Moon, sun, and religious plants like the tulsi are standard designs in Madhubani art, along with scenes from weddings and other festive occasions. 

No space is seen in this print, and gaps, if any, are filled with floral, animal, and bird motifs.

Each motif seen on a Madhubani print has a symbolic meaning. Flora, fauna, and human figures are the most common motifs, and each is significant.

Flora like lotus and bamboo, fauna like tiger, snake, peacock, fish, and religious mythology associated with gods and goddesses like Shiv-Parvati, Krishna-Radha, and Rama-Sita are a quintessential and integral part of the designs.

Applique work is a bit similar to embroidery, but regular stitches are replaced by ornamental and intricate needlework on pieces of fabric cut into different shapes and sizes. In some cases, clay is also used for decoration purposes. Painting is done directly on the fabric with brushes, twigs, matchsticks, pen nibs, or fingers. The tool to be used is mainly dependent on the design. Artists often switch between tools to get a more intricate outcome on the fabric, with matchsticks and twigs used for detailing and outlining and brushes and fingers for filling in colours.

There are two primary ways to print designs on fabric – modern and traditional. The modern way includes using a screen-printing machine, heat transfer, digital garment printing (DTG), or sublimation transfer printing. The traditional way involves using carved wooden or metal blocks dipped in dye to add the design to the fabric.