{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_11924/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_11924","id":"gutenberg_11924","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11924","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Art","Category: Poetry","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Hindu gods in art","Hindu painting -- India","Hinduism","Krishna (Hindu deity)","Sanskrit poetry -- History and criticism"],"text":"[Illustration: _Radha and Krishna in the Grove_ Kangra\n(Punjab Hills), c. 1785]\n\n\n\n\nTHE LOVES OF KRISHNA\n\nIN INDIAN PAINTING\nAND POETRY\n\n\n\nBy\nW. G. ARCHER\n\n\n\nTo\nMR. AND MRS. H. N.\nWITH LOVE AND ADMIRATION\n\n\n\n\nACKNOWLEDGMENTS\n\n\nI am deeply indebted to Dr. A.L. Basham for generous guidance throughout\nthe preparation of this book, to George Keyt for permitting me to quote\nextensively from his brilliant translation of the _Gita Govinda_, and to\nDeben Bhattacharya who supplied me with new translations of later poems\nand discussed a number of important points. I must also express my deep\ngratitude to Mildred Archer and to Gopi Krishna Kanoria for valued\ncriticism and advice, to Messrs. Faber and Faber, the Harvill Press,\nMessrs. Macmillan, the Oxford University Press, the Phoenix House and\nMessrs. Sidgwick and Jackson for permitting me to quote passages from\nworks still copyright, to Professor J. Brough for an informative note on\nBhanu Datta's _Rasamanjari_ and to all those owners of collections who\nhave either allowed me to reproduce pictures in their possession or have\nkindly supplied me with photographs.\n\nPart of the material for this book was delivered as lectures to the Royal\nAsiatic Society, the Royal India, Pakistan and Ceylon Society and at the\nVictoria and Albert Museum.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS\n\n  I INTRODUCTION\n\n II THE MAHABHARATA: KRISHNA THE HERO\n\nIII THE BHAGAVATA PURANA: THE COWHERD\n      i  Birth and Early Adventures\n     ii  The Loves of the Cowgirls\n    iii  The Death of the Tyrant\n\n IV THE BHAGAVATA PURANA: THE PRINCE\n      i  The Return to Court\n     ii  Marriages and Offspring\n    iii  Last Phases\n     iv  The _Purana_ Re-considered\n\n\n  V THE KRISHNA OF POETRY\n      i  The Triumph of Radha\n     ii  The _Gita Govinda_\n    iii  Later Poetry\n     iv  The _Rasika Priya_\n\n\n VI THE KRISHNA OF PAINTING\n\n    NOTES\n\n    BIBLIOGRAPHY\n\n    INDEX\n\n    PLATES AND COMMENTARY\n\n    SOURCES\n\n\n\n\nI\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\nDuring the twentieth century, a certain type of Indian painting began to\nfascinate the West. Unlike Mughal art, it was a product of Hindu courts in\nRajasthan and the Punjab Hills and unlike Mughal painting, its chief\nconcern was with the varied phases of romance. Ladies would be shown\nbrooding in their chambers as storm clouds mounted in the sky. A girl\nmight be portrayed desperately fondling a plantain tree, gripping a pet\nfalcon, the symbol of her lover, or hurrying through the rainy darkness\nintent only on reaching a longed-for tryst. A prince would appear lying on\na terrace, his outstretched arms striving vainly to detain a calm beauty\nor welcoming with delight a bashful girl as she slowly advanced. In all\nthese pictures, romantic love was treated as the highest good and physical\npassion was interpreted with a freshness and innocence unequalled in the\nworld's art.\n\nSuch paintings were, at first sight, easy to appreciate. Although they\nalternated between two methods of expression--the first a style of savage\ndistortion, the second a style of the softest grace--each manner enlivened\nthe common subject.[1] Yet in two respects elucidation was vitally\nnecessary. Just as in Japan, the lover might express his longings by\ncryptic references to Nature, the Indian artist employed poetic symbols to\ncharge his subjects with romantic ardour. Flowers were never merely\nflowers nor clouds clouds. The symbols of Indian poetry--the lotus swaying\nin a stream, the flowering creeper embracing a trunk--were intended to\nsuggest passion-haunted ladies. The mingling of clouds, rain and lightning\nsymbolized the embraces of lovers, and commonplace objects such as dishes,\nvases, ewers and lamps were brought into subtle conjunction to hint at\n'the right true end of love.' What, in fact, might seem at first sight to\nbe a simple portrait, proved on closer understanding to be a study in\ndespair, a revelation of delight or a clue to rapture, each image with its\nsexual implications contriving to express some nuance of longing. In these\npictures, only a part of the meaning was apparent and without a\ncomprehension of the poetry, much of its true significance was lost.\n\nSuch an obstacle to understanding was real enough but, as the eye ranged\nover this new kind of love-painting, a second difficulty appeared. In many\npictures, the lover had special characteristics. He was shown with a crown\nof peacock's feathers, clad in a golden _dhoti_ and in every case his skin\nwas mauve or slate-blue.[2] In certain cases, the lady of his choice\nappeared bowing at his feet, her pose suggesting the deepest adoration;\nyet, in other pictures, his role was quite different. He was then a\nresolute warrior, fighting and destroying demons. It was clear, in fact,\nthat here was no ordinary lover but one who might also be a god. At the\nsame time, other perplexing circumstances were present. The lover's\nappearance was that of an aristocratic youth and the ladies whom he loved\nhad the bearing of elegant princesses. Yet often the scene of their\nencounters was a forest thick with flowering trees. His companions were\ncowherds and the objects of his love were not the ladies of a court but\ncowgirls. Other activities betrayed the same lowly sphere. In certain\npictures, he was shown eating with cowherds, sharing in their sports,\ngrazing the cattle and himself milking cows. That such a lover should\ndominate the paintings was perplexing in the extreme and just as cultured\nIndians would be baffled by Italian and Flemish painting unless they\nalready knew the life of Christ, it was clear that part, even the\nmajority, of these pictures would remain obscure unless the character of\ntheir central figure was first explained. One further point remained. In\nmany cases, the pictures were not intended to be viewed in isolation but\nwere illustrations of a text. Many were inscribed with Sanskrit or Hindi\nverses and in each case there was an intimate connection between the\ncontent of the picture and the poem's subject. To understand the pictures,\ntherefore, some acquaintance with these texts was necessary for only in\nthis way could the identity and role of the blue-skinned lover be\nappreciated. He was, in fact, Krishna--an incarnation of God--and in his\nworship some of the deepest requirements of the Indian spirit found\necstatic release.\n\nThe purpose of this book is to throw some light on Indian painting by\npresenting the story of Krishna in the clearest possible terms. It might\nbe supposed that, of all Indian gods, Krishna was already the one best\nknown to the West and therefore, perhaps, the one least requiring\nexplanation. Among modern poets, Sacheverell Sitwell devotes a whole poem\nin _Canons of Giant Art_ to describing Krishna's effect.\n\n  Rain falls and ceases, all the forest trembles:\n  Mystery walks the woods once more,\n  We hear a flute.\n  It moves on earth, it is the god who plays\n  With the flute to his lips and music in his breath:\n  The god is Krishna in his lovely youth.\n\nLouis MacNeice in _Ten Burnt Offerings_ describes a much-loved cat,\n\n  Fluid as Krishna chasing the milkmaids.\n\nAnd the same Krishna, flute player and lover of milkmaids, is familiar to\nBritish audiences from the dancing of Ram Gopal. Yet side by side with\nthis magnetic figure, a second, strangely different Krishna is also known.\nThis second Krishna is the preacher of the _Bhagavad Gita_, the great\nsermon delivered on the battle-field of Kurukshetra. It is a cardinal\ndocument of Indian ethics, and consoled Mahatma Gandhi during his work for\nIndian independence. It has for many years been known in the West but has\nrecently attracted fresh attention through a modern translation by\nChristopher Isherwood and Swami Prabhavananda. This Krishna of the _Gita_\nis clearly quite different in character from the Krishna of the milkmaids\nand, without some effort at reconciliation, the two must obviously present\na baffling enigma. Indeed so great is the contrast that many Englishmen,\nentranced by the lover, might be astonished to hear of a more didactic\nrole, while those who value the _Gita_ might easily be disturbed on\nfinding its author so daringly identified with the theory and practice of\nromantic love. The truth, if we are to admit it, is that despite\nconsiderable acquaintance with Krishna as a name, few educated people in\nthe West have intimate knowledge of his story. In fact, we have only to\nask some basic questions to realize how slender is general understanding.\nWhat, for example, were the circumstances in which Krishna was born and\nwhy did he enter the world? Of which Indian god is he an incarnation? Who\nwere his parents and how did he come to live among cowherds? Who were\nRadha and Rukmini? In what ways did he love the milkmaids and why has this\naspect of his story assumed such big proportions in Indian religion? Why,\nin fact, is God a romantic lover? Just as few Indians, even highly\neducated Indians, could survive a friendly cross-examination on details of\nthe New Testament, the majority of cultured Englishmen would find it hard\nto answer even a few of these simple questions.\n\nIt is to remedy in part this situation that I have marshalled the material\ngiven in this book. With certain types of issue I have made no attempt to\ndeal. I have not, for example, discussed statements such as 'Krishna was\nnot a god but a hero of a rough tribe of cowherds.' 'The Gita is an\ninterpolation.' 'There is general agreement on the historicity of\nKrishna.' 'Radha appears to be a late addition.' Higher Criticism, whether\napplied to the Bible or to the classics of Indian religion must\nnecessarily remain a small scholars' preserve--of vital importance to the\nfew but of little account to the main body of believers or to artists\nillustrating adored themes. I have rather been concerned to present\ninformation about Krishna in the form in which it has actually reached\nIndian minds and has influenced belief and worship. During the last two\nthousand years, various texts have dealt with Krishna, emphasizing first\none and then another aspect of his character and in the process assembling\nmore and more details. These texts are still revered by Indians and\nalthough they are the product of widely separated eras, all of them have\nstill an air of contemporary authority. By considering them in historical\nsequence, we can understand not only the subject-matter of romantic Indian\npainting but realize why Krishna, the adored lover, should still enchant\nreligious India.\n\n[Footnote 1: Note 1.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Note 2.]\n\n\n\n\nII\n\n\nTHE _MAHABHARATA_: KRISHNA THE HERO\n\nThe first reference to Krishna occurs in the _Chandogya Upanishad_ of\nperhaps the sixth century B.C. _Upanishads_ were 'forest sittings' or\n'sessions with teachers.' Sages and their disciples discussed the nature\nof life and strove to determine the soul's exact relationship to God. The\nstarting-point was the theory of re-incarnation. Death, it was believed,\ndid not end the soul. Death was merely a stepping-stone to another life,\nthe soul moving from existence to existence in one long effort to escape\nre-birth. From this cycle, only one experience could bring release and\nthat was consciousness or actual knowledge of the supreme Spirit. When\nthat state was achieved, the soul blended with the Godhead and the cycle\nended. The problem of problems, therefore, was how to attain such\nknowledge. The _Chandogya Upanishad_ does not offer any startling solution\nto this matter. The teacher who conducts the session is a certain Ghora of\nthe Angirasa family and it is the person of his disciple rather than his\nactual message which concerns us. The disciple is called Krishna and his\nmother has the name Devaki. Devaki is the later Krishna's mother and there\nis accordingly every reason to suppose that the two Krishnas are the same.\nNothing, however, is stated of this early Krishna's career and although\nparts of the sage's teachings have been compared to passages in the\n_Gita_,[3] Krishna himself remains a vague and dim name.\n\nFor the next few centuries, knowledge of Krishna remains in this\nfragmentary state. Nothing further is recorded and not until the great\nIndian epic, the _Mahabharata_, crystallizes out between the fourth\ncentury B.C. and the fourth century A.D. does a more detailed Krishna make\nhis appearance.[4] By the end of this period, many vital changes had taken\nplace. The Indian world-view had become much clearer and it is possible\nnot only to connect Krishna with a definite character but to see him in\nclear relation to cosmic events. The supreme Spirit was now envisaged as a\nsingle all-powerful God, known according to his functions as Brahma,\nVishnu and Siva. As Brahma, he brought into existence three\nworlds--heaven, earth and the nether regions--and also created gods or\nlesser divinities, earth and nature spirits, demons, ogres and men\nthemselves. Siva, for his part, was God the final dissolver or destroyer,\nthe source of reproductive energy and the inspirer of asceticism. He was\nthought of in many forms--as a potent ascetic, a butcher wild for blood, a\nserene dancer--and in his character of regenerator was represented by his\nsymbol, the _lingam_ or phallus. The third aspect, Vishnu, was God in his\ncharacter of loving protector and preserver. This great Trinity was\nultimately supreme but under it were a number of lesser powers. Those that\nrepresented the forces of good were called _devas_ or gods. They were led\nby their king, Indra, lord of clouds, and associated with him were gods\nsuch as Agni (fire), Varuna (water), Surya the sun and Kama the god of\npassion. These gods lived in Indra's heaven, a region above the world but\nlower than Vaikuntha, the heaven of Vishnu. Dancing-girls and musicians\nlived with them and the whole heaven resembled a majestic court on earth.\nFrom this heaven the gods issued from time to time intervening in human\naffairs. Demons, on the other hand, were their exact opposites. They\nrepresented powers of evil, were constantly at war with the gods and took\nvicious pleasure in vexing or annoying the good. Below gods and demons\nwere men themselves.\n\nIn this three-tiered universe, transmigration of souls was still the basic\nfact but methods of obtaining release were now much clearer. A man was\nborn, died and then was born again. If he acted well, did his duty and\nworked ceaselessly for good, he followed what was known as the path of\n_dharma_ or righteousness. This ensured that at each succeeding birth he\nwould start a stage more favourably off than in his previous existence\ntill, by sheer goodness of character, he qualified for admission to\nIndra's heaven and might even be accounted a god. The achievement of this\nstatus, however, did not complete his cycle, for the ultimate goal still\nremained. This was the same as in earlier centuries--release from living\nby union with or absorption into the supreme Spirit; and only when the\nindividual soul had reached this stage was the cycle of birth and re-birth\ncompleted. The reverse of this process was illustrated by the fate of\ndemons. If a man lapsed from right living, his second state was always\nworse than his first. He might then be born in humble surroundings or if\nhis crimes were sufficiently great, he became a demon. As such, his\ncapacity for evil was greatly increased and his chances of ultimate\nsalvation correspondingly worsened. Yet even for demons, the ultimate goal\nwas the same--release from living and blissful identification with the\nSupreme.\n\n_Dharma_ alone, however, could not directly achieve this end. This could\nbe done by the path of _yoga_ or self-discipline--a path which involved\npenances, meditation and asceticism. By ridding his mind of all desires\nand attachments, by concentrating on pure abstractions, the ascetic\n'obtained insight which no words could express. Gradually plumbing the\ncosmic mystery, his soul entered realms far beyond the comparatively\ntawdry heavens where the great gods dwelt in light and splendour. Going\n\"from darkness to darkness deeper yet,\" he solved the mystery beyond all\nmysteries; he understood, fully and finally, the nature of the universe\nand of himself and he reached a realm of truth and bliss, beyond birth and\ndeath. And with this transcendent knowledge came another realization--he\nwas completely, utterly, free. He had found ultimate salvation, the final\ntriumph of the soul.'[5] Such a complete identification with the supreme\nSpirit, however, was not easily come by and often many existences were\nrequired before the yogi could achieve this sublime end.\n\nThere remained a third way--the path of _bhakti_ or devotion to God. If a\nman loved God not as an abstract spirit but as a loving Person, if he\nloved with intensity and singleness of heart, adoration itself might\nobtain for him the same reward as a succession of good lives. Vishnu as\nprotector might reward love with love and confer immediately the blessing\nof salvation.\n\nThe result, then, was that three courses were now open to a man and\nwhether he followed one or other depended on his own particular cast of\nmind, the degree of his will-power, the strength of his passions and\nfinally, his capacity for renunciation, righteousness and love. On these\nqualifications the upshot would largely depend. But they were not the only\nfactors. Since gods and demons were part of the world, a man could be\naided or frustrated according as gods or demons chose to intervene. Life\ncould, in fact, be viewed from two angles. On the one hand it was one long\neffort to blend with the Godhead--an effort which only the individual\ncould make. On the other hand, it was a war between good and evil, gods\nand demons; and to such a contest, God as Vishnu could not remain\nindifferent. While the forces of evil might properly be allowed to test or\ntax the good, they could never be permitted completely to win the day.\nWhen, therefore, evil appeared to be in the ascendant, Vishnu intervened\nand corrected the balance. He took flesh and entering the world, slew\ndemons, heartened the righteous and from time to time conferred salvation\nby directly exempting individuals from further re-births.\n\nIt is these beliefs which govern the _Mahabharata_ epic and provide the\nclue to Krishna's role. Its prime subject is a feud between two families,\na feud which racks and finally destroys them. At the same time, it is very\nmuch more. Prior to the events narrated in the text, Vishnu has already\nundergone seven incarnations, taking the forms of a fish, tortoise, boar\nand man-lion and later those of Vamana the dwarf, Parasurama ('Rama with\nthe Axe'), and finally, the princely Rama. In each of these incarnations\nhe has intervened and, for the time being, rectified the balance. During\nthe period covered by the epic, he undergoes an eighth incarnation and it\nis in connection with this supremely vital intervention that Krishna\nappears.\n\nTo understand the character which now unfolds, we must briefly consider\nthe central story of the _Mahabharata_. This is narrated in the most\nbaffling and stupendous detail. Cumbrous names confront us on every side\nwhile digressions and sub-plots add to the general atmosphere of confusion\nand complexity. It is idle to hope that this vast panorama can arouse\ngreat interest in the West and even in India it is unlikely that many\nwould now approach its gigantic recital with premonitions of delight. It\nis rather as a necessary background that its main outlines must be\ngrasped, for without them Krishna's character and career can hardly be\nexplained.\n\nThe epic begins with two rival families each possessed of a common\nancestor, Kuru, but standing in bitter rivalry to each other. Kuru is\nsucceeded by his second son, Pandu, and later by Dhritarashtra, his first\nson but blind. Pandu has five sons, who are called Pandavas after him,\nwhile Dhritarashtra has a hundred sons called Kauravas after Kuru, their\ncommon grandfather. As children the two families grow up at the same\ncourt, but almost immediately jealousies arise which are to have a deadly\noutcome. Hatred begins when in boyish contests the Pandavas outdo the\nKauravas. The latter resent their arrogance and presently their father,\nthe blind king, is persuaded to approve a plot by which the five Pandavas\nwill be killed. They are to sleep in a house which during the night will\nbe burnt down. The plot, however, miscarries. The house is burnt, but\nunbeknown to the Kauravas, the five brothers escape and taking with them\ntheir mother, Kunti, go for safety to the forest. Here they wander for a\nwhile disguised as Brahmans or priests but reach at last the kingdom of\nPanchala. The King of Panchala has a daughter, Draupadi, whose husband is\nto be chosen by a public archery competition. Arjuna, one of the five\nbrothers, wins the contest and gains her as bride. The Pandavas, however,\nare polyandrous and thus, on being married to one brother, Draupadi is\nalso married to the other four. At the wedding the Pandavas disclose their\nidentities. The Kauravas learn that they are still alive and in due course\nare reconciled. They reinstate the Pandavas and give them half the\nkingdom. Before Arjuna, however, can profit from the truce, he infringes\nby accident his elder brother's privacy by stumbling on him while he is\nwith their common wife. As a consequence he violates a standing agreement\nand has no alternative but to go into exile for twelve years. Arjuna\nleaves the court, visits other lands, acquires a new wife and makes a new\nalliance. In other respects, all is well and the two families look forward\nto many years of peaceful co-existence.\n\nThe fates, however, seem determined on their destruction. The leader of\nthe Pandavas is their eldest brother, Yudhisthira. He conquers many other\nlands and is encouraged to claim the title, 'ruler of the world.' The\nclaim is made at a great sacrifice accompanied by a feast. The claim\nincenses the Kauravas and once again the ancient feud revives. Themselves\nexpert gamblers, they challenge Yudhisthira to a contest by dice.\nYudhisthira stupidly agrees and wagering first his kingdom, then his\nbrothers and finally his wife, loses all and goes again into exile. With\nhim go the other Pandavas, including Arjuna who has since returned. For\ntwelve years they roam the forests, brooding on their fate and planning\nrevenge. When their exile ends, they at once declare war. Both sides seek\nallies, efforts at peacemaking are foiled and the two clash on the\nbattle-field of Kurukshetra. For eighteen days the battle rages till\nfinally the Pandavas are victorious. Their success, however, is at an\nappalling cost. During the contest all five Pandavas lose their sons. The\nhundred sons of their rival, the blind king Dhritarashtra, are dead and\nwith a sense of tragic futility, the epic ends.\n\nIt is as an actor in this tangled drama that Krishna appears. Alongside\nthe Pandavas and the Kauravas in Northern India is a powerful people, the\nYadavas. They live by grazing cattle but possess towns including a\ncapital, the city of Dwarka in Western India. At this capital resides\ntheir ruler or king and with him is a powerful prince, Krishna. This\nKrishna is related to the rival families, for his father, Vasudeva, is\nbrother of Kunti, the Pandavas' mother. From the outset, therefore, he is\nplaced in intimate proximity to the chief protagonists. For the moment,\nhowever, he himself is not involved and it is only after the Pandavas have\ngone into exile and reached the kingdom of Panchala that he makes his\nentrance. The occasion is the archery contest for the hand of Draupadi.\nKrishna is there as an honoured guest and when Arjuna makes the winning\nshot, he immediately recognizes the five Pandavas as his kinsmen although\nas refugees they are still disguised as Brahmans. When the assembled\nprinces angrily protest at Draupadi's union with a Brahman, and seem about\nto fight, Krishna intervenes and persuades them to accept the decision.\nLater he secretly meets the Pandavas and sends them wedding presents.\nAlready, therefore, he is fulfilling a significant role. He is a powerful\nleader, a relative of the central figures and if only because the feud is\nnot his own, he is above the conflict and to some extent capable of\ninfluencing its outcome.\n\nHis next appearance brings him closer still to the Pandavas. When Arjuna\nis exiled for his breach of marriage etiquette, he visits Krishna in his\ncity of Dwarka. A great festival is held and in the course of it Arjuna\nfalls in love with Krishna's sister, Subhadra. Krishna favours the\nmarriage but advises Arjuna to marry her by capture. Arjuna does so and by\nbecoming Krishna's brother-in-law cements still further their\nrelationship.\n\nThis friendship has one further consequence, for, after Arjuna has\ncompleted his exile and returned to the Pandava court, Krishna visits him\nand the two go into the country for a picnic. 'After a few days, Arjuna\nsaid to Krishna, \"The summer days have come. Let us go to the River Jumna,\namuse ourselves with some friends and come back in the evening.\" Krishna\nreplied, \"I would like that very much. Let us go for a bathe.\" So Arjuna\nand Krishna set out with their friends. Reaching a fine spot fit for\npleasure and overgrown with trees, where several tall houses had been\nbuilt, the party went inside. Food and wine, wreaths of flowers and\nfragrant perfumes were laid out and at once they began to frolic at their\nwill. The girls in the party with delightful rounded haunches, large\nbreasts and handsome eyes began to flirt as Arjuna and Krishna commanded.\nSome played about in the woods, some in the water, some inside the houses.\nAnd Draupadi and Subhadra who were also in the party gave the girls and\nwomen costly dresses and garments. Then some of them began to dance, some\nto sing, some laughed and joked, some drank wine. And the houses and\nwoods, filled with the noise of flutes and drums, became the very seat of\npleasure.'[6]\n\nA little later, Krishna is accorded special status. At the sacrifice\nperformed by Yudhisthira as 'ruler of the world,' gifts of honour are\ndistributed. Krishna is among the assembled guests and is proposed as\nfirst recipient. Only one person objects, a certain king Sisupala, who\nnurses a standing grievance against him. A quarrel ensues and during it\nKrishna kills him. Krishna's priority is then acclaimed but the incident\nserves also to demonstrate his ability as a fighter.\n\nOne other aspect of Krishna's character remains to be noted. Besides being\na bold warrior, he is above all an astute and able ally. During the\nPandavas' final exile in the forest, he urges them to repudiate their\nbanishment and make war. When the exile is over and war is near, he acts\nas peace-maker, urging the Kauravas to make concessions. When he is foiled\nby Duryodhana, the blind king's son, he attempts to have him kidnapped.\nFinally, once the great battle is joined, he offers both sides a choice.\nEach may have the help either of himself alone or of his immediate\nkinsmen, the Vrishnis. The Vrishnis will fight in the battle, while\nKrishna himself will merely advise from a distance. The Kauravas choose\nthe fighters, the Pandavas Krishna. Krishna accordingly aids the Pandavas\nwith counsel. He accompanies Arjuna as his charioteer and during the\nbattle is a constant advocate of treachery. As Kama, a leading Kaurava,\nfights Arjuna, his chariot gets stuck and he dismounts to see to it. The\nrules of war demand that Arjuna should now break off but Krishna urges him\nto continue and Kama is killed unresisting. Similarly when Bhima, one of\nthe five Pandava brothers, is fighting Duryodhana with his club, Krishna\neggs him on to deal a foul blow. Bhima does so and Duryodhana dies from a\nbroken thigh. In all these encounters, Krishna shows himself completely\namoral, achieving his ends by the very audacity of his means.\n\nSo far, Krishna's character is merely that of a feudal magnate, and there\nis nothing in his views or conduct to suggest that he is Vishnu or God.\nTwo incidents in the epic, however, suddenly reveal his true role. The\nfirst is when Yudhisthira has gambled away Draupadi and the Kauravas are\nintent on her dishonour. They attempt to make her naked. As one of them\ntries to remove her clothes, Draupadi beseeches Krishna as Vishnu to\nintervene and save her. Krishna does so and by his help she remains\nclothed; however many times her dress is removed. The second occasion is\non the final battle-field of Kurukshetra. Arjuna, seeing so many brothers,\nuncles and cousins ranged on either side is moved to pity at the senseless\nnature of the strife and confides his anguished doubts in Krishna. Krishna\nseems, at first, to be only his friend, his brother-in-law and adviser. He\npoints out that to a warrior nothing is nobler than a righteous war and\ndeclares, 'Do your duty always but without attachment.' He then advocates\nthe two paths of _yoga_(knowledge) and _dharma_ (righteousness). 'Even if\na man falls away from the practice of _yoga_, he will still win the heaven\nof the doers of good deeds and dwell there many long years. After that, he\nwill be reborn into the home of pure and prosperous parents. He will then\nregain that spiritual discernment which he acquired in his former body;\nand so he will strive harder than ever for perfection. Because of his\npractices in the previous life, he will be driven on toward union with the\nSpirit, even in spite of himself. For the man who has once asked the way\nto the Spirit goes farther than any mere fulfiller of the Vedic rituals.\nBy struggling hard, that yogi will move gradually towards perfection\nthrough many births and reach the highest goal at last[7].\n\nBut it is the path of _bhakti_ or devotion to a personal God which\ncommands Krishna's strongest approval and leads him to make his startling\nrevelation. 'Have your mind in Me, be devoted to Me. To Me shall you come.\nWhat is true I promise. Dear are you to Me. They who make Me their supreme\nobject, they to Me are dear. Though I am the unborn, the changeless Self,\nI condition my nature and am born by my power. To save the good and\ndestroy evildoers, to establish the right, I am born from age to age. He\nwho knows this when he comes to die is not reborn but comes to Me.' He\nspeaks, in fact, as Vishnu himself.\n\nThis declaration is to prove the vital clue to Krishna's character. It is\nto be expanded in later texts and is to account for the fervour with which\nhe is soon to be adored. For the present, however, his claim is in the\nnature of an aside. After the battle, he resumes his life as a prince and\nit is more for his shrewdness as a councillor than his teaching as God\nthat he is honoured and revered. Yet special majesty surrounds him and\nwhen, thirty-six years after the conflict, a hunter mistakes him for a\ndeer and kills him by shooting him in the right foot[8], the Pandavas are\ninconsolable. They retreat to the Himalayas, die one by one and are\ntranslated to Indra's heaven[9].\n\nSuch an account is obviously a great advance on the _Chandogya Upanishad_.\nYet, as we ponder its intricate drama, we are faced with several\nintractable issues. It is true that a detailed character has emerged, a\nfigure who is identified with definite actions and certain clear-cut\nprinciples. It is true also that his character as Vishnu has been\nasserted. But it is Krishna the feudal hero who throughout the story\ntakes, by far, the leading part. Between this hero and Krishna the God,\nthere is no very clear connection. The circumstances in which Vishnu has\ntaken form as Krishna are nowhere made plain. Except on the two occasions\nmentioned, Krishna is apparently not recognized as God by others and does\nnot himself claim this status. Indeed it is virtually only as an\nafterthought that the epic is used to transmit his great sermon, and\nalmost by accident that he becomes the most significant figure in the\nstory. Even the sermon at first sight seems at variance with his actions\nas a councillor--his repeated recourse to treachery ill consorting with\nthe paramountcy of duty. In point of fact, such a conflict can be easily\nreconciled for if God is supreme, he is above and beyond morals. He can\nact in any way he pleases and yet, as God, can expect and receive the\nhighest reverence. God, in fact, is superior to ethics. And this viewpoint\nis, in fact, to prove a basic assumption in later versions of the story.\nHere it is sufficient to note that while the _Mahabharata_ describes these\ntwo contrasting modes of behaviour, no attempt is made to face the exact\nissue. Krishna as God has been introduced rather than explained and we are\nleft with the feeling that much more than has been recorded remains to be\nsaid.\n\nThis feeling may well have dogged the writers who put the _Mahabharata_\ninto its present shape for, a little later, possibly during the sixth\ncentury A.D., an appendix was added. This appendix was called the\n_Harivansa_ or Genealogy of Krishna[10] and in it were provided all those\ndetails so manifestly wanting in the epic itself. The exact nature of\nKrishna is explained--the circumstances of his birth, his youth and\nchildhood, the whole being welded into a coherent scheme. In this story\nKrishna the feudal magnate takes a natural place but there is no longer\nany contradiction between his character as a prince and his character as\nGod. He is, above all, an incarnation of Vishnu and his immediate purpose\nis to vanquish a particular tyrant and hearten the righteous. This\nviewpoint is maintained in the _Vishnu Purana_, another text of about the\nsixth century and is developed and illustrated in the tenth and eleventh\nbooks of the _Bhagavata Purana_. It is this latter text--a vast compendium\nof perhaps the ninth or tenth century--which affords the fullest account\nin literature of Krishna's story.\n\n[Footnote 3: Note 3.]\n\n[Footnote 4: Note 4.]\n\n[Footnote 5: A.L. Basham, _The Wonder that was India_, 245.]\n\n[Footnote 6: _Mahabharata, Adi Parva_, Section 224 (Roy, I, 615-16).]\n\n[Footnote 7: C. Isherwood and S. Prabhavananda, _The Song of God,\nBhagavad-Gita_, 86-7.]\n\n[Footnote 8: Plate 2.]\n\n[Footnote 9: Note 5.]\n\n[Footnote 10: Note 6.]\n\n\n\n\nIII\n\nTHE _BHAGAVATA PURANA_: THE COWHERD\n\n\n\n(i) Birth and Early Adventures\n\n\nThe _Bhagavata Purana_ is couched in the form of a dialogue between a sage\nand a king. The king is the successor of the Pandavas but is doomed to die\nwithin a week for having by accident insulted a holy ascetic. To ensure\nhis salvation, he spends the week listening to the _Bhagavata Purana_ and\nconcentrating his mind on Krishna whom he declares to be his helper.[11]\n\nBook Ten begins by describing the particular situation which leads to\nKrishna's birth. The scene is Mathura, a town in northern India, adjoining\nthe kingdom of the Kauravas. The surrounding country is known as Braj and\nits ruling families are the Yadavas. Just outside Mathura is the district\nof Gokula which is inhabited by cowherds. These are on friendly terms with\nthe Yadavas, but are inferior to them in caste and status. The time is\nsome fifty years or more before the battle of Kurukshetra and the ruling\nking is Ugrasena. Ugrasena's queen is Pavanarekha and a mishap to her sets\nin train a series of momentous events.\n\nOne day she is taking the air in a park, when she misses her way and finds\nherself alone. A demon, Drumalika, is passing and, entranced by her grace,\ndecides to ravish her. He takes the form of her husband, Ugrasena, and\ndespite Pavanarekha's protests proceeds to enjoy her. Afterwards he\nassumes his true shape. Pavanarekha is dismayed but the demon tells her\nthat he has given her a son who will 'vanquish the nine divisions of the\nearth, rule supreme and fight Krishna.' Pavanarekha tells her maids that a\nmonkey has been troubling her. Ten months later a son is born. He is named\nKansa and the court rejoices.\n\nAs Kansa grows up he reveals his demon's nature. He ignores his father's\nwords, murders children and defeats in battle King Jarasandha of\nMagadha.[12] The latter gives him two daughters in marriage. He then\ndeposes his father, throws him into prison, assumes his powers and bans\nthe worship of Vishnu. As his crimes increase, he extends his conquests.\nAt last Earth can bear the burden no longer and appeals to the gods to\napproach the supreme Deity, Brahma, to rid her of the load. Brahma as\nCreator can hardly do this, but Vishnu as Preserver agrees to intervene\nand plans are laid. Among the Yadava nobility are two upright persons. The\nfirst is Devaka, the younger brother of King Ugrasena and thus an uncle to\nthe tyrant. The second is a certain Vasudeva. Devaka has six daughters,\nall of whom he marries to Vasudeva. The seventh is called Devaki. Vishnu\nannounces that Devaki will also be married to Vasudeva, and plucking out\ntwo of his hairs--one black and one white--he declares that these will be\nthe means by which he will ease Earth's burden. The white hair is part of\nSesha, the great serpent, which is itself a part of Vishnu and this will\nbe impersonated as Devaki's seventh child. The black hair is Vishnu's own\nself which will be impersonated as Devaki's eighth child. The child from\nthe white hair will be known as Balarama and the child from the black hair\nas Krishna. As Krishna, Vishnu will then kill Kansa. Earth is gratified\nand retires and the stage is set for Krishna's coming.\n\nDevaki, with Kansa's approval, is now married to Vasudeva. The wedding is\nbeing celebrated in the grandest manner when a voice from heaven is heard\nsaying, 'Kansa, the eighth son of her whom you are now escorting will\ncause your destruction. You shall die at his hand.' Kansa is greatly\nalarmed and is about to slay Devaki when Vasudeva agrees to yield him all\ntheir sons. Kansa accordingly spares her. Each of Devaki's first six sons,\nhowever, is delivered up at birth and each is slaughtered.\n\nAs the time for fulfilling the prophecy approaches, Kansa grows fearful.\nHe learns that gods and goddesses are being born as cowherds and cowgirls\nand, interpreting this as a sign that Krishna's birth is near, he commands\nhis men to slaughter every cowherd in the city. A great round-up ensues\nand many cowherds are killed. The leading cowherd is a wealthy herdsman\nnamed Nanda, who lives with his wife Yasoda in the country district of\nGokula. Although of lower caste, he is Vasudeva's chief friend and in view\nof the imminent dangers confronting his family, it is to Nanda that\nVasudeva now sends one of his other wives, Rohini. Devaki has meanwhile\nconceived her seventh son, the white hair of Vishnu, and soon to be\nrecognized as Krishna's brother. To avoid his murder by Kansa, Vishnu has\nthe foetus transferred from Devaki's womb to that of Rohini, and the\nchild, named Balarama, is born to Rohini, Kansa being informed that Devaki\nhas miscarried. The eighth pregnancy now occurs. Kansa increases his\nprecautions. Devaki and Vasudeva are handcuffed and manacled. Guards are\nmounted and besides these, elephants, lions and dogs are placed outside.\nThe unborn child, however, tells them not to fear and Devaki and Vasudeva\ncompose their minds.\n\nKrishna is now born, dark as a cloud and with eyes like lotuses. He is\nclad in a yellow vest and wears a crown. He takes the form of Vishnu and\ncommands Vasudeva to bear him to Nanda's house in Gokula and substitute\nhim for the infant daughter who has just been born to Yasoda, Nanda's\nwife. Devaki and Vasudeva worship him. The vision then fades and they\ndiscover the new-born child crying at their side. They debate what to\ndo--Devaki urging Vasudeva to take the baby to Nanda's house where Rohini,\nhis other wife, is still living and where Yasoda will receive it. Vasudeva\nis wondering how to escape when his handcuffs and chains fall off, the\ndoors open and the guards are seen to be asleep. Placing Krishna in a\nbasket, he puts it on his head and sets out for Gokula. As he goes, lions\nroar, the rain pours down and the river Jumna faces him. There is no help\nbut to ford it and Vasudeva accordingly enters the stream. The water gets\nhigher and higher until it reaches his nose. When he can go no farther,\nthe infant Krishna stretches out a foot, calms the river and the water\nsubsides. Vasudeva now arrives at Nanda's house where he finds that Yasoda\nhas borne a girl and is in a trance. Vasudeva puts Krishna beside her,\ntakes up the baby girl, recrosses the river and joins Devaki in her\nprison. The doors shut, the handcuffs and fetters close on them again and\nas the baby starts to cry, the guards awake. A sentry then carries Kansa\nthe news. Kansa hurries to the spot, seizes the child and tries to dash it\non a stone. As he does so the child becomes the goddess Devi and\nexclaiming that Kansa's enemy is born elsewhere and nothing can save him,\nvanishes into heaven.[13] Kansa is greatly shaken and orders all male\nchildren to be killed,[14] but releases Vasudeva and Devaki.\n\nMeanwhile Nanda, the rich herdsman, is celebrating the birth. Pandits and\nastrologers are sent for, the child's horoscope is cast and his destiny\nforetold. He will be a second deity like Brahma himself. He will destroy\ndemons, relieve the land of Braj of all its cares, be called the lord of\nthe cowgirls and be praised the whole world over. Nanda promises to\ndedicate cows, loads the Brahmans with presents, and summons all the\nmusicians and singers of the city. Singing, dancing and music break forth,\nthe courtyards throng with people, and the cowherds of Gokula come in with\ntheir wives. On their heads are pitchers full of curd and as a magical\nmeans of ensuring prosperity, they proceed to throw it over the\ngathering. Nanda presents them with cloth and betel and they depart elated\nat the news.\n\nSome days later Nanda learns of Kansa's order to seize all male children\nand, deeming it prudent to offer presents, he collects the cowherds in a\nbody and goes to Mathura to pay tribute. Kansa receives him and on his way\nback Vasudeva meets him at the river. He dare not disclose his secret that\nKrishna is not Nanda's son but his own. At the same time he cannot\nsuppress his anxiety as a father. He contents himself by telling Nanda\nthat demons and evil spirits are abroad seeking to destroy young children\nand urges him to return to Gokula as quickly as possible.\n\nThe _Purana_ now concentrates on two main themes: on Krishna's infancy in\nGokula, dilating on his baby pranks, his capacity for mischief, the love\nhe arouses in the hearts of his foster-mother, Yasoda, and of all the\nmarried cowgirls and, secondly, on his supernatural powers and skill in\nridding the country of troublesome demons. These are at first shown as\nhostile to Krishna only, but as the story unfolds, his role gradually\nwidens and we see him acting as the cowherds' ally, protecting them from\nharm, attacking the forces of evil and thus fulfilling the supreme purpose\nfor which he has been born. From time to time the cowherds realize that\nKrishna is Vishnu and adore him as God. Then amnesia intervenes. They\nretain no recollection of the vision and see him simply as a youthful\ncowherd, charming in manner, whose skill in slaying demons arouses their\nlove. In this way Krishna lives among them--in fact, God, but in the eyes\nof the people, a young boy.[15]\n\nThe first demon to threaten Krishna's life is a huge ogress named Putana.\nHer role is that of child-killer--any child who is suckled in the night by\nPutana instantly dying. Putana assumes the form of a sweet and charming\ngirl, dabs her breasts with poison and while Nanda is still at Mathura,\ncomes gaily to his house. Entranced by her appearance, Yasoda allows her\nto hold the baby Krishna and then to suckle him. Krishna, however, is\nimpervious to the poison, and fastening his mouth to her breast, he begins\nto suck her life out with the milk. Putana, feeling her life going, rushes\nwildly from the village, but to no avail. Krishna continues sucking and\nthe ogress dies. When Yasoda and Rohini catch up with her, they find her\nhuge carcass lying on the ground with Krishna still sucking her breast.\n'Taking him up quickly and kissing him, they pressed him to their bosoms\nand hurried home.'\n\nNanda now arrives from Mathura and congratulates the cowherds on their\nescape--so great was Putana's size that her body might have crushed and\noverwhelmed the whole colony. He then arranges for her burning but as her\nflesh is being consumed, a strange perfume is noticed for Krishna, when\nkilling her, had granted her salvation.\n\nA second demon now intervenes. It is twenty-seven days since Krishna's\nbirth. Brahmans and cowherds have been summoned to a feast, the cowgirls\nare singing songs and everyone is laughing and eating. Krishna for the\ntime being is out of their minds, having been put to sleep beneath a heavy\ncart loaded with pitchers. A little later he wakes up, begins to cry for\nthe breast and finding no one there wriggles about and starts to suck a\ntoe. At this moment the demon, Saktasura, is flying through the sky. He\nnotices the child and alights on the cart. His weight cracks it but before\nthe cart can collapse, Krishna kicks out so sharply that the demon dies\nand the cart falls to pieces. Hearing a great crash, the cowgirls dash to\nthe spot, marvelling that although the cart is in splinters and all the\npots broken, Krishna has survived.\n\nThe third attack occurs when Krishna is five months old. Yasoda is sitting\nwith him in her lap when she notices that he has suddenly become very\nheavy. At the same time, the whirlwind demon, Trinavarta, raises a great\nstorm. The sky darkens, trees are uprooted and thatch dislodged. As Yasoda\nsets Krishna down, Trinavarta seizes him and whirls him into the air.\nYasoda finds him suddenly gone and calls out, 'Krishna, Krishna.' The\ncowgirls and cowherds join her in the search, peering for him in the gusty\ngloom of the dark storm. Full of misery, they search the forest and can\nfind him nowhere. Krishna, riding through the air, however, can see their\ndistress. He twists Trinavarta round, forces him down and dashes him to\ndeath against a stone. As he does so, the storm lightens, the wind drops\nand the cowherds and cowgirls regain their homes. There they discover a\ndemon lying dead with Krishna playing on its chest. Filled with relief,\nYasoda picks him up and hugs him to her breast.\n\nVasudeva now instructs his family priest, Garga the sage, to go to Gokula,\nmeet Nanda and give Krishna and Balarama proper names. Rohini, he points\nout, has had a son, Balarama, and Nanda has also had a son, Krishna. It is\ntime that each should be formally named. The sage is delighted to receive\nthe commission and on arriving is warmly welcomed. He declines, however,\nto announce the children's names in public, fearing that his connection\nwith Vasudeva will cause Raja Kansa to connect Krishna with the eighth\nchild--his fated enemy. Nanda accordingly takes him inside his house and\nthere the sage names the two children. Balarama is given seven names, but\nKrishna's names, he declares, are numberless. Since, however, Krishna was\nonce born in Vasudeva's house, he is called Vasudeva. As to their\nqualities, the sage goes on, both are gods. It is impossible to understand\ntheir state, but having killed Kansa, they will remove the burdens of the\nworld. He then goes silently away. This is the first time that Nanda and\nYasoda are told the true facts of Krishna's birth. They do not, however,\nmake any comment and for the time being it is as if they are still quite\nignorant of Krishna's destiny. They continue to treat him as their son and\nno hint escapes them of his true identity.\n\nMeanwhile Krishna, along with Rohini's son, Balarama, is growing up as a\nbaby. He crawls about the courtyard, lisps his words, plays with toys and\npulls the calves' tails, Yasoda and Rohini all the time showering upon him\ntheir doting love. When he can walk, Krishna starts to go about with other\nchildren and there then ensues a series of naughty pranks. His favourite\npastime is to raid the houses of the cowgirls, pilfer their cream and\ncurds, steal butter and upset milk pails. When, as sometimes happens, the\nbutter is hung from the roof, they pile up some of the household\nfurniture. One of the boys then mounts upon it, another climbs on his\nshoulders, and in this way gets the butter down.[16] As the pilfering\nincreases, the married cowgirls learn that Krishna is the ringleader and\ncontrive one day to catch him in the act. 'You little thief,' they say,\n'At last we've caught you. So it's you who took our butter and curds. You\nwon't escape us now.' And taking him by the hand they march him to Yasoda.\nKrishna, however, is not to be outwitted. Employing his supernatural\npowers, he substitutes the cowgirls' own sons for himself and while they\ngo to Yasoda, himself slips off and joins his playmates in the fields.\nWhen the cowgirls reach Yasoda, they complain of Krishna's thefts and tell\nher that at last they have caught him and here he is. Yasoda answers, 'But\nthis is not Krishna. These are your own sons.' The cowgirls look at the\nchildren, discover the trick, are covered in confusion and burst out\nlaughing. Yasoda then sends for Krishna and forbids him to steal from\nother people's houses. Krishna pretends to be highly indignant. He calls\nthe cowgirls liars and accuses them of always making him do their work. If\nhe is not having to hold a milk pail or a calf, he says, he is doing a\nhousehold chore or even keeping watch for them while they neglect their\nwork and gossip. The cowgirls listen in astonishment and go away.\n\nAnother day Krishna is playing in a courtyard and takes it into his head\nto eat some dirt. Yasoda is told of it and in a fit of anger runs towards\nhim with a stick. 'Why are you eating mud?' she cries. 'What mud?' says\nKrishna. 'The mud one of your friends has just told me you have eaten. If\nyou haven't eaten it, open your mouth.' Krishna opens it and looking\ninside, Yasoda sees the three worlds. In a moment of perception, she\nrealizes that Krishna is God. 'What am I doing in looking upon the Lord of\nthe three worlds as my son?' she cries. Then the vision fades and she\npicks up Krishna and kisses him.\n\nAnother day, Yasoda asks the married cowgirls to assist her in churning\nmilk. They clean the house, set up a large vessel, prepare the churning\nstaff and string, and start to churn. Krishna is awakened by the noise and\nfinding no one about comes crying to Yasoda. 'I am hungry, mother,' he\nsays. 'Why have you not given me anything to eat?' And in a fit of\npetulance he starts to throw the butter about and kick over the pitchers.\nYasoda tells him not to be so naughty, sits him on her lap and gives him\nsome milk. While she is doing this, a cowgirl tells her that the milk has\nboiled over and Yasoda jumps up leaving Krishna alone. While she is away\nhe breaks the pots, scatters the curds, makes a mess of all the rooms and,\ntaking a pot full of butter, runs away with it into the fields. There he\nseats himself on an upturned mortar, assembles the other boys and vastly\npleased with himself, laughingly shares the butter out. When Yasoda\nreturns and sees the mess, she seizes a stick and goes to look for\nKrishna. She cannot find it in her heart, however, to be angry for long\nand when Krishna says, 'Mother, let me go. I did not do it,' she laughs\nand throws the stick away. Then pretending to be still very angry, she\ntakes him home and ties him to a mortar. A little later a great crash is\nheard. Two huge trees have fallen and when the cowherds hurry to the spot,\nthey find that Krishna has dragged the mortar between the trunks, pulled\nthem down and is quietly sitting between them.[17] Two youths--by name Nala\nand Kuvara--have been imprisoned in the trees and Krishna's action has\nreleased them. When she sees that Krishna is safe, Yasoda unties him from\nthe mortar and hugs him to her.\n\nThis incident of the trees now forces Nanda to make a decision. The\nvarious happenings have been profoundly unnerving and he feels that it is\nno longer safe to stay in Gokula. He decides therefore to move a day's\nmarch farther on, to cross the river and settle in the forests of\nBrindaban. The cowherds accordingly load up their possessions on carts and\nthe move ensues.[18]\n\nThe story now enters its second phase. Krishna is no longer a mischievous\nbaby, indulging in tantrums yet wringing the heart with his childish\nantics. He is now five years old and of an age to make himself useful. He\nasks to be allowed to graze the calves. At first Yasoda is unwilling. 'We\nhave got so many servants,' she says. 'It is their job to take the calves\nout. Why go yourself? You are the protection of my eye-lids and dearer to\nme than my eyes.' Krishna, however, insists and in the end she entrusts\nhim and Balarama to the other young cowherds, telling them on no account\nto leave them alone in the forest, but to bring them safely home. Her\nwords are, in fact, only too necessary, for Kansa, the tyrant king, is\nstill in quest of the child who is to kill him. His demon minions are\nstill on the alert, attacking any likely boy, and as Krishna plays with\nthe cowherds and tends the calves, he suffers a further series of attacks.\n\nA cow demon, Vatsasura, tries to mingle with the herd. The calves sense\nits presence and as it sidles up, Krishna seizes it by the hind leg,\nwhirls it round his head and dashes it to death. A crane demon, Bakasura,\nthen approaches. The cowherds recognize it, but while they are wondering\nhow to escape, the crane opens its beak and engulfs Krishna. Krishna,\nhowever, becomes so hot that the crane cannot retain him. It lets him go.\nKrishna then tears its beak in two, rounds up the calves and taking the\ncowherd boys with him, returns home.\n\nAnother day Krishna is out in the forest with the cowherds and the calves,\nwhen a snake demon, Ugrasura, sucks them into its mouth. Krishna expands\nhis body to such an extent that the snake bursts. The calves and cowherd\nchildren come tumbling out and all praise Krishna for saving them. On the\nway back, Krishna suggests that they should have a picnic and choosing a\ngreat _kadam_ tree, they sweep the place clean, set out their food and\nproceed to enjoy it. As they eat, the gods look down, noting how handsome\nthe young Krishna has grown. Among the gods is Brahma, who decides to\ntease Krishna by hiding the calves while the cowherd children are\neating.[19] He takes them to a cave and when Krishna goes in search of\nthem, hides the cowherd children as well. Krishna, however, is not to be\ndeterred. Creating duplicates of every calf and boy he brings them home.\nNo one detects that anything is wrong and for a year they live as if\nnothing has happened. Brahma has meanwhile sunk himself in meditation, but\nsuddenly recalls his prank and hurries out to set matters right. He is\nastonished to find the original calves and children still sleeping in the\ncave, while their counterparts roam the forest. He humbly worships\nKrishna, restores the original calves and children and returns to his\nabode. When the cowherd children awake, Krishna shows them the calves. No\none realizes what has happened. The picnic continues and laughing and\nplaying they go home.\n\nWe now enter the third phase of Krishna's childhood. He is eight years old\nand is therefore competent to graze not merely the calves but the cows as\nwell.[20] Nanda accordingly performs the necessary ritual and Krishna goes\nwith the cowherds to the forest.\n\nAn idyllic phase in Krishna's life now starts. 'At this time Krishna and\nBalarama, accompanied by the cow-boys, traversed the forests, that echoed\nwith the hum of bees and the peacock's cry. Sometimes they sang in chorus\nor danced together; sometimes they sought shelter from the cold beneath\nthe trees; sometimes they decorated themselves with flowery garlands,\nsometimes with peacocks' feathers; sometimes they stained themselves of\nvarious hues with the minerals of the mountain; sometimes weary they\nreposed on beds of leaves, and sometimes imitated in mirth the muttering\nof the thundercloud; sometimes they excited their juvenile associates to\nsing, and sometimes they mimicked the cry of the peacock with their pipes.\nIn this manner participating in various feelings and emotions, and\naffectionately attached to each other, they wandered, sporting and happy,\nthrough the wood. At eveningtide came Krishna and Balarama, like to\ncowboys, along with the cows and the cowherds. At eveningtide the two\nimmortals, having come to the cow-pens, joined heartily in whatever sports\namused the sons of the herdsmen.'[21]\n\nOne day as they are grazing the cows, they play a game. Krishna divides\nthe cows and cowherds into two sides and collecting flowers and fruits\npretends that they are weapons. They then stage a mock battle, pelting\neach other with the fruits. A little later Balarama takes them to a grove\nof palm trees. The ass demon, Dhenuka, guards it. Balarama, however,\nseizes it by its hind legs, twists it round and hurls it into a high tree.\nFrom the tree the demon falls down dead. When Dhenuka's companion asses\nhasten to the spot, Krishna kills them also. The cowherds then pick the\ncoconuts to their hearts' content, fill a quantity of baskets and having\ngrazed the cows, go strolling home.\n\nThe next morning Krishna rises early, calls the cowherds and takes the\ncows to the forest. As they are grazing them by the Jumna, they reach a\ndangerous whirlpool. In this whirlpool lives the giant snake, Kaliya,\nwhose poison has befouled the water, curdling it into a great froth. The\ncowherds and the cattle drink some of it, are taken ill, but revive at\nKrishna's glance. They then play ball. A solitary _kadam_ tree is on the\nbank. Krishna climbs it and a cowherd throws the ball up to him. The ball\ngoes into the water and Krishna, thinking this the moment for quelling the\ngreat snake, plunges in after it. Kaliya detects that an intruder has\nentered the pool, begins to spout poison and fire and encircles Krishna in\nits coils. In their alarm the cowherds send word to Nanda and along with\nYasoda, Rohini and the other cowgirls, he hastens to the scene. Krishna\ncan no longer be seen and in her agitation Yasoda is about to throw\nherself in. Krishna, however, is merely playing with the snake. In a\nmoment he expands his body, jumps from the coils and begins to dance on\nthe snake's heads. 'Having the weight of three worlds,' the _Purana_ says,\n'Krishna was very heavy.' The snake fails to sustain this dancing burden,\nits heads droop and blood flows from its tongues. It is about to die when\nthe snake-queens bow at Krishna's feet and implore his mercy. Krishna\nrelents, spares the snake's life but banishes it to a distant island.[22]\nHe then leaves the river, but the exhaustion of the cowherds and cowgirls\nis so great that they decide to stay in the forest for the night and\nreturn to Brindaban next morning. Their trials, however, are far from\nover. At midnight there is a heavy storm and a huge conflagration. Scarlet\nflames leap up, dense smoke engulfs the forest and many cattle are burnt\nalive. Finding themselves in great danger, Nanda, Yasoda and the cowherds\ncall on Krishna to save them. Krishna quietly rises up, sucks the fire\ninto his mouth and ends the blaze.\n\nThe hot weather now comes. Trees are heavy with blossom, peacocks strut in\nthe glades and a general lethargy seizes the cowherds. One day Krishna and\nhis friends are out with the cattle when Pralamba, a demon in human form,\ncomes to join them. Krishna warns Balarama of the demon's presence and\ntells him to await an opportunity to kill him. He then divides the\ncowherds into two groups and starts them on the game of guessing fruits\nand flowers. Krishna's side loses and as a penalty they have to run a\ncertain distance carrying Balarama's side on their shoulders. Pralamba\ncarries Balarama. He runs so fast that he quickly outstrips the others. As\nhe reaches the forest, he changes size, becoming 'large as a black hill.'\nHe is about to kill Balarama when Balarama himself rains blows upon him\nand kills him instead.[23] While this is happening, the cows get lost,\nanother forest fire ensues and Krishna has once again to intervene. He\nextinguishes the fire, regains the cattle and escorts the cowherds to\ntheir homes.[24] When the others hear what has happened, they are filled\nwith wonder 'but obtain no clue to the actions of Krishna.'\n\nDuring all this time, Krishna as 'son' of the wealthiest and most\ninfluential cowherd, Nanda, has been readily accepted by the cowherd\nchildren as their natural leader. His lack of fear, his bravery in coping\nwith demons, his resourcefulness in extricating the cowherds from awkward\nsituations, his complete self-confidence and finally his princely bearing\nhave revealed him as someone altogether above the ordinary. From time to\ntime he has disclosed his true nature as Vishnu but almost immediately has\nexercised his 'illusory' power and prevented the cowherds from remembering\nit. He has consequently lived among them as God but their love and\nadmiration are still for him as a boy. It is at this point that the\n_Purana_ now moves to what is perhaps its most significant phase--a\ndescription of Krishna's effects on the cowgirls.\n\n[Footnote 11: Note 7.]\n\n[Footnote 12: Magadha--a region corresponding to present-day South Bihar.]\n\n[Footnote 13: Plate 3.]\n\n[Footnote 14: Note 8.]\n\n[Footnote 15: Note 9.]\n\n[Footnote 16: Plate 4.]\n\n[Footnote 17: Plate 5.]\n\n[Footnote 18: Plate 6. In the _Harivansa_, the cause of the migration is\ngiven as a dangerous influx of wolves.]\n\n[Footnote 19: Note 10.]\n\n[Footnote 20: Plate 7.]\n\n[Footnote 21: Note 7.]\n\n[Footnote 22: Plate 8.]\n\n[Footnote 23: Plate 9.]\n\n[Footnote 24: Plate 10.]\n\n\n\n(ii) The Loves of the Cowgirls\n\n\nWe have seen how during his infancy Krishna's pranks have already made\nhim the darling of the women. As he grows up, he acquires a more adult\ncharm. In years he is still a boy but we are suddenly confronted with\nwhat is to prove the very heart of the story--his romances with the\ncowgirls. Although all of them are married, the cowgirls find his presence\nirresistible and despite the warnings of morality and the existence of\ntheir husbands, each falls utterly in love with him. As Krishna wanders in\nthe forest, the cowgirls can talk of nothing but his charms. They do their\nwork but their thoughts are on him. They stay at home but all the time\neach is filled with desperate longing. One day Krishna plays on his flute\nin the forest. Playing the flute is the cowherds' special art and Krishna\nhas, therefore, learnt it in his childhood. But, as in everything else,\nhis skill is quite exceptional and Krishna's playing has thus a beauty all\nits own. From where they are working the cowgirls hear it and at once are\nplunged in agitation. They gather on the road and say to each other,\n'Krishna is dancing and singing in the forest and will not be home till\nevening. Only then shall we see him and be happy.'\n\nOne cowgirl says, 'That happy flute to be played on by Krishna! Little\nwonder that having drunk the nectar of his lips the flute should trill\nlike the clouds. Alas! Krishna's flute is dearer to him than we are for\nhe keeps it with him night and day. The flute is our rival. Never is\nKrishna parted from it.' A second cowgirl speaks. 'It is because the flute\ncontinually thought of Krishna that it gained this bliss.' And a third\nsays, 'Oh! why has Krishna not made us into flutes that we might stay with\nhim day and night?' The situation in fact has changed overnight for far\nfrom merely appealing to the cowgirls' maternal instincts, Krishna is now\nthe darling object of their most intense passion.\n\nFaced with this situation, the cowgirls discuss how best to gain Krishna\nas their lover. They recall that bathing in the early winter is believed\nto wipe out sin and fulfil the heart's desires. They accordingly go to the\nriver Jumna, bathe in its waters and after making clay images of Parvati,\nSiva's consort, pray to her to make Krishna theirs. They go on doing this\nfor many days.\n\nOne day they choose a part of the river where there is a steep bank.\nTaking off their clothes they leave them on the grass verge, enter the\nwater and swim around calling out their love for Krishna. Unknown to them,\nKrishna is in the vicinity and is grazing the cows. He steals quietly up,\nsees them in the river, makes their clothes into a bundle and then climbs\nup with it into a tree. When the cowgirls come out of the water, they\ncannot find their clothes until at last one of them spies Krishna sitting\nin the tree. The cowgirls hurriedly squat down in the water entreating\nKrishna to return their clothes. Krishna, however, tells them to come up\nout of the water and ask him one by one. The cowgirls say, 'But this will\nmake us naked. You are making an end of our friendship.' Krishna says,\n'Then you shall not have your clothes back.' The cowgirls answer, 'Why do\nyou treat us so? It is only for you that we have bathed all these days.'\nKrishna answers, 'If that is really so, then do not be bashful or deceive\nme. Come and take your clothes.' Finding no alternative, the cowgirls\nargue amongst themselves that since Krishna already knows the secrets of\ntheir minds and bodies, there is no point in being ashamed before him,\nand they come up out of the water shielding their nakedness with their\nhands.[25] Krishna tells them to raise their hands and then he will return\ntheir clothes. The cowgirls do so begging him not to make fun of them and\nto give them at least something in return. Krishna now hands the clothes\nback giving as excuse for his conduct the following somewhat specious\nreason. 'I was only giving you a lesson,' he says. 'The god Varuna lives\nin water, so if anyone goes naked into it he loses his character. This was\na secret, but now you know it.' Then he relents. 'I have told you this\nbecause of your love. Go home now but come back in the early autumn and we\nwill dance together.' Hearing this the cowgirls put on their clothes and\nwild with love return to their village.\n\nAt this point the cowgirls' love for Krishna is clearly physical. Although\nprecocious in his handling of the situation, Krishna is still the rich\nherdsman's handsome son and it is as this rather than as God that they\nregard him. Yet the position is never wholly free from doubt for in loving\nKrishna as a youth, it is as if they are from time to time aware of\nadoring him as God. No precise identifications are made and yet so strong\nare their passions that seemingly only God himself could evoke them. And\nalthough no definite explanation is offered, it is perhaps this same idea\nwhich underlies the following incident.\n\nOne day Krishna is in the forest when his cowherd companions complain\nof feeling hungry. Krishna observes smoke rising from the direction of\nMathura and infers that the Brahmans are cooking food preparatory to\nmaking sacrifice. He asks the cowherds to tell them that Krishna is hungry\nand would like some of this food. The Brahmans of Mathura angrily spurn\nthe request, saying 'Who but a low cowherd would ask for food in the midst\nof a sacrifice?' 'Go and ask their wives,' Krishna says, 'for being kind\nand virtuous they will surely give you some.' Krishna's power with women\nis then demonstrated once more. His fame as a stealer of hearts has\npreceded him and the cowherds have only to mention his name for the wives\nof the Brahmans to run to serve him. They bring out gold dishes, load them\nwith food, brush their husbands aside and hurry to the forest. One husband\nstops his wife, but rather than be left behind the woman leaves her body\nand reaches Krishna before the others. When the women arrive they marvel\nat Krishna's beauty. 'He is Nanda's son,' they say. 'We heard his name and\neverything else was driven from our minds. Let us gaze on this darling\nobject of our lives. O Krishna, it is due to you that we have seen you and\nthus got rid of all our sins. Those stupid Brahmans, our husbands, mistook\nyou for a mere man. But you are God. As God they offer to you prayers,\npenance, sacrifice and love. How then can they deny you food?' Krishna\nreplies that they should not worship him for he is only the child of the\ncowherd, Nanda. He was hungry and they took pity on him, and he only\nregrets that being far from home he cannot return their hospitality. They\nmust now go home as their presence is needed for the sacrifices and their\nhusbands must still be waiting. So cool an answer dismays the women and\nthey say, 'Great king, we loved your lotus-like face. We came to you\ndespite our families. They tried to stop us but we ignored them. If they\ndo not take us back, where shall we go? And one of us, prevented by her\nhusband, gave her life rather than not see you.' At this Krishna smiles,\nreveals the woman and says, 'Whoever loves God never dies. She was here\nbefore you.' Krishna then eats the food and assuring them that their\nhusbands will say nothing, sends them back to Mathura. When they arrive,\nthey find the Brahmans chastened and contrite--cursing their folly in\nhaving failed to recognize Krishna as God and envious of their wives for\nhaving seen him and given him food.\n\nHaving humbled the Brahmans, Krishna now turns to the gods, choosing\nIndra, their chief, for attack. The moment is his annual worship when the\ncowherds offer sweets, rice, saffron, sandal and incense. Seeing them\nbusy, Krishna asks Nanda what is the point of all their preparations. What\ngood can Indra really do? he asks. He is only a god, not God himself. He\nis often worsted by demons and abjectly put to flight. In fact he has no\npower at all. Men prosper because of their virtues or their fates, not\nbecause of Indra. As cowherds, their business is to carry on agriculture\nand trade and to tend cows and Brahmans. Their earliest books, the Vedas,\nrequire them not to abandon their family customs and Krishna then cites as\nan ancient practice the custom of placating the spirits of the forests and\nhills. This custom, he says, they have wrongly superseded in favour of\nIndra and they must now revive it. Nanda sees the force of Krishna's\nremarks and holds a meeting. 'Do not brush aside his words as those of a\nmere boy,' he says. 'If we face the facts, we have really nothing to do\nwith the ruler of the gods. It is on the forests, rivers and the great\nhill, Govardhana, that we really depend.' The cowherds applaud this\nadvice, resolve to abandon the gods and in their place to worship the\nmountain, Govardhana. The worship of the hill is then performed. Krishna\nadvises the cowherds to shut their eyes and the spirit of the hill will\nthen show itself. He then assumes the spirit's form himself, telling Nanda\nand the cowherds that in response to their worship the mountain spirit has\nappeared. The cowherds' eyes are easily deceived. Beholding, as they\nthink, Govardhana himself, they make offerings and go rejoicing home.\n\nSuch an act of defiance greatly enrages Indra and he assembles all the\ngods. He forgets that earlier in the story it was the gods themselves who\nbegged Vishnu to be born on earth and that many of their number have even\ntaken birth as cowherds and cowgirls in order to delight in Krishna as\nhis incarnation. Instead he sees Krishna as 'a great talker, a silly\nunintelligent child and very proud.' He scoffs at the cowherds for\nregarding Krishna as a god, and in order to reinstate himself he orders\nthe clouds to rain down torrents. The cowherds, faced with floods on every\nside, appeal to Krishna. Krishna, however, is fully alive to the position.\nHe calms their fears and raising the hill Govardhana, supports it on his\nlittle finger.[26] The cowherds and cattle take shelter under it and\nalthough Indra himself comes and pours down rain for seven days, Braj and\nits inhabitants stay dry. Indra is compelled to admit that Vishnu has\nindeed descended in the form of Krishna and retires to his abode. Krishna\nthen sets the hill down in its former place. Following this discomfiture,\nIndra comes down from the sky accompanied by his white elephant and by\nSurabhi, the cow of plenty. He offers his submission to Krishna, is\npardoned and returns.\n\nAll these events bring to a head the problem which has been exercising\nthe cowherds for long--who and what is Krishna? Obviously no simple boy\ncould lift the mountain on his finger. He must clearly be someone much\ngreater and they conclude that Krishna can only be Vishnu himself. They\naccordingly beseech him to show them the paradise of Vishnu. Krishna\nagrees, creates a paradise and shows it to them. The cowherds see it and\npraise his name. Yet it is part of the story that these flashes of insight\nshould be evanescent--that having realized one instant that Krishna is\nGod, the cowherds should regard him the next instant as one of themselves.\nHaving revealed his true nature, therefore, Krishna becomes a cowherd once\nagain and is accepted by the cowherds as being only that.\n\nOne further incident must be recorded. In compliance with a vow, Nanda\nassembles the cowherds and cowgirls and goes to the shrine of Devi, the\nEarth Mother, to celebrate Krishna's twelfth birthday. There they make\nlavish offerings of milk, curds and butter and thank the goddess for\nprotecting Krishna for so long. Night comes on and they camp near the\nshrine. As Nanda is sleeping, a huge python begins to swallow his foot.[27]\nNanda calls to Krishna, who hastens to his rescue. Logs are taken from\na fire, but as soon as the snake is touched by Krishna, a handsome young\nman emerges and stands before him with folded hands. He explains that he\nwas once the celestial dancer, Sudarsana who in excess of pride drove his\nchariot backwards and forwards a hundred times over the place where a\nholy man was meditating. As a consequence he was cursed and told to\nbecome a python until Krishna came and released him. To attract Krishna's\nattention he has seized the foot of Nanda. Krishna bids him go and,\nascending his chariot, Sudarsana returns to the gods.\n\nThe _Purana_ now returns to Krishna's encounters with the cowgirls, their\npassionate longings and ardent desire to have him as their lover. Since\nthe incident at the river, they have been waiting for him to keep his\npromise. Krishna, however, has appeared blandly indifferent--going to the\nforest, playing with the cowherds but coldly ignoring the cowgirls\nthemselves. When autumn comes, however, the beauty of the nights stirs his\nfeelings. Belatedly he recalls his promise and decides to fulfil it. That\nnight his flute sounds in the forest, its notes reaching the ears of the\ncowgirls and thrilling them to the core. Like girls in tribal India today,\nthey know it is a call to love. They put on new clothes, brush aside their\nhusbands, ignore the other members of their families and hurry to the\nforest. As they arrive, Krishna stands superbly before them. He wears a\ncrown of peacocks' feathers and a yellow dhoti and his blue-black skin\nshines in the moonlight. As the cowgirls throng to see him, he twits them\non their conduct. Are they not frightened at coming into the dark forest?\nWhat are they doing abandoning their families? Is not such wild behaviour\nquite unbefitting married girls? Should not a married girl obey her\nhusband in all things and never for a moment leave him? Having enjoyed the\ndeep forest and the moonlight, let them return at once and soothe their\ninjured spouses. The cowgirls are stunned to hear such words, hang their\nheads, sigh and dig their toes into the ground. They begin to weep and at\nlast turn on Krishna, saying 'Oh! why have you deceived us so? It was your\nflute that made us come. We have left our husbands for you. We live for\nyour love. Where are we to go?' 'If you really love me,' Krishna answers\n'Dance and sing with me.' His words fill the cowgirls with delight and\nsurrounding Krishna 'like golden creepers growing on a dark-coloured\nhill,' they go with him to the banks of the Jumna. Here Krishna has\nconjured up a golden circular terrace ornamented with pearls and diamonds\nand cooled by sprouting plantains. The moon pours down, saturating the\nforest. The cowgirls' joy increases. They beautify their bodies and then,\nwild with love, join with Krishna in singing and dancing. Modesty deserts\nthem and they do whatever pleases them, regarding Krishna as their lover.\nAs the night goes on, Krishna 'appears as beautiful as the moon amidst the\nstars.'\n\nAs the cowgirls' ecstasies proceed, Krishna feels that they are fast\nexceeding themselves. They think that he is in their power and are already\nswelling with pride. He decides therefore to leave them suddenly, and\ntaking a single girl with him vanishes from the dance.[28] When they find\nhim gone, the cowgirls are at a loss to know what to do. 'Only a moment\nago,' one of them says, 'Krishna's arms were about my neck, and now he has\ngone.' They begin to comb the forest, anxiously asking the trees, birds\nand animals, for news. As they go, they recall Krishna's many winning\nways, his sweetnesses of character, his heart-provoking charms and begin\nto mimic his acts--the slaying of Putana, the quelling of Kaliya, the\nlifting of the hill Govardhana. One girl imitates Krishna dancing and\nanother Krishna playing. In all these ways they strive to evoke his\npassionately-desired presence. At length they discover Krishna's\nfootprints and a little farther on those of a woman beside them. They\nfollow the trail which leads them to a bed of leaves and on the leaves\nthey find a looking-glass. 'What was Krishna doing with this?' they ask.\n'He must have taken it with him,' a cowgirl answers, 'so that while he\nbraided his darling's hair, she could still perceive his lovely form.' And\nburning with love, they continue looking.\n\nWhile they are searching, the particular cowgirl who has gone with Krishna\nis tempted to take liberties. Thinking Krishna is her slave, she complains\nof feeling tired and asks him to carry her on his shoulders. Krishna\nsmiles, sits down and asks her to mount. But as she puts out her hands, he\nvanishes and she remains standing with hands outstretched.[29] Tears stream\nfrom her eyes. She is filled with bitter grief and cries 'O Krishna! best\nof lovers, where have you gone? Take pity.'\n\nAs she is bemoaning her fate, her companions arrive.[30] They put their\narms around her, comfort her as best they can, and then, taking her with\nthem, continue through the moonlight their vain and anguished search.\nKrishna still evades them and they return to the terrace where the night's\ndancing had begun. There they once again implore Krishna to have pity,\ndeclaring that there is none like him in charm, that he is endlessly\nfascinating and that in all of them he has aroused extremities of\npassionate love. But the night is empty, their cries go unanswered, and\nmoaning for the Krishna they adore, they toss and writhe on the ground.\n\nAt last, Krishna relents. He stands among them and seeing him, their cares\nvanish 'as creepers revive when sprinkled with the water of life.' Some\nof the cowgirls hardly dare to be angry but others upbraid him for so\nbrusquely deserting them. To all, Krishna gives the same answer. He is not\nto be judged by ordinary standards. He is a constant fulfiller of desire.\nIt was to test the strength of their love that he left them in the forest.\nThey have survived this stringent test and convinced him of their love.\nThe girls are in no mood to query his explanation and 'uniting with him'\nthey overwhelm him with frantic caresses.\n\nKrishna now uses his 'delusive power' in order to provide each girl with\na semblance of himself. He asks them to dance and then projects a whole\nseries of Krishnas. 'The cowgirls in pairs joined hands and Krishna was\nin their midst. Each thought he was at her side and did not recognize him\nnear anyone else. They put their fingers in his fingers and whirled about\nwith rapturous delight. Krishna in their midst was like a lovely cloud\nsurrounded by lightning. Singing, dancing, embracing and loving, they\npassed the hours in extremities of bliss. They took off their clothes,\ntheir ornaments and jewels and offered them to Krishna. The gods in heaven\ngazed on the scene and all the goddesses longed to join. The singing\nmounted in the night air. The winds were stilled and the streams ceased to\nflow. The stars were entranced and the water of life poured down from the\ngreat moon. So the night went on--on and on--and only when six months were\nover did the dancers end their joy.'\n\nAs, at last, the dance concludes, Krishna takes the cowgirls to the Jumna,\nbathes with them in the water, rids himself of fatigue and then after once\nagain gratifying their passions, bids them go home. When they reach their\nhouses, no one is aware that they have not been there all the time.\n\n[Footnote 25: Plate 11.]\n\n[Footnote 26: Plate 12.]\n\n[Footnote 27: Note 11.]\n\n[Footnote 28: Plate 13.]\n\n[Footnote 29: Plate 14.]\n\n[Footnote 30: Plate 15.]\n\n\n\n(iii) The Death of the Tyrant\n\n\nThis scene with its crescendos of excitement, its delight in physical\npassion and ecstatic exploration of sexual desire is, in many ways, the\nclimax of Krishna's pastoral career. It expresses the devotion felt for\nhim by the cowgirls. It stresses his loving delight in their company. It\nsuggests the blissful character of the ultimate union. No further\nrevelation, in fact, is necessary for this is the crux of Krishna's life.\nNone the less the ostensible reason for his birth remains--to rid the\nearth of the vicious tyrant Kansa--and to this the _Purana_ now returns.\n\nWe have seen how in his anxious quest for the child who is to kill him,\nKansa has dispatched his demon warriors on roving commissions, authorizing\nthem to attack and kill all likely children. Many children have in this\nway been slaughtered but Kansa is still uncertain whether his prime\npurpose has been fulfilled. He has no certain knowledge that among the\ndead children is his dreaded enemy. He is still unaware that Krishna is\ndestined to be his foe and he therefore continues the hunt, his demon\nemissaries pouncing like commandos on youthful stragglers and hounding\nthem to their deaths. Among such youths Krishna is still an obvious target\nand although unaware that this is the true object of their quest, demons\ncontinue to harry him.\n\nOne night Krishna and Balarama are in the forest with the cowgirls when a\nyaksha demon, Sankhasura, a jewel flashing in his head, comes among them.\nHe drives the cowgirls off but hearing their cries, Krishna follows after.\nBalarama stays with the girls while Krishna catches and beheads the demon.\n\nOn another occasion, Krishna and Balarama are returning at evening with\nthe cows when a bull demon careers amongst them. He runs amok scattering\nthe cattle in all directions. Krishna, however, is not at all daunted and\nafter wrestling with the bull, catches its horns and breaks its neck.\n\nTo such blind attacks there is no immediate end. One day, however, a sage\ndiscloses to Kansa the true identity of his enemy. He tells him in what\nmanner Balarama and Krishna were born, how Balarama was transferred\nfrom Devaki's womb to that of Rohini, and how Krishna was transported\nto Nanda's house in Gokula. Kansa is now confronted with the ghastly\ntruth--how Vasudeva's willingness to surrender his first six sons has\nlulled his suspicions, how his confidence in Vasudeva has been entirely\nmisplaced, and how completely he has been deceived. He sends for Vasudeva\nand is on the point of killing him when the sage interposes, advising\nKansa to imprison Vasudeva for the present and meanwhile make an all-out\nattempt to kill or capture Balarama and Krishna. Kansa sees the force of\nhis remarks, spares Vasudeva for the moment, throws him and Devaki into\njail and dispatches a special demon, the horse Kesi, on a murderous\nerrand.\n\nAs the horse speeds on its way, Kansa assembles his demon councillors,\nexplains the situation to them and asks for their advice. If Krishna\nshould not be killed in the forest, the only alternative, the demons\nsuggest, is to decoy him to Mathura. Let a handsome theatre be built, a\nsacrifice to Siva held and a special festival of arms proclaimed. All the\ncowherds will naturally come to see it. Nanda, the rich herdsman, will\nbring presents, Krishna and Balarama will come with other cowherds. When\nthey have arrived the wrestler Chanura can throw them down and kill them.\nKansa is delighted at the suggestion, adding only that a savage elephant\nshould be stationed at the gate ready to tear Krishna and Balarama to\npieces immediately they enter. He then dismisses his demon advisers and\nsends for Akrura, the chief of the Yadavas and a leading member of his\ncourt. Akrura, he judges, will be the best person to decoy Krishna to\nMathura. He accordingly briefs him as to his intentions and instructs him\nto await orders. Akrura deems it politic to express compliance but\nsecretly is overjoyed that he will thus obtain access to the Krishna he\nadores.\n\nThe first stage of Kansa's master plan is now brought into effect. The\nhorse demon, Kesi, reaches Brindaban and begins to paw the ground and kick\nup its heels. The cowherds are frightened but Krishna dares it to attack.\nThe horse tries to bite him but Krishna plunges his hand down its throat\nand expands it to a vast size until the demon bursts. Its remains litter\nthe ground but Krishna is so unmoved that he merely summons the cowherd\nchildren to play a game. Squatting with them under a fig tree, he names\none of them a general, another a minister, a third a councillor and\nhimself pretending to be a raja plays with them at being king. A little\nlater they join him in a game of blind man's bluff.\n\nThis unexpected _d\u00e9nouement_ enrages Kansa but instead of desisting from\nthe attempt and bringing into force the second part of his plan, he\ndecides to make one further effort to murder his hated foe. He accordingly\nsummons the wolf demon, Vyamasura, gives him detailed instructions and\ndispatches him to Brindaban. The demon hies to the forest, arriving while\nKrishna and the children are still at blind man's buff. He has dressed\nhimself as a beggar and going humbly up to Krishna asks if he may join in.\nKrishna tells him to choose whatever game he likes and the demon says,\n'What about the game of wolf and rams?' 'Very well,' Krishna answers, 'You\nbe the wolf and the cowherd boys the rams.' They start to play and the\ndemon rounds up all the children and keeps them in a cave. Then, assuming\ntrue wolf's form he pounces on Krishna. Krishna, however, is quite\nprepared and seizing the wolf by the throat, strangles it to death.\n\nAkrura is now sent for and instructed to go to Brindaban and return with\nKrishna to Mathura. He sets out and as he journeys allows his thoughts to\ndwell on the approaching meeting. 'Now,' he muses 'has my life borne\nfruit; my night is followed by the dawn of day; since I shall see the\ncountenance of Vishnu, whose eyes are like the expanded leaf of the lotus.\nI shall behold that lotus-eyed aspect of Vishnu, which, when seen only in\nimagination, takes away the sins of men. I shall today behold that glory\nof glories, the mouth of Vishnu, whence proceeded the Vedas, and all their\ndependent sciences. I shall see the sovereign of the world, by whom the\nworld is sustained; who is worshipped as the best of males, as the male\nsacrifice in sacrificial rites. I shall see Vishnu, who is without\nbeginning or end; by worshipping whom with a hundred sacrifices, Indra\nobtained the sovereignty over the gods. The soul of all, the knower of\nall, he who is all and is present in all, he who is permanent, undecaying,\nall-pervading will converse with me. He, the unborn, who has preserved the\nworld in the various forms of a fish, tortoise, a boar, a horse, a lion\nwill this day speak to me. Now the lord of the earth, who assumes shapes\nat will, has taken upon him the condition of humanity, to accomplish some\nobject cherished in his heart. Glory to that being whose deceptive\nadoption of father, son, brother, friend, mother, and relative, the world\nis unable to penetrate. May he in whom cause and effect, and the world\nitself, is comprehended, be propitious to me, through his truth; for\nalways do I put my trust in that unborn, eternal Vishnu; by meditation on\nwhom man becomes the repository of all good things.'[31]\n\nHe goes on to think of how he will kneel before Krishna with folded hands\nand afterwards put on his head the dust of Krishna's feet--the same feet\nwhich 'have come to destroy crime, which fell on the snake Kaliya's head\nand which have danced with the cowgirls in the forest.' Krishna, he\nbelieves, will know at once that he is not Kansa's envoy and will receive\nhim with kindness. And this is what actually ensues. Meeting Krishna\noutside Brindaban, he falls at his feet, Krishna lifts him up, embraces\nhim and brings him into Nanda's house. Akrura tells Nanda and Krishna\nhow Kansa has oppressed the people of Mathura, imprisoned Vasudeva and\nDevaki and has now sent him to invite them to attend the festival of\narms. Krishna listens and at once agrees to go, while Nanda sends out a\ntown-crier to announce by beat of drum that all the cowherds should get\nready to leave the next day. When morning comes, Krishna leaves in a\nchariot, accompanied by the cowherds and their children.\n\nThe news of his sudden departure devastates the cowgirls. Since the\ncircular dance in which their love was consummated, they have been meeting\nKrishna every evening and delighting in his company. And during the\ndaytime their passionate longings have centred solely on him. That he\nshould leave them so abruptly causes them complete dismay and they are\nonly comforted when Krishna assures them that he will return after a few\ndays.\n\nOn the way to Mathura Akrura bathes in the Jumna and is granted a vision\nof Krishna as Vishnu himself.\n\nReaching Mathura, Nanda and the cowherds pitch their tents outside the\ncity walls[32] while Krishna with Balarama and the cowherd children go\ninside the city for a walk. As they wander through the streets, the news\nof their arrival precedes them and women, excited by Krishna's name,\nthrong the rooftops, balconies and windows. 'Some ran off in the middle of\ntheir dinner: others while bathing and others while engaged in plaiting\ntheir hair. They forgot all dalliance with their husbands and went to look\nat Krishna.' As Krishna proceeds, he meets some of Kansa's washermen\ncarrying with them bundles of clothes. He asks them to give him some and\nwhen they refuse, he attacks one of them and strikes off his head. The\nothers drop their bundles and run for their lives. The cowherd children\ntry to dress themselves up but not knowing how to wear the clothes, some\nof them put their arms into trousers and their legs into coats. Krishna\nlaughs at their mistakes until a tailor, a servant of Kansa, repudiates\nhis master, glorifies Krishna and sets the clothes right. A little later,\na gardener takes them to his house and places garlands round their necks.\nAs they are leaving, they meet a young woman, a hunchback, carrying a pot\nof scented ointment. Krishna cannot resist flirting with her and asks her\nfor whom she is carrying the ointment. The girl, Kubja, sees the amorous\nlook in his eyes and being greatly taken by his beauty answers 'Dear one,\ndo you not know that I am a servant of Raja Kansa and though a hunchback\nam entrusted with making his perfumes?' 'Lovely one,' Krishna answers,\n'Give us a little of this ointment, just enough to rub on our bodies.'\n'Take some,' says Kubja, and giving it to Krishna and Balarama, she allows\nthem to rub it on their bodies. When they have finished, Krishna takes her\nunder the chin, lifts her head and at the same time, presses her feet down\nwith his toes. In this way he straightens her back, thereby changing her\ninto the loveliest of girls. Filled with love and gratitude, Kubja catches\nKrishna by the dress and begs him to come and visit her. Krishna promises\nto go later and smilingly dismisses her.\n\nKrishna now reaches the gate where the bow of Siva 'as long as three palm\ntrees' and very heavy, is being guarded by soldiers. He picks it up, bends\nit to the full and breaks it in pieces. When the guards attack him, he\nkills them and presently slaughters all the reinforcements which Kansa\nsends. When the battle is over, he strolls calmly back to the cowherds'\ntents.[33]\n\nNext day, Krishna and the cowherds enter Mathura to attend the sports.\nKrishna is obstructed by a giant elephant, attacks it and after a great\nfight kills it. He and Balarama then extract the tusks and parade with\nthem in the arena. It is now the turn of Kansa's wrestlers. Their leader,\nChanura, dares Krishna to give Kansa a little amusement by wrestling with\nhim. Krishna takes him at his word and again after a fierce combat leaves\nthe wrestler dead on the ground.[34] At the same time, Balarama attacks and\nkills a second wrestler, Mustaka. When other wrestlers strive to kill\nKrishna and Balarama, they also are dispatched. Seeing first one and then\nanother plan go astray, Kansa orders his remaining demons to fetch\nVasudeva, Devaki and Ugrasena, declaring that after he has killed them he\nwill put the two young men to death. This declaration seals his fate. In a\nflash Krishna slays Kansa's demons and then, leaping on the dais where\nKansa is sitting, he seizes him by the hair and hurls him to the ground.\nKansa is killed and all Mathura rejoices. Kansa's eight demon brothers are\nthen slain and only when Krishna has dragged Kansa's body to the river\nJumna and is sure that not a single demon is left do he and Balarama\ndesist from fighting.\n\n[Footnote 31: Note 7.]\n\n[Footnote 32: Plate 16.]\n\n[Footnote 33: Plate 16.]\n\n[Footnote 34: Plate 17.]\n\n\n\n\nIV\n\nTHE _BHAGAVATA PURANA_: THE PRINCE\n\n\n\n(i) The Return to Court\n\n\nThe death of Kansa brings to a close the first phase of Krishna's career.\nHis primary aim has now been accomplished. The tyrant whose excesses have\nfor so long vexed the righteous is dead. Earth's prayer has been granted.\nKrishna has reached, in fact, a turning-point in his life and on what he\nnow decides the rest of his career depends. If he holds that his earthly\nmission is ended, he must quit his mortal body, resume his sublime\ncelestial state and once again become the Vishnu whose attributes have\nbeen praised by Akrura when journeying to Brindaban. If, on the other\nhand, he regards his mission as still unfulfilled, is he to return to\nBrindaban or should he remain instead at Mathura? At Brindaban, his foster\nparents, Nanda and Yasoda, his friends the cowherds and his loves the\ncowgirls long for his return. He has spent idyllic days in their company.\nHe has saved them from the dangers inherent in forest life. He has kept a\nhost of demon marauders at bay. At the same time, his magnetic charms have\naroused the most intense devotion. If he returns, it will be to dwell with\npeople who have doted on him as a child, adored him as a youth and who\nlove him as a man. On the other hand, Mathura, it is clear, has also\nstrong claims. Although reared and bred among the cowherds, Krishna is, in\nfact, a child of Mathura. Although smuggled from the prison immediately\nafterwards, it was in Mathura that he left his mother's womb. His true\nfather is Vasudeva, a leader of the Yadava nobility and member of the\nMathura ruling caste. His true mother, Devaki, is related to the Mathura\nroyal family. If his youth and infancy have been passed among the\ncowherds, this was due to special reasons. His father's substitution of\nhim at birth for Yasoda's baby daughter was dictated by the dire perils\nwhich would have confronted him had he remained with his mother. It was,\nat most, a desperate expedient for saving his life and although the\ntyrant's unremitting search for the child who was to kill him prolonged\nhis stay in Brindaban, his transportation there was never intended as a\npermanent arrangement. A deception has been practised. Nanda and Yasoda\nregard and believe Krishna to be their son. None the less there has been\nno formal adoption and it is Vasudeva and Devaki who are his parents.\n\nIt is this which decides the issue. As one who by birth and blood belongs\nto Mathura, Krishna can hardly desert it now that the main obstacle to his\nreturn--the tyrant Kansa--has been removed. His plain duty is to his\nparents and his castemen. Painful therefore as the severance must be, he\ndecides to abandon the cowherds and see them no more. He is perhaps\nfortified in his decision by the knowledge that even in his relations with\nthe cowgirls a climax has been reached. A return would merely repeat their\nnightly ecstasies, not achieve a fresh experience. Finally although Kansa\nhimself has been killed, his demon allies are still at large. Mathura and\nKrishna's kinsmen, the Yadavas, are far from safe. He can hardly desert\nthem until their interests have been permanently safeguarded and by then\nhe will have become a feudal princeling, the very reverse of the young\ncowherd who night after night has thrilled the cowgirls with his flute.\n\nFollowing the tyrant's death, then, a train of complicated adjustments are\nset in motion. The first step is to re-establish Krishna with his true\nparents who are still in jail where the tyrant has confined them. Krishna\naccordingly goes to visit them, frees them from their shackles and stands\nbefore them with folded hands. For an instant Vasudeva and Devaki know\nthat Krishna is God and that in order to destroy demons he has come on\nearth. They are about to worship him when Krishna dispels this knowledge\nand they look on him and Balarama as their sons. Then Krishna addresses\nthem. For all these long years Vasudeva and Devaki have known that Krishna\nand Balarama were their children and have suffered accordingly. It was not\nKrishna's fault that he and Balarama were placed in Nanda's charge. Yet\nalthough parted from their mother, they have never forgotten her. It pains\nthem to think that they have done so little to make her happy, that they\nhave never had her society and have wasted their time with strangers. And\nhe reminds them that in the world only those who serve their fathers and\nmothers obtain power. Vasudeva and Devaki are greatly touched by Krishna's\nwords. Their former woe vanishes and they embrace Krishna and Balarama\nfondly.\n\nHaving acknowledged Vasudeva and Devaki as his true parents, Krishna has\nnow to adjust his social position. Since Nanda and the cowherds belong to\na lower caste than that of Vasudeva and the other Yadavas, Krishna and\nBalarama, who have eaten and drunk with the cowherds and have been brought\nup with them, are not true members of the Yadava community. The family\npriest is accordingly consulted and it is decided that a ceremony for\nadmitting them into caste must be performed. This is done and Krishna and\nBalarama are given the customary sacred threads. They are now no longer\ncowherds but true Yadavas. At the same time they are given a spiritual\npreceptor who instructs them in the sacred texts and manuals of learning.\nWhen they have finished the course, they express their gratitude by\nrestoring to him his dead son who has been drowned in the sea.\n\nOne further obligation springs from their new position. We have seen how\nin the epic, the _Mahabharata_, Krishna stands in a special relation to\nthe Pandavas, the faction which emerges victorious from the great feud.\nThe mother of the Pandavas is called Kunti and it is Kunti who is the\nsister of Krishna's father, Vasudeva. Since he is now with his true\nfather, rumours concerning Kunti reach Krishna and he learns that along\nwith her sons, the five Pandavas, she is being harassed by the Kaurava\nking, the blind Dhritarashtra, egged on by his son, the evil Duryodhana.\nBeing now a part of his father's family, Krishna can hardly be indifferent\nto the fate of so intimate a relative. Akrura, the leading Yadava\ndiplomat, whom the tyrant had employed to bring Krishna to Mathura, is\naccordingly despatched on yet another mission. He is to visit the Kauravas\nand Pandavas, ascertain the facts, console Krishna's aunt, Kunti, and then\nreturn and report. Akrura reaches the Kauravas' capital and discovers that\nthe rumours are only too correct. Relations between the two families are\nstrained to breaking point. The blind king is at the mercy of his son,\nDuryodhana, and it is the latter who is ceaselessly harrying Kunti and her\nsons. A little later, as we have already seen, a final attempt on their\nlives will be made, they will be induced to sleep in a new house, the\nhouse will be fired and only by a fortunate chance will the Pandavas\nescape to the forest and dwell in safety. This, however, is in the future\nand for the moment Kunti and her sons are still at court. Akrura assures\nKunti of Krishna's abiding concern and returns to Mathura. Krishna and\nBalarama are perturbed to hear his news, deliberate on whether to\nintervene, but decide for the moment to do nothing.\n\nThe second adjustment which Krishna has now to make is to reconcile the\ncowherds to his permanent departure from them and to wean them from their\npassionate adherence to his presence. This is much more difficult. We have\nseen how on the journey to Mathura, Krishna has been accompanied by Nanda\nand the cowherds and how during the closing struggle with the tyrant they\nalso have been present. When the fight is finally over, they prepare to\ndepart, taking it for granted that Krishna and Balarama will come with\nthem. Krishna has therefore to disillusion Nanda. He breaks the news to\nhim that it is not he and Yasoda who are actually his parents but Vasudeva\nand Devaki. He loads Nanda with jewels and costly dresses and thanks him\nagain and again for all his loving care. He then explains that he has now\nto stay in Mathura for a time to meet his castemen, the Yadavas. Nanda is\ngreatly saddened by the news. The cowherds strive to dissuade him but\nKrishna is adamant. He retains a few cowherds with him, but the rest\nreturn to Brindaban, Krishna promising that after a time he will visit\nthem. On arrival Nanda strives in vain to console Yasoda and is forced to\ntell her that Krishna has now acknowledged Vasudeva as his true father,\nthat he has probably left Brindaban for good and that his own early\nintuition that Krishna was God is correct. Yasoda, as she thinks of her\nlost 'son,' is overwhelmed with grief, but recovers when she realizes that\nactually he is God. As to the cowgirls, their grief is endless as they\nrecall Krishna's heart-ensnaring charms.\n\nSuch a step is obviously only the first move in what must necessarily be a\nlong and arduous operation. Finding it impossible to say outright that he\nwill never see them again, Krishna has committed himself to paying the\ncowherds a visit. Yet he realizes that nothing can be gained by such a\nstep since, if his future lies with the princely Yadavas, any mingling\nwith the cowherds will merely disrupt this final role. Yet clearly he\ncannot just abandon his former associates without any regard at all for\ntheir proper feelings. Weaning is necessary, and it must above all be\ngradual. He decides, therefore, that since he himself cannot go, someone\nmust be sent on his behalf. Accordingly, he instructs a friend, Udho, to\ngo to Brindaban, meet the cowherds and make excuses for his absence. At\nthe same time, he must urge the cowgirls to give up regarding Krishna as\ntheir lover but worship him as God. Udho is accordingly dressed in\nKrishna's clothes, thereby making him appear a real substitute and is\ndespatched in Krishna's chariot.\n\nWhen Udho arrives, he finds Nanda and Yasoda still lamenting Krishna's\nabsence and the cowgirls still longing for him as their lover. He begs\nthem to regard Krishna as God--as someone who is constantly near those who\nlove him even if he cannot be seen. Krishna, he says, has forbidden them\nto hope for any further impassioned ecstasies and now requires them to\noffer him their devotion only. If they do penance and meditate, Krishna\nwill never leave them. From the day they commenced thinking of him, none\nhave been so much loved as they. 'As earth, wind, water, fire, rain dwell\nin the body, so Krishna dwells in you; but through the influence of his\ndelusive power seems to be apart.' Udho's pleading shocks and embitters\nthe cowgirls. 'How can he talk to us like that?' they ask. 'It is\nKrishna's body that we adore, not some invisible idea high up in the sky.\nHow has Krishna suddenly become invisible and imperceptible, a being\nwithout qualities and form, when all along he has delighted us with his\nphysical charms. As to penance and meditation, these concern widows. What\nwoman does penance while her husband is alive? It is all the doing of\nKubja, the girl of Mathura whose charms have captivated Krishna. Were it\nnot for Kubja and other beauties of Mathura, Krishna would now be with us\nin Brindaban. Had we known he would not return, we would never have let\nhim go.' In such words they repudiate Udho's message, upbraid Krishna for\nhis fickle conduct and demonstrate with what intensity they still adore\nhim.\n\nUdho is reduced to silence and can only marvel at the cowgirls' bliss in\nabandoning everything to think only of Krishna. Finally they send Krishna\nthe message--that if he really desires them to abandon loving him with\ntheir bodies and resort to penance, he himself must come and show them how\nto do it. Unless he comes, they will die of neglect.\n\nA few days later, Udho returns to Mathura bringing with him milk and\nbutter as presents to Krishna from Nanda and Yasoda and escorting Rohini,\nVasudeva's other wife and Balarama's mother. He gives Krishna the\ncowgirls' message and reports how all Brindaban longs for his return.\n'Great King,' he says, 'I cannot tell you how they love you. You are their\nlife. Night and day they think of you. Their love for you is complete as\nperfect worship. I gave them your advice concerning penance, but I have\nlearnt from them perfect adoration. They will only be content when they\nsee and touch you again.' Krishna listens and is silent. It is clear that\nefforts at weaning the cowgirls from him have so far failed and something\nfurther must be attempted.\n\nYet his resolve to sever all connections with his former life remains and\nit is perhaps symbolic of his purpose that he now recalls the hunch-back\ngirl, Kubja, takes Udho with him and in a single ecstatic visit becomes\nher lover. As he reaches her house, the girl greets him with delight,\ntakes him inside and seats him on a couch of flowers. Udho stays outside\nand then while Krishna waits, the girl quickly bathes, scents herself,\ncombs her hair and changes her dress. Then 'with gaiety and endearment'\nshe approaches Krishna. Krishna, however, takes her by the hand and\nplaces her near him. Their passions rise and the two achieve the utmost\nbliss. Krishna then leaves her, rejoins Udho and 'blushing and smiling'\nreturns home.\n\nThe third step which Krishna must take is to deal with the political and\nmilitary situation which has arisen from the slaying of the tyrant. We\nhave seen how Kansa, although actually begotten by a demon was officially\na son of Ugrasena, the king of Mathura, and as one of his many demon acts,\nhad dethroned his father and seized the kingdom for himself. Ugrasena is\nstill alive and the obvious course, therefore, is to reinstate him on the\nthrone. Ugrasena, however, is unwilling to assume power and he and the\nother Yadavas implore Krishna to accept the title for himself. Krishna,\nhowever, has no desire to become king. He therefore overcomes Ugrasena's\nhesitations and in due course the latter is enthroned.\n\nThis settles the succession problem, but almost immediately a graver issue\narises. During his reign of terror, Kansa had made war on Jarasandha, king\nof Magadha. He had defeated him but as part of the peace terms had taken\ntwo of his daughters as queens. These have now been widowed by his death\nand repairing to their father's court, they rail bitterly against Krishna\nand beg their father to avenge their husband's death. Jarasandha, although\na former rival of Kansa, is also a demon and can therefore summon to his\naid a number of demon allies. Great armies are accordingly mobilized.\nMathura is surrounded and the Yadavas are in dire peril. Krishna and\nBalarama, however, are undismayed. They attack the foes single-handed and\nby dint of their supernatural powers, utterly rout them. Jarasandha is\ncaptured but released so that he may return to the attack and even more\ndemons may then be slaughtered. He returns in all seventeen times, is\nvanquished on each occasion but returns once more. This time he is aided\nby another demon, Kalayavana, and seeing the constant strain of such\nattacks, Krishna decides to evacuate the Yadavas and settle them at a new\nbase. He commissions the divine architect, Visvakarma, to build a new city\nin the sea. This is done in one night, the city is called Dwarka[35] and\nthere the Yadavas with all their goods are transported. When this has been\ndone, Krishna and Balarama trick the demons. They pretend to be utterly\ndefeated, retreat from Mathura and in despair ascend a tall hill. The\ndemon armies surround them and there appears to be no possible way of\nescape. Jarasandha orders wood to be brought from the surrounding towns\nand villages, piled up round the hill, saturated with oil and then set\nfire to. A vast flame shoots up. The whole hill is ablaze but Krishna and\nBalarama slip out unseen, take the road to Mathura and finally reach\nDwarka. When the hill is reduced to ashes, Jarasandha concludes that\nKrishna and Balarama have perished. He advances to Mathura, occupies the\nempty town, proclaims his authority and returns to Magadha.\n\n[Footnote 35: Dwarka is sited on the western seaboard, 300 miles north-west\nof Bombay.]\n\n\n\n(ii) Marriages and Offspring\n\n\nThe immediate position, then, is that Krishna has abandoned his life among\nthe cowherds, has been accepted as a Yadava, has coped with the difficult\nand dangerous situation arising from the tyrant king's death and finally\nhas saved the Yadavas from extinction by demons. This, however, has meant\nthe abandonment of Mathura and the movement of the Yadavas to a new city,\nDwarka. The same problem, therefore, which faced him earlier, confronts\nhim once again. Having obtained immunity for the Yadavas and brought them\nto a new land, can Krishna now regard his mission as accomplished? Or must\nhe linger on earth still longer? The answer can hardly be in doubt; for\nalthough the Yadavas appear to be installed in good surroundings, demon\nhordes still range the world. The tyrant Kansa was only the worst and most\npowerful member of the demon hosts. The war with Jarasandha has rid the\nworld of many demons, but vast numbers remain and until their ranks have\nbeen appreciably reduced, Krishna's mission will be unfulfilled. Only one\ncourse of action, therefore, is possible. He must accept a permanent\nposition in Yadava society, live as an honoured noble, a prince of the\nblood royal and as occasion warrants continue to intervene in the struggle\nbetween the good and the bad.\n\nSuch a decision is taken and Krishna installs himself at Dwarka. Before he\ncan fulfil his duties as an adult member of the race, however, certain\npreliminaries are necessary and among them is the important issue of his\nmarriage. Both he and Balarama require wives and the question is how are\nthey to get them. Balarama's problem is easily settled by a marriage to\nRevati, a princess. Krishna's, on the other hand, is less straightforward\nand he is still undecided when news is brought that the Raja of Kundulpur\nhas a daughter of matchless loveliness, her name Rukmini. Her eyes, it was\nsaid, were like a doe's, her complexion like a flower, her face dazzling\nas the moon. Rukmini in turn has overheard some beggars reciting Krishna's\nexploits, has fallen in love with his image and is at once delighted and\ndisturbed. In this way each is fascinated by the other. Almost\nimmediately, however, a crisis occurs. Rukmini's brother, Rukma, urges her\nfather to marry her to a rival, Sisupala. Krishna's claims as Vishnu\nincarnate are advanced in vain and he is ridiculed as being just a\ncowherd. Against his better judgment her father acquiesces and\narrangements for a wedding with Sisupala go forward. Rukmini now takes the\ndaring step of sending a message to Krishna, declaring her love and asking\nhim to save her. Krishna reads it with delight. He at once leaves for\nKundulpur, finding it gay with flags and banners, golden spires and\nwreaths of flowers. Sisupala has arrived, but in addition, there is\nKrishna's old enemy, Jarasandha, encamped with an army of demons. Rukmini\nis in despair until she learns that Krishna also has arrived. A little\nlater Balarama reaches the scene, bringing with him an army. Sisupala is\ndismayed at his arrival and both sides watch each other's movements. The\nwedding day now dawns and Rukmini, guarded by Sisupala's soldiers, goes\noutside the city to worship at a shrine to Devi.[36] As she nears the\nshrine, Krishna suddenly appears. Rukmini gazes with adoration at him. He\nsprings among the soldiers, lifts her into his chariot and rushes her\naway.\n\nThis summary abduction is more than Sisupala can bear. Troops career after\nKrishna. Armies engage. A vast battle ensues. As they fight, Rukmini looks\ntimorously on. At last, Balarama vanquishes the demon hosts, 'as a white\nelephant scatters lotuses.' Sisupala and Jarasandha flee, but Rukmini's\nevil brother, Rukma, returns to the fray, strives feverishly to kill\nKrishna, fails and is taken captive. His life is spared at Rukmini's\nbehest, but he is led away, his hands tied behind his back and his\nmoustaches shaven off. Balarama intercedes and effects his release and\nRukma goes away to brood on his discomfiture and plot revenge. Krishna now\nreturns to Dwarka in triumph, is given a rapturous welcome and a little\nlater celebrates his marriage with full ritual. 'Priests recited the\nVedas, Krishna circled round with Rukmini. Drums resounded. The delighted\ngods rained down flowers; demi-gods, saints, bards and celestial musicians\nwere all spectators from the sky.'\n\nHaving married Rukmini, Krishna has now the full status of a grown prince.\nBut he is nothing if not supernormal; and just as earlier in his career he\nhas showered his affection on a host of cowgirls, he now acquires a whole\nsuccession of further wives. The first is Jambhavati, the second\nSatyabhama. Satyabhama's father is a certain Sattrajit who has obtained\nfrom the sun the boon of a jewel. The jewel flashes with light and Krishna\nadvises him to surrender it to King Ugrasena. The man refuses; whereupon\nhis brother seizes it and goes away to the forest. Here a lion pounces\nupon him, devours the man and his horse and hides the jewel. The lion is\nthen killed by a bear who centuries earlier had served with Vishnu's\nearlier incarnation, Rama, during his campaign against the demon king of\nLanka.[37] The bear carries away the jewel and gives it to its mate. When\nSattrajit hears that his brother is missing, he concludes that Krishna has\ncaused his death and starts a whispering campaign, accusing Krishna of\nmaking away with the jewel. Krishna hears of the slander and at once\ndecides to search for the missing man, recover the jewel and thus silence\nhis accuser for ever. As he goes through the forest, Krishna finds a cave\nwhere the dead lion is lying. He enters it, grapples with the bear but is\nquickly recognized by the bear as Krishna himself. The bear bows before\nhim and begs him to accept his daughter Jambhavati in marriage. He\nincludes the jewel as part of the dowry. Krishna marries the girl and\nreturns. Back at the court he upbraids Sattrajit for falsely accusing him.\n'I did not take the jewel,' he says. 'The bear took it. Now he has given\nthe jewel to me and also his daughter. Take back your jewel and be\nsilent.' Sattrajit is overwhelmed with shame and by way of amends gives\nKrishna his own daughter, Satyabhama. Krishna marries her and Sattrajit\nbegs him to take the jewel also. Krishna refuses and the jewel remains\nwith its owner. A little later, Sattrajit is murdered and the jewel once\nagain stolen. The murderer thief is tracked down by Krishna and killed,\nbut only after many delays is the jewel at last recovered from Akrura--the\nleading Yadava who earlier in the story has acted first as Raja Kansa's\nenvoy to Krishna and later as Krishna's envoy to Kunti. Krishna orders him\nto return it to its owner, Sattrajit's grandson. Akrura places it at\nKrishna's feet and Krishna gives it to Satyabhama. The upshot, then, is\nthat the slander is ended, the jewel is regained and in the process\nKrishna acquires two further wives.\n\nThese extra marriages, however, by no means end the tally of his consorts,\nfor during a visit to his relatives, the Pandavas, now returned from exile\nand for the moment safely reinstalled in their kingdom, he sees a lovely\ngirl, Kalindi, wandering in the forest. She is the daughter of the sun and\nhas been sent to dwell by a river until her appointed bridegroom, Krishna,\narrives to claim her. Krishna is delighted with her youth, places her in\nhis chariot and on his return to Dwarka, celebrates their wedding. A\nlittle later other girls are married to him, in many cases only after a\nfierce struggle with demons. In this way, he obtains eight queens, at the\nsame time advancing his prime purpose of ridding the world of demons.\n\nAt this point, the _Purana_ embarks on an episode which, at first sight,\nappears to have very little to do with its main subject. In fact, however,\nits relevance is great for, as a consequence, Krishna the prince acquires\nas many female companions as he had enjoyed as a youth. The episode begins\nwith Earth again appearing in heaven. Having successfully engineered\nKrishna's birth, she does special penance and again beseeches the supreme\nTrinity to grant her a boon. This boon is a son who will never be equalled\nand who will never die. Brahma, Vishnu and Siva agree to give her a son,\nNaraka, but on the following conditions: he will conquer all the kings of\nthe earth, rout the gods in the sky, carry off the earrings of Aditi (the\nmother of the gods), wear them himself, take the canopy of Indra and place\nit over his own head and finally, collect together but not marry sixteen\nthousand one hundred virgin daughters of different kings. Krishna will\nthen attack him and at Earth's own behest, will kill Naraka and take to\nDwarka all the imprisoned girls. Earth says, 'Why should I ever tell\nanyone to kill my own son?' and is silent. None the less the boon is\ngranted, the conditions are in due course fulfilled and after a furious\nencounter with Naraka at his city of Pragjyotisha,[38] Krishna is once\nagain victorious. During the battle, Muru or Mura, the arch demon, aided\nby seven sons, strenuously defends the city. Krishna kills him by cutting\noff his five heads but has then to resist whole armies of demons assembled\nby the sons. When these also have been destroyed, Krishna meets Naraka and\nafter a vicious contest finally kills him, recovering in consequence the\nearrings of Aditi and the canopy of Indra. Naraka's palace is then opened\nand reveals the bevy of imprisoned girls. As they gaze on Krishna, their\nreactions are reminiscent of the cowgirls'. They implore Krishna to take\nthem away and allow them to lavish on him their impassioned love. Krishna\nagrees, chariots are sent for and the vast concourse of passion-stricken\ngirls is transported to Dwarka. Here Krishna marries them, showering\naffection on each of the sixteen thousand and one hundred 'and displaying\nunceasing love for his eight queens.'\n\nSuch an incident revives an aspect of Krishna's early character which up\nto the present has been somewhat obscured by other events. Besides slaying\ndemons he has all along been sensitive to feminine needs, arousing in\nwomen passionate adoration and at the same time fulfilling the most\nintense of their physical desires. It is these qualities which\ncharacterize his later career.\n\nHaving on one occasion given Rukmini, his first consort, a flower of the\nheavenly wishing tree,[39] Krishna finds that he has aroused the jealousy\nof his third consort, Satyabhama. To please her, he accordingly undertakes\nto get for her not merely a flower or branch but the tree itself. He\ntherefore goes to Vaikuntha, the paradise of Vishnu, and takes the\nopportunity to return the earrings of Aditi and place the canopy over the\nlord of the gods. He then sends a message to Indra asking for the tree.\nIndra as the tree's custodian recalls his former discomfiture in Brindaban\nwhen Krishna had abolished his worship and venerated the hill Govardhana\nin his place. Despite his subsequent surrender to Krishna, and abject\nworship of him, Indra is still incensed and bluntly refuses. Krishna then\ngoes to the tree, wounds its guardians and bears the tree away. Indra is\ntempted to do battle but realizing Krishna's superior power calls off his\nhosts. Back in Dwarka, Krishna instals the tree in Satyabhama's palace but\nreturns it to Indra a year later.\n\nOn another occasion, Krishna and Rukmini are making love on a golden bed\nin a palace bedecked with gems. The sheets are white as foam and are\ndecorated with flowers. Pictures have been painted on the walls and every\naid to pleasure has been provided. Rukmini is lovelier than ever, while\nKrishna, 'the root of joy,' dazzles her with a face lovely as the moon, a\nskin the colour of clouds, a peacock crown, a long garland of flowers and\na scarf of yellow silk. As he lies, he is 'the sea of beauty, the light of\nthe three worlds.' After making love, Krishna suddenly asks Rukmini why\nshe preferred him to Sisupala. He points out that he is not a king and is\ntherefore quite unworthy of her, that since he has rescued her from\nSisupala, her wish has been accomplished and it is best that she should\nnow leave him and marry a prince of the royal blood who will be worthy of\nher name. Rukmini is stunned at the suggestion. She collapses on the\nfloor, her hair obscuring her lovely face. Krishna raises her up, sits her\non his knees, and strokes her cheeks. When at length Rukmini revives,\nKrishna hastens to explain that he was only jesting and that in view of\nher deep love he will never abandon her. Rukmini assures him that nowhere\nin the world is there Krishna's equal. The beggars who recited his praises\nand from whom she first heard his name, were in fact Brahma and Siva. All\nthe gods revere him. To adore him is the only joy. Those who love Krishna\nalone are happy. If blinded by pride a man forgets him, Krishna abases\nhim. It was because Rukmini besought his compassion that Krishna has loved\nher. Hearing her simple sincerity, Krishna is greatly moved and says,\n'Love of my heart, you know me through and through. You have given\nyourself to me, adored me and known my love. I shall love you always.'\nRukmini hears him with deep contentment and the two make love.\n\nSuch a declaration however is not intended to imply a cold neglect of his\nother wives for it is part of Krishna's role that he should please and\nsatisfy all. Accordingly, when Narada, the sage, makes one of his\nrecurring appearances--this time in order to investigate how Krishna\ncontrives to keep happy so vast a concourse of women--he finds Krishna\neverywhere. With Rukmini he reclines at ease, with Jambhavati he plays\ndice, at Satyabhama's house, he is having his body rubbed with oil, at\nKalindi's, he is asleep. In this way, wherever Narada goes, he finds\nKrishna with one or other of his queens. In fact, the same 'delusive'\npowers which he had earlier employed when dancing with the\ncowgirls--making each believe he was dancing with her and her alone--are\nnow being used to satisfy his wives.\n\nIn this way Krishna continues to live. Sometimes his wives caress his\nbody, ply him with delicacies or swathe him in perfumed garments.\nSometimes to ease their passion they make little figures of him or let\nthemselves be dressed by him. One night they go with him to a tank and\nthere make love in the water. Everything in the scene reminds them of\ntheir love and they address first a _chakai_ bird. 'O _chakai_ bird, when\nyou are parted from your mate, you spend the whole night sadly calling and\nnever sleeping. Speak to us of your beloved. We are Krishna's\nslave-girls.' They speak to the sea. 'O sea, you lie awake night and day,\nheaving sighs. Do you grieve for a loved one who is far away?' Then they\nsee the moon. 'O moon, why do you grow thin? Are you also filled with\nlonging? Are you fascinated by Krishna?' In this way they address birds,\nhills and rivers, seeking from each some consolation for their frenzied\nlove.\n\nIn due course, each of the sixteen thousand one hundred and eight bears\nKrishna ten sons and one daughter and each is beautiful as himself.\n\n[Footnote 36: Plate 18.]\n\n[Footnote 37: Lanka--modern Ceylon.]\n\n[Footnote 38: Note 12.]\n\n[Footnote 39: A sight of the heavenly wishing-tree, the _kalpa_ or\n_parijata_, which grew in Indra's heaven, was believed to make the old\nyoung.]\n\n\n\n(iii) Last Phases\n\n\nThis gradual expansion of his marital state takes Krishna even farther\nfrom the adoring loves of his youth, the cowgirls of Brindaban. Indeed for\nmonths on end it is as if he has dismissed them from his mind. One day he\nand Balarama are sitting together when Balarama reminds him of their\npromise that after staying for a time in Mathura they will assuredly visit\nthem. Krishna, it is clear, cannot go himself, but Balarama is less\nimpeded and with Krishna's approval, he takes a ploughshare and pestle,\nmounts a chariot and speeds on his way.\n\nAs he nears Brindaban, the familiar scenes greet him. The cowherds and\ncowgirls come into view, but instead of joy there is general despair. The\ncows low and pant, rejecting the grass. The cowherds are still discussing\nKrishna's deeds and the cowgirls cannot expel him from their minds. As\nBalarama enters their house, Nanda and Yasoda weep with joy. Balarama is\nplied with questions about Krishna's welfare and when he answers that all\nis well, Yasoda describes the darkness that has descended on them since\nthe joy of their hearts left. Balarama now meets the cowgirls. Their hair\nis disordered, they are no longer neat and smart. Their minds are not in\ntheir work and despite Krishna's absence, they are filled with passionate\nlongings and frenzied desires. Some of them marvel at Krishna's love and\ncount it good even to have known him. Others bitterly upbraid Krishna for\ndeserting them. Balarama explains that his visit is to show them that\nKrishna has not entirely forgotten them and as proof he offers to re-enact\nthe circular dance and himself engage with them as lover.\n\nIn this way the circular dance is once again performed. The full moon\npours down, the cowgirls deck themselves and songs rise in the air. Flutes\nand drums play and in the midst of the throng Balarama sings and dances,\nclasping the cowgirls to him, making love and rousing them to ecstasy.\nNight after night the dance is performed, while each day Balarama comforts\nNanda and Yasoda with news of Krishna. One night as his visit is ending,\nhe feels exhausted and commands the river Jumna to change its course and\nbathe him with its water. The Jumna fails to comply, so Balarama draws the\nriver towards him with his plough and bathes in its stream. From that time\non, the Jumna's course is changed. His exhaustion now leaves him and he\ngratifies the cowgirls with fresh passion. With this incident his visit\nends. He bids farewell to Nanda, Yasoda and the cowgirls and leaving the\nforest returns to Dwarka.\n\nKrishna's relations with the cowgirls are now completely ended, but on one\nlast occasion he happens to meet them. News has come that the sun will\nsoon be eclipsed and accordingly, Krishna and Balarama take the Yadavas on\npilgrimage. They choose a certain holy place, Kurukshetra, and assembling\nall their queens and wives, make the slow journey to it. When they\narrive, a festival is in progress. They bathe and make offerings. While\nthey are still encamped, other kings come in, including the Pandavas and\nKauravas. With them are their wives and families and Kunti, the mother of\nthe Pandavas, is thus enabled to meet once more her brother, Vasudeva, the\nfather of Krishna. A little later, Nanda and Yasoda along with the\ncowherds and cowgirls also arrive. They have come on the same pilgrimage\nand finding Krishna there, at once throng to see him. Vasudeva greets his\nold friend, Nanda, and recalls the now long-distant days when Krishna had\nlived with him in his house. Krishna and Balarama greet Nanda and Yasoda\nwith loving respect, while the cowgirls are excited beyond description.\nKrishna however refuses to regard them and faced with their ardent looks\nand impassioned adoration, addresses to them the following sermon.\n'Whoever believes in me shall be fearlessly carried across the sea of\nlife. You gave me your bodies, minds and wealth. You loved me with a love\nthat knew no limit. No one has been so fortunate as you--neither Brahma\nnor Indra, neither any other god nor any man. For all along I have been\nliving in you, loving you with a love that has never faltered. I live in\neveryone. What I say to you cannot easily be understood, but as light,\nwater, fire, earth and air abide in the body, so does my glory.' To the\ncowgirls such words strike chill. But there is nothing they can say and\nwhen the festival is over, Krishna and the Yadavas return to Dwarka, while\nNanda with the cowherds and cowgirls go back to Brindaban. This is the\nlast time Krishna sees them.\n\nThis dismissal reveals how final is Krishna's severance from his former\nlife, yet provided the cowherds are not involved, he is quick to honour\nearlier relationships. One day in Dwarka his mother, Devaki, tells him\nthat she has a private grief--grief at the loss of the six elder brothers\nof Krishna slain by the tyrant Kansa. Krishna tells her not to mourn,\ndescends to the third of the three worlds, interviews its ruler, Raja\nBali, and effects the release of the six brothers. Returning with them, he\ngives them to his mother and her joy is great.\n\nOn another occasion he is visited by Sudama, a Brahman who had lived with\nhim, when, after slaying the tyrant, he and Balarama had gone for\ninstruction to their spiritual preceptor. Since then Sudama has grown thin\nand poor. The thatch on his hut has tumbled down. He has nothing to eat.\nHis wife is alarmed at their abject state and advises him to seek out\nKrishna, his chief friend. 'If you go to him,' she says, 'our poverty will\nend because it is he who grants wealth and virtue, fulfils desires and\nbestows final happiness.' Sudama replies that even Krishna does not give\nanyone anything without that person giving him something first. As he has\nnot given, how can he hope to receive? His wife then ties up a little rice\nin an old white cloth and gives it to Sudama as a present to Krishna.\nSudama sets out. On reaching Dwarka, he is admitted to Krishna's presence,\nis immediately recognized and is treated with the utmost kindness and\nrespect. Krishna himself washes his feet and reveres him as a Brahman.[40]\n'Brother,' he says, 'from the time you quitted our preceptor's house, I\nhave heard nothing of you. Your coming has purified my house and made me\nhappy.' Krishna then notices the rice and laughingly asks Sudama what\npresent his wife has sent him and why it is hidden under his arm. Sudama\nis greatly abashed but allows Krishna to take the bundle. On taking it,\nKrishna eats the rice. He then conducts Sudama within, feasts him on\ndelicacies and puts him to bed. During the night he sends Visvakarma, the\ndivine architect, to Sudama's home, with instructions to turn it into a\npalace. The next morning Sudama takes leave of Krishna, congratulating\nhimself on not having asked Krishna for anything. As he nears home, he is\ndismayed to find no trace of his hut, but instead a golden palace. He\napproaches the gate-keeper and is told it belongs to Sudama, the friend of\nKrishna. His wife comes out and he finds her dressed in fine clothes and\njewels and attended by maid-servants. She takes him in and at first he is\nabashed at so much wealth. Krishna, he reflects, can only have given it to\nhim because he doubted his affection. He did not ask Krishna for wealth\nand cannot fathom why he has been given it. His wife assures him that\nKrishna knows the thoughts of everyone. Sudama did not ask for wealth, but\nshe herself desired it and that is why Krishna has given it to them.\nSudama is convinced and says no more.\n\nAll these incidents provide a clue to Krishna's nature. They illustrate\nhis attitudes, confirm him in his role as protector and preserver and show\nhim in a new light--that of a guardian and upholder of morality. He is\nstill a fervent lover, but his love is sanctioned and formalized by legal\nmarriage. Moreover, a new respect characterizes his dealings with Brahmans\nand his approach to festivals. Instead of the young revolutionary, we now\nmeet a sage conservative. These changes colour his final career.\n\nAs life at Dwarka runs its course, Krishna's activities centre more and\nmore on wars with demons and his relations with the Pandavas. Despite his\nprowess and renown, demons trouble the Yadavas from time to time, but all\nare killed either by Krishna wielding a magic quoit or by Balarama plying\nhis plough or pestle. On one occasion, a monkey demon runs amok, harassing\nthe people and ravaging the country. He surprises Balarama bathing in a\ntank with his wives, despoils their clothes and defiles their pitchers. A\ngreat combat then ensues, the monkey hurling trees and hills while\nBalarama counters with his plough and pestle. But the outcome is hardly in\ndoubt and at last the monkey is killed.\n\nOn another occasion, Krishna is compelled to intervene in force. Following\nhis marriage with his first queen, Rukmini, a son, Pradyumna has been\nborn. He is no less a person than Kama, the god of love, whom Siva has\nburnt for disturbing his meditations. When grown up, Pradyumna is married\nto a cousin, the daughter of his uncle, Rukma. Rukma has never forgiven\nKrishna for abducting and marrying his sister, Rukmini, and despite their\nintimate alliance is sworn to kill him. His plot is discovered and in a\nfinal contest, Balarama kills him. Meanwhile, Pradyumna has had a son,\nAniruddha, who grows up into a charming youth, while at the same time\nVanasura, a demon with a thousand arms, has a lovely daughter, Usa. When\nUsa is twelve years old, she longs for a husband and in a dream sees and\nembraces Aniruddha. She does not know who he is, but describes him to a\nconfidante. The latter draws pictures of all the leading royalty, and\namong the Yadavas, Usa recognizes her love, Aniruddha. The confidante\nagrees to bring him to her and going through the air to Dwarka, finds him\nsleeping, dreaming of Usa. She transports him to Usa's palace and on\nwaking. Aniruddha finds himself alone with his love. Usa conceals him, but\nthe news reaches her father and he surrounds the palace with his demon\narmy. Aniruddha routs the army but is caught by Vanasura, who then\nimprisons the two young lovers. News now reaches Krishna who rushes an\narmy to the scene. A battle ensues during which Vanasura loses all his\narms save four. He then worships Krishna, and Aniruddha and Usa are\nmarried.\n\nMeanwhile Krishna is carefully maintaining relations with the Pandavas. We\nhave seen how immediately after the slaying of the tyrant he sends an\nenvoy to inquire after his aunt Kunti, the sister of his father, and\nmother of the five Pandavas. We have also noticed how during a visit to\nthe Pandava court, he has acquired a new queen, Kalindi. He now embarks on\nseveral courses of action, each of which is designed to cement their\nrelations. During a visit to his court, Arjuna, the brother whose lucky\nshot won Draupadi for the Pandavas, falls in love with Subhadra, Krishna's\nsister. Krishna is delighted to have him as a brother-in-law and as\nalready narrated in the epic, he advises Arjuna to marry her by capture. A\nlittle later Krishna learns that Yudhisthira will shortly proclaim himself\na 'ruler of the world' and decides to visit the Pandava court to assist at\nthe sacrifice. He takes a vast army with him and advances on the court\nwith massive splendour. As he arrives, he learns that Jarasandha whose\nfeud is unabated has now imprisoned twenty thousand rajas, all of whom cry\nto be released. Krishna decides that Jarasandha's demon activities must be\nended once for all and taking two of the Pandavas with him, Bhima and\nArjuna, he sets out to destroy him. Jarasandha elects to engage Bhima in\nsingle-handed combat and for twenty-seven days the fight proceeds, each\nwielding a club and neither securing the advantage. Krishna now learns\nthat Jarasandha can only be killed if he is split in two. He directs\nBhima, therefore, to throw him down, place a foot on one of his thighs and\ncatching the other leg with his hand, tear him asunder. Bhima does so and\nin this way Jarasandha is destroyed. The captive rajas are now released\nand after returning home they foregather at the Pandavas' court to assist\nat the sacrifice.\n\nAs arrangements proceed an incident occurs which illustrates yet again the\ncomplex situation arising from Krishna's dual character. Krishna is God,\nyet he is also man. Being a man, it is normally as a man that he is\nregarded. Yet from time to time particular individuals sense his Godhead\nand then he is no longer man but God himself. Even those, however, who\nview him as God do so only for brief periods of time and hence the\nsituation is constantly arising in which Krishna is one moment honoured as\nGod and then a moment later is treated as a man. And it is this situation\nwhich now recurs.\n\nAs we have already seen in the epic, part of the custom at imperial\nsacrifices was to offer presents to distinguished guests, and according to\nthe epic the person chosen to receive the first present was Krishna\nhimself. The _Purana_ changes this by substituting gods for guests.\nYudhisthira is uncertain who should be worshipped first. 'Who is the great\nlord of the gods,' he asks, 'to whom we should bow our heads?' To this a\nPandava gives a clear answer. Krishna, he says, is god of gods. 'No one\nunderstands his nature. He is lord of Brahma, Siva and Indra. It is he who\ncreates, preserves and destroys. His work is endless. He is the unseen and\nimperishable. He descends upon the earth continually for the sake of his\nworshippers and assuming mortal form appears and acts like a mortal. He\nsits in our houses and calls us 'brothers.' We are deluded by his power\nand consider him a brother. Yet never have we seen one as great as him.'\nHe speaks in fact as one who, knowing Krishna, has seen, for the moment,\nthe god beyond the man. His vision is shared by the others present.\nKrishna is therefore placed on a throne and before the vast concourse of\nrajas, Yudhisthira worships him.\n\nAmong the guests, however, is one raja to whom the vision is denied. He is\nSisupala, Krishna's rival for the hand of Rukmini, and since Rukmini's\nabduction, his deadly enemy. Krishna's elevation as a god is more than he\ncan stomach and he utters an angry protest. Krishna, he says, is not god\nat all. He is a mere cowherd's son of low caste who has debased himself by\neating the leavings of the cowherds' children and has even been the lover\nof the cowgirls. As a child he was an arrant pilferer, stealing milk and\nbutter from every house, while as a youth he has trifled with other men's\nwives. He has also slighted Indra. Krishna quietly listens to this\noutburst. Then, deeming Sisupala's enmity to have reached its furthest\nlimit, he allows his patience to be exhausted. He reaches for his quoit\nand hurling it through the air, slays Sisupala on the spot. The ceremonies\nare then completed and Krishna leaves for Dwarka. As he nears the city, he\ndiscovers the Yadavas hard pressed by an army of demons. He and Balarama\nintervene. The demons are either killed or put to flight and the Yadavas\nare rescued. When a little later Sisupala's two brothers bring an army\nagainst him, they too are vanquished.\n\nTwelve years now intervene. Yudhisthira in the moment of triumph has\ngambled away his kingdom. The Pandavas have once again been driven into\nexile and the old feud has broken out afresh. As the exile ends, both\nsides prepare for war and Krishna also leaves for the battle. Balarama is\nloath to intervene so goes away on pilgrimage. After various adventures,\nhowever, he also arrives on the scene. As he comes, a series of\nsingle-handed combats is in progress with Krishna and other Rajas looking\non. Duryodhana, the son of blind Dhritarashtra, the king of the Kauravas\nis fighting Bhima, the powerful Pandava and just as Balarama arrives he is\ndealt a foul blow and wounded in the thigh. Balarama is shocked to see so\nmany uncles and cousins involved in strife and begs them to desist.\nDuryodhana replies that it is Krishna who has willed the war and that they\nare as puppets in his hands. It is Krishna who is actively aiding the\nPandavas and the war is only being carried on because of his advice. It is\nKrishna also who has sponsored foul play. Balarama is pained at such\naccusations and strongly criticizes Krishna. Krishna, however, is ready\nwith an answer. The Kauravas, he says, cheated the Pandavas of their\nkingdom by the game of dice. Duryodhana had told Draupadi to sit on his\nthigh and so he deserved to have it broken. So unjust and tyrannical are\nthe Kauravas that any methods used against them are fair. Balarama keeps\nsilent and a little later returns to Dwarka.\n\nThis incident concludes the _Purana's_ references to the war. Nothing is\nsaid of Krishna's sermon--the _Bhagavad Gita_. No mention is made of\nKrishna's role as charioteer to Arjuna. Nothing further is said of its\ndeadly outcome. Krishna's career as a warrior, in fact, is ended and with\nthis episode the _Purana_ enters its final phase.\n\nAs Krishna lives at Dwarka, surrounded by his wives and huge progeny, he\nwearies of his earthly career. By now his mission has been accomplished.\nHordes of demons have been slain, cruel monarchs killed and much of\nEarth's burden lifted. There is no longer any pressing need for him to\nstay and he decides to quit his body and 're-enter with all his emanations\nthe sphere of Vishnu.' To do this, however, the whole of the Yadava race\nmust first be ended.[41] One, day some Yadava boys make fun of certain\nBrahmans. They dress up one of their company as a pregnant girl, take him\nto the Brahmans and innocently inquire what kind of child the woman will\nbring forth. The Brahmans immediately penetrate the disguise and angered\nat the youth's impertinence, they reply, 'A club that will crush the whole\nYadava race.' The boys run to King Ugrasena, relate what has happened and\nare even more alarmed when an iron club is brought forth from the boy's\nbelly. Ugrasena has the club ground to dust and thrown into the sea, where\nits particles become rushes. One part of the club, however, is like a\nlance and does not break. When thrown into the sea, it is swallowed by a\nfish. A hunter catches it and taking the iron spike from its stomach lays\nit aside for future use. It is an arrow made from this particular spike\nwhich a little later will bring about Krishna's death. Similarly it is the\niron rushes which will cause the death of the Yadavas. Already, therefore,\na chain of sinister happenings has been started and from now onwards the\naction moves relentlessly to its grim and tragic close.\n\nAs the final scene unfolds, the gods, headed by Brahma and Siva, approach\nKrishna begging him to return. Krishna tells them that everything is now\nin train and within seven nights he will complete the destruction of the\nYadavas and return to his everlasting home.\n\nSigns portending the destruction of Dwarka now appear. 'A dreadful figure,\ndeath personified, haunts every house, coming and going no one knows how\nand being invulnerable to weapons by which he is assailed. Strong\nhurricanes blow; large rats multiply and infest the roads and houses and\nattack persons in their sleep; starlings scream in their cages, storks\nimitate the hooting of owls and goats the howling of jackals; cows bring\nforth foals and camels mules; food in the moment of being eaten is filled\nwith worms; fire burns with discoloured flames and at sunset and sunrise\nthe air is traversed by headless and hideous spirits.'[42] Krishna draws\nthe Yadavas' attention to these omens and advises them to leave Dwarka and\nmove to Prabhasa, a site farther inland.\n\nUdho, who earlier in the story has acted as Krishna's envoy to the\ncowgirls quickly realizes that the end is near and approaches Krishna for\nadvice. 'Tell me, O Lord, what it is proper I should do. For it is clear\nthat shortly you will destroy the Yadavas.' Krishna then tells him to go\nto a shrine high up in the mountains and by meditating on Krishna obtain\nrelease. He adds minute instructions on the technique of penance and ends\nwith some definitions of the yoga of devotion. He concludes by telling\nUdho that when all the Yadavas have perished, he himself will go to heaven\nand Dwarka will be swallowed by the ocean. Udho bows low and leaves for\nthe mountains.\n\nKrishna now assembles the leading Yadavas and leaving behind only the\nelders, the women and children, escorts them to Prabhasa, a town inland,\nassuring them that by proper worship they may yet avert their fate. At\nPrabhasa the Yadavas bathe and purify themselves, anoint the gods' statues\nand make offerings. They appease the Brahmans with costly gifts--'thereby\ncountering evil omens, gaining the road to happiness and ensuring rebirth\nat a higher level.'\n\nTheir worship however, is of no avail for almost immediately they fall to\ndrinking. 'As they drank, the destructive flame of dissension was kindled\namongst them by mutual collision, and fed with the fuel of abuse.\nInfuriated by the divine influence, they fell upon one another with\nmissile weapons and when these were expended, they had recourse to the\nrushes growing high. The rushes in their hands became like thunderbolts\nand they struck one another with them fatal blows. Krishna interposed to\nprevent them but they thought that he was taking part with each severally,\nand continued the conflict. Krishna then, enraged, took up a handful of\nrushes to destroy them, and the rushes became a club of iron and with this\nhe slew many of the murderous Yadavas; whilst others, fighting fiercely,\nput an end to one another. In a short time, there was not a single Yadava\nleft alive, except the mighty Krishna and Daruka, his charioteer.'[43]\n\nWith the slaughter thus completed, Krishna feels free to leave the earth.\nSuch Yadavas who have been left behind in Dwarka have been spared, but the\ngreater part of the race is dead. He therefore makes ready for his own\ndeparture. Balarama, who has helped Krishna in the brawl, goes to the\nsea-shore, performs yoga and, leaving his body, joins the Supreme Spirit.\nSesha, the white serpent of eternity, issues from his mouth and hymned by\nsnakes and other serpents proceeds to the ocean. 'Bringing an offering of\nrespect, Ocean came to meet him; and then the majestic being, adored by\nattendant snakes entered into the waters of the deep.'[44]\n\nKrishna then seats himself by a fig tree, lays his left leg across his\nright thigh, turns the sole of his foot outwards and assumes one of the\npostures in which abstraction is practised. As he meditates he appears\nlovelier than ever. His eyes flash. The four arms of Vishnu spring from\nhis body. He wears his crown, his sacred thread and garland of flowers. As\nhe sits, glorious and beautiful, the same hunter, who earlier had salvaged\nthe iron spike from the fish, chances to pass by. His arrow is tipped with\na piece of the iron and mistaking Krishna's foot for part of a deer, he\nshoots his arrow and hits it. Approaching the mark, he sees Krishna's four\narms and is horrified to discover whom he has wounded. As he begs\nforgiveness, Krishna grants him liberation and dispatches him to heaven.\n\nDaruka, Krishna's charioteer, now comes in search of his master. Finding\nhim wounded, he is overwhelmed with grief. Krishna tells him to go to\nDwarka and inform the surviving Yadavas what has happened. On receiving\nthe news they must leave Dwarka immediately, for the sea will shortly\nengulf it. They must also place themselves under Arjuna's protection and\ngo to Indraprastha. 'Then the illustrious Krishna having united himself\nwith his own pure, spiritual, inexhaustible and universal spirit abandoned\nhis mortal body.'[45]\n\nDaruka goes mournfully to Dwarka where he breaks the news. Vasudeva with\nhis two wives, Devaki and Rohini, die of grief. Arjuna recovers the bodies\nof Krishna and Balarama and places them on a funeral pyre. Rukmini along\nwith Krishna's seven other queens throw themselves on the flames.\nBalarama's wives, as well as King Ugrasena, also die. Arjuna then appoints\nKrishna's great grandson, Parikshit, to rule over the survivors and, after\nassembling the remaining women and children, removes them from Dwarka and\ntravels slowly away. As they leave, the ocean comes up, swallowing the\ncity and engulfing everything except the temple.\n\n[Footnote 40: Plate 19.]\n\n[Footnote 41: Note 13.]\n\n[Footnote 42: Note 14.]\n\n[Footnote 43: Note 7.]\n\n[Footnote 44: Plate 1 and Note 7.]\n\n[Footnote 45: Plate 2 and Note 7.]\n\n\n\n\n(iv) The _Purana_ Re-considered\n\n\nSuch an account gives us what the _Mahabharata_ epic did not give--a\ndetailed description of Krishna's career. It confirms the epic's view of\nKrishna as a hero and fills in many gaps concerning his life at Dwarka,\nhis relations with the Pandavas, his life as a feudal prince and finally,\nhis death. It makes clear that throughout the story Krishna is an\nincarnation of Vishnu and that his main reason for being born is to aid\nthe good and kill demons. At the same time, it shows him in two important\nnew lights--firstly, as one whose youth was spent among cowherds, in\ncircumstances altogether different from those of a prince and secondly, as\na delightful lover of women, who explores to the full the joys of sexual\nlove. The second role characterizes him both as cowherd and prince but\nwith important differences of attitude and behaviour. As a prince, Krishna\nis wedded first to Rukmini and then to seven other wives, observing on\neach occasion the requisite formalities. Even the sixteen thousand one\nhundred girls whom he rescues from imprisonment receive this formal\nstatus. With all of them Krishna enjoys a variety of sexual pleasures and\ntheir love is moral, respectable and approved. Krishna the prince, in\nfact, is Krishna the husband. Krishna the cowherd, on the other hand, is\nessentially a lover. The cowgirls whose impassioned love he inspires are\nall married and in consorting with them he is breaking one of the most\nsolemn requirements of the moral code. The first relationship has the\nsecure basis of conjugal duty, the second the daring adventurousness of\nromantic passion.\n\nThe same abrupt contrast appears between his character as a cowherd and\nhis character as a prince. As a youth he mixes freely with the cowherds,\nbehaving with an easy naturalness of manner and obtaining from them an\nintense devotion. This devotion is excited by everything he does and\nwhether as a baby crying for the breast, a little boy pilfering butter or\na young man teasing the married girls, he exerts a magnetic charm. At no\ntime does he neglect his prime duty of killing demons but this is\nsubordinated to his innocent delight in living. He is shown as impatient\nwith old and stereotyped forms of worship, as scorning ordinary morality\nand treating love as paramount. Although he acts continually with princely\ndignity and is always aware of his true character as Vishnu, his impact on\nothers is based more on the understanding of their needs than on their\nrecognition of him as God. When, at times, Krishna the cowherd is adored\nas God, he has already been loved as a boy and a young man. In the later\nstory, this early charm is missing. Krishna is frequently recognized to\nbe God and is continually revered and respected as a man. His conduct is\ninvariably resolute but there is a kind of statesmanlike formality about\nhis actions. He is respectful towards ritual, formal observances and\nBrahmans while in comparison with his encounters with the cowgirls his\nrelations with women have an air of slightly stagnant luxury. His wives\nand consorts lavish on him their devotion but the very fact that they are\nmarried removes the romantic element from their relationship.\n\nSuch vital differences are only partially resolved in the _Bhagavata\nPurana_. Representing as they do two different conceptions of Krishna's\ncharacter, it is inevitable that the resulting account should be slightly\nbiased in one direction or the other. The _Bhagavata Purana_ records both\nphases in careful detail blending them into a single organic whole. But\nthere can be little doubt that its Brahman authors were in the main more\nfavourably inclined towards the hero prince than towards the cowherd\nlover. There is a tendency for the older Krishna to disparage the younger.\nKrishna the prince's subsequent meetings with the cowgirls are shown as\nvery different from his rapturous encounters with them in the forest and\nthe fact that his later career involves so sharp a separation from them\nindicates that the whole episode was somewhat frowned upon. This is\nespecially evident from the manner in which Krishna addresses the cowgirls\nwhen they meet him during the eclipse of the sun. By this time he has\nbecome an ardent husband constantly satisfying his many wives. He is very\nfar from having abjured the delights of the flesh. Yet for all his former\nloves who long for him so passionately he has only one message. They must\nmeditate upon him in their minds. No dismissal could be colder, no\ntreatment more calculatingly callous. And even the accounts of Krishna's\nlove-making reflects this bias. The physical charms of the cowgirls are\nminimized and it is only the beauty of Rukmini which is stressed. It is\nclear, in fact, that however much the one tradition involved a break with\nmorals, the second tradition shrank from countenancing adultery and it was\nthis latter tradition which commanded the authors' approval. Finally, on\none important issue, the _Purana_ as a whole is in no doubt. Krishna's\ntrue consort is Rukmini. That Krishna's nature should be complemented by a\ncowgirl is not so much as even considered. The cowgirls are shown as\nrisking all for Krishna, as loving him above all else but none is singled\nout for mention and none emerges as a rival. In this long account of\nKrishna's life what is overwhelmingly significant is that the name of his\nsupreme cowgirl love is altogether omitted.\n\n\n\n\nV\n\nTHE KRISHNA OF POETRY\n\n\n\n(i) The Triumph of Radha\n\n\nDuring the next two hundred years, from the tenth to the twelfth century,\nthe Krishna story completely alters. It is not that the facts as given in\nthe _Bhagavata Purana_ are disputed. It is rather that the emphasis and\nview-point are changed. Krishna the prince and his consort Rukmini are\nrelegated to the background and Krishna the cowherd lover brought sharply\nto the fore. Krishna is no longer regarded as having been born solely to\nkill a tyrant and rid the world of demons. His chief function now is to\nvindicate passion as the symbol of final union with God. We have already\nseen that to Indians this final union was the sole purpose of life and\nonly one experience was at all comparable to it. It was the mutual ecstasy\nof impassioned lovers. 'In the embrace of his beloved, a man forgets the\nwhole world--everything both within and without; in the same way, he who\nembraces the Self knows neither within nor without.'[46] The function of\nthe new Krishna was to defend these two premises--that romantic love was\nthe most exalted experience in life and secondly, that of all the roads to\nsalvation, the impassioned adoration of God was the one most valid. God\nmust be adored. Krishna himself was God and since he had shown divine love\nin passionately possessing the cowgirls, he was best adored by recalling\nthese very encounters. As a result, Krishna's relations with the cowgirls\nwere now enormously magnified and as part of this fresh appraisal, a\nparticular married cowgirl, Radha, enters the story as the enchanting\nobject of his passions. We have seen how on one occasion in the _Bhagavata\nPurana_, Krishna disappears taking with him a single girl, how they then\nmake love together in a forest bower and how when the girl tires and begs\nKrishna to carry her, he abruptly leaves her. The girl's name is not\nmentioned but enough is said to suggest that she is Krishna's favourite.\nThis hint is now developed. Radha, for this is the girl's name, is\nrecognized as the loveliest of all the cowgirls. She is the daughter of\nthe cowherd Vrishabhanu and his wife, Kamalavati, and is married to Ayana,\na brother of Yasoda. Like other cowgirls, her love for Krishna is\nall-consuming and compels her to ignore her family honour and disregard\nher husband. Krishna, for his part, regards her as his first love. In\nplace, therefore, of courtly adventures and battles with demons, Krishna's\nadulterous romance is now presented as all in all.[47] It is the moods,\nfeelings and emotions of a great love-affair which are the essence of the\nstory and this, in turn, is to serve as a sublime allegory expressing and\naffirming the love of God for the soul. With this dramatic revolution in\nthe story, we begin to approach the Krishna of Indian painting.\n\nSuch a change can hardly have come about without historical reasons and\nalthough the exact circumstances must perhaps remain obscure, we can see\nin this sharp reversal of roles a clear response to certain Indian needs.\nFrom early times, romantic love had been keenly valued, Sanskrit poets\nsuch as Kalidasa, Amaru and Bhartrihari celebrating the charms of womanly\nphysique and the raptures of sex. What, in fact, in other cultures had\nbeen viewed with suspicion or disquiet was here invested with nobility and\ngrandeur. Although fidelity had been demanded in marriage, romantic\nliaisons had not been entirely excluded and thus there was a sense in\nwhich the love-poetry of the early Indian middle ages had been partly\nparalleled by actual courtly or village practice. From the tenth century\nonwards, however, a tightening of domestic morals had set in, a tightening\nwhich was further intensified by the Muslim invasions of the twelfth and\nthirteen centuries. Romance as an actual experience became more difficult\nof attainment and this was exacerbated by standard views of marriage. In\nearly India, marriage had been regarded as a contract between families\nand romantic love between husband and wife as an accidental, even an\nunexpected product of what was basically a utilitarian agreement. With the\nseclusion of women and the laying of even greater stress on wifely\nchastity, romantic love was increasingly denied. Yet the need for romance\nremained and we can see in the prevalence of love-poetry a substitute for\nwishes repressed in actual life.[48] It is precisely this role which the\nstory of Krishna the cowherd lover now came to perform. Krishna, being\nGod, had been beyond morals and hence had practised conduct which, if\nindulged in by men, might well have been wrong. He had given practical\nexpression to romantic longings and had behaved with all the passionate\nfreedom normally stifled by social duty, conjugal ethics and family\nmorals. From this point of view, Krishna the prince was a mere pillar of\nboring respectability. Nothing in his conduct could arouse delight for\neverything he did was correct and proper. Krishna the cowherd on the\nother hand, was spontaneous, irresponsible and free. His love for the\ncowgirls had had a lively freedom. The love between them was nothing if\nnot voluntary. His whole life among the cowherds was simple, natural and\npleasing and as their rapturous lover nothing was more obvious than that\nthe cowgirls should adore him. In dwelling, then, on Krishna, it was\nnatural that the worshipper should tend to disregard the prince and should\nconcentrate instead on the cowherd. The prince had revered Brahmans and\nsupported established institutions. The cowherd had shamed the Brahmans of\nMathura and discredited ceremonies and festivals. He had loved and been\nloved and in his contemplation lay nothing but joy. The loves of Krishna,\nin fact, were an intimate fulfilment of Indian desires, an exact\nsublimation of intense romantic needs and while other factors must\ncertainly have played their part, this is perhaps the chief reason why,\nat this juncture, they now enchanted village and courtly India.\n\nThe results of this new approach are apparent in two distinct ways. The\n_Bhagavata Purana_ continues to be the chief chronicle of Krishna's\nacts but the last half of Book Ten and all of Book Eleven fall into\nneglect.[49] In their place, the story of Krishna's relations with the\ncowgirls is given new poignancy and precision. Radha is constantly\nmentioned and in all the incidents in the _Purana_ involving cowgirls,\nit is she who is given pride of place. At the river Jumna, when Krishna\nremoves the cowgirls' clothes, Radha begs him to restore them. At the\ncircular dance in which he joins with all the cowgirls, Radha receives his\nfirst attentions, dancing with him in the centre. When Krishna is about to\nleave for Mathura, it is Radha who heads the cowgirls and strives to detain\nhim. She serves, in fact, as a symbol of all the cowgirls' love. At the\nsame time, she is very far from being merely their spokesman or leader and\nwhile the later texts dwell constantly on her rapturous love-making with\nKrishna, they also describe her jealousy when Krishna makes love to other\ngirls. Indeed the essence of their romance is that it includes a temporary\nestrangement and only after Krishna has neglected Radha, flirted with\nother cowgirls and then returned to her is their understanding complete.\n\nThe second result is the allegorical interpretation which Krishna's\nromances now received. In Christian literature, the longing of the soul\nfor God was occasionally expressed in terms of sexual imagery--the works\nof the Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross, including 'songs of the\nsoul in rapture at having arrived at the height of perfection which is\nunion with God.'\n\n  Oh night that was my guide!\n  Oh darkness dearer than the morning's pride,\n  Oh night that joined the lover\n  To the beloved bride\n  Transfiguring them each into the other.\n\n  Within my flowering breast\n  Which only for himself entire I save\n  He sank into his rest\n  And all my gifts I gave\n  Lulled by the airs with which the cedars wave.[50]\n\nThis same approach was now to clarify Radha's romance with Krishna. Radha,\nit was held, was the soul while Krishna was God. Radha's sexual passion\nfor Krishna symbolized the soul's intense longing and her willingness to\ncommit adultery expressed the utter priority which must be accorded to\nlove for God. If ultimate union was symbolized by romantic love, then\nclearly nothing could approach such love in ultimate significance. In\ndeserting their husbands and homes and wilfully committing adultery, Radha\nand the cowgirls were therefore illustrating a profound religious truth.\nNot only was their adultery proof of Krishna's charm, it was vital to the\nwhole story. By worldly standards, they were committing the gravest of\noffences but they were doing it for Krishna who was God himself. They were\ntherefore setting God above home and duty, they were leaving everything\nfor love of God and in surrendering their honour, were providing the most\npotent symbol of what devotion meant. This approach explained other\ndetails. Krishna's flute was the call of God which caused the souls of\nmen, the cowgirls, to forsake their worldly attachments and rush to love\nhim. In removing the clothes of the cowgirls and requiring them to come\nbefore him naked, he was demonstrating the innocent purity with which the\nsoul should wait on God. In himself neglecting Radha and toying with the\ncowgirls, he was proving, on one level, the power of worldly pleasures to\nseduce the soul but on another level, the power of God to love every soul\nirrespective of its character and status. From this point of view, the\ncowgirls were as much the souls of men as Radha herself and to demonstrate\nGod's all-pervasive love, Krishna must therefore love not only Radha but\nevery cowgirl. Equally, in the circular dance, by inducing every cowgirl\nto think that she and she alone was his partner, Krishna was proving how\nGod is available to all. Finally it was realized that even those portions\nof the story which, at first sight, seemed cruel and callous were also\nsusceptible of religious interpretation. When Radha has been loved in the\nforest and then is suddenly deserted, the reason is her pride--pride that\nbecause Krishna has loved her, she can assert herself by asking to be\ncarried. Such assertiveness is incompatible with the kind of humble\nadoration necessary for communion with God. To prove this, therefore,\nRadha's pride must be destroyed and Krishna resorts to this seemingly\nbrusque desertion. Action, in fact, which by human standards would be\nreprehensible is once again a means for imparting spiritual wisdom. In a\nsimilar way, Krishna's departure for Mathura and final abandonment of the\ncowgirls was accorded a religious interpretation. At one level, his\ndeparture symbolized 'the dark night of the soul,' the experience which\ncomes to every devotee when, despite the most ardent longing, the vision\nfades. At another level, it illustrated how life must be lived when God or\nVishnu was no longer on earth. If Krishna's love-making was intended to\nsymbolize the ultimate rapture, his physical absence corresponded to\nconditions as they normally existed. In instructing the cowgirls to\nmeditate upon him in their minds, Krishna was only attuning them to life\nas it must necessarily appear after he has left the human stage.\n\nIt was these conceptions which governed the cult of Krishna from the\ntwelfth century onwards and, as we shall shortly see, informed the poems\nwhich were now to celebrate his love for Radha.\n\n[Footnote 46: Note 15.]\n\n[Footnote 47: Note 16.]\n\n[Footnote 48: Note 17.]\n\n[Footnote 49: I.e. the whole of Krishna's career after his destruction of\nthe tyrant.]\n\n[Footnote 50: Roy Campbell, _The Poems of St. John of the Cross_ (London,\n1951), 11-12.]\n\n\n\n(ii) The Gita Govinda\n\n\nThe first poem to express this changed conception is the _Gita\nGovinda_--the Song of the Cowherd--a Sanskrit poem written by the Bengali\npoet, Jayadeva, towards the close of the twelfth century. Its subject is\nthe estrangement of Radha and Krishna caused by Krishna's love for other\ncowgirls, Radha's anguish at Krishna's neglect and lastly the rapture\nwhich attends their final reunion. Jayadeva describes Radha's longing and\nKrishna's love-making with glowing sensuality yet the poem reverts\ncontinually to praise of Krishna as God.\n\n  If in recalling Krishna to mind there is flavour\n  Or if there is interest in love's art\n  Then to this necklace of words--sweetness,\n    tenderness, brightness--\n  The words of Jayadeva, listen.\n\nHe aims, in fact, at inducing 'recollection of Krishna in the minds of\nthe good' and adds a description of the forest in springtime solely, he\nsays, in order once again to recall Krishna.[51] When, at last, the poem\nhas come triumphantly to its close, Jayadeva again exhorts people to adore\nKrishna and 'place him for ever in their hearts, Krishna the source of all\nmerit.'\n\nThe poem begins with a preface of four lines describing how Krishna's\nromance with Radha first began. The sky, it says, was dark with clouds.\nAll around lay the vast forest. Night was coming up and Nanda who had\ntaken the youthful Krishna with him is alarmed lest in the gathering gloom\nthe boy should get lost. Radha, who is somewhat older, is with them, so\nNanda desires her to take Krishna home. Radha leads him away but as they\nwander by the river, passion mounts in their hearts. They forget that\nNanda has told them to hurry home. Radha ignores the motherly character of\nher mission and loitering in the trees, the two commence their\ndalliance.[52] In this way the love of Radha and Krishna arises--the love\nwhich is to dominate their hearts with ever-growing fervour.\n\nThe poem then leaps a period of time and when the drama opens, a crisis\nhas occurred. Radha, after long enjoying Krishna's passionate embraces,\nfinds herself abruptly neglected. Charming but faithless, Krishna is now\npursuing other girls and the jilted Radha wanders alone. Meanwhile spring\nhas come to the forest and the thought that others are enjoying Krishna's\nlove tortures her to the point of madness. As she broods on her lost joys,\na friend describes to her what is happening.[53]\n\n  Sandal and garment of yellow and lotus garlands upon his body of\n    blue,\n  In his dance the jewels of his ears in movement dangling over his\n    smiling cheeks,\n  Krishna here disports himself with charming women given to love.\n\n  He embraces one woman, he kisses another, and fondles another\n    beautiful one.\n  He looks at another one lovely with smiles, and starts in pursuit of\n    another woman.\n  Krishna here disports himself with charming women given to love.[54]\n\nSuddenly Radha sees Krishna[55] and going into the midst of the cowgirls,\nshe kisses him violently and clasps him to her; but Krishna is so inflamed\nby the other girls that he abandons her in a thicket.\n\nAs Radha broods on his behaviour, she is filled with bitter sadness.[56]\nYet her love is still so strong that she cannot bring herself to blame\nhim and instead calls to mind his charm.\n\n  I remember Krishna, the jests he made, who placed his sport in the\n    pastoral dance,\n  The sweet of whose nectar of lips kept flowing with notes of his luring\n    melodious flute,\n  With the play of whose eyes and the toss of whose head the earrings\n    kept dangling upon his cheeks.\n\n  I remember Krishna, the jests he made, who placed his sport in the\n    pastoral dance,\n  Whose brow had a perfect sandal spot, as among dark clouds the disc\n    of the moon,\n  Whose door-like heart was without pity when crushing the bosoms of\n    swelling breasts.\n\n  Desire even now in my foolish mind for Krishna,\n  For Krishna--without me--lusting still for the herd-girls.\n  Seeing only the good in his nature, what shall I do?\n  Agitated I feel no anger. Pleased without cause, I acquit him.\n\nAnd she continues:\n\n  O make him enjoy me, my friend, that Krishna so fickle,\n  I who am shy like a girl on her way to the first of her trysts of love,\n  He who is charming with flattering words, I who am tender\n  In speech and smiling, he on whose hip the garment lies loosely worn.\n\n  O make him enjoy me, my friend, that Krishna so fickle,\n  Me who sweated and moistened all over my body with love's exertion,\n  That Krishna whose cheeks were lovely with down all standing on end\n    as he thrilled,\n  Whose half-closed eyes were languid, and restless with brimming\n    desire.\n\n  O make him enjoy me, my friend, that Krishna so fickle,\n  Me whose masses of curls were like loose-slipping flowers, whose\n    amorous words\n  Were vague as of doves, that Krishna whose bosom is marked\n  With scratches, surpassing all in his love that the science of love\n    could teach.\n\n  O make him enjoy me, my friend, that Krishna so fickle,\n  To whose act of desire accomplished the anklets upon my feet bejewelled\n  Vibrated sounding, who gave his kisses seizing the hair of the head,\n  And to whom in his passionate love my girdle sounded in eloquence\n    sweet.\n\nAs Radha sits longing for him in lonely sadness, Krishna suddenly\nrepents, is filled with remorse and abruptly goes in quest of her. He does\nnot know, however, where to find her and as he wanders, he expresses his\nsorrow.\n\n  Radha so deeply wronged, troubled to see me surrounded by women,\n  She went, and I, in fear of my guilt, made no attempt to stop her,\n  Alas, alas, she is gone in anger, her love destroyed.\n\n  O my slender one, I imagine your heart is dejected,\n  I cannot console you kneeling in homage, I know not where to find\n    you.\n  If you pardon me now I shall never repeat this neglect of you ever--\n  O beautiful, give me your pleasure again. I burn with desire.\n\nAs Krishna searches unavailingly, Radha's friend lights upon him and\nconveys news of her love-tormented state.\n\n  Armour she makes of tender lotus garlands to hide her bosom from\n    you,\n  Large garlands, as if to protect you from heavy showers of shafts from\n    the god of love.\n  She fears an attack of Love upon you, and lies away hidden;\n  She wastes away, Krishna, parted from you.\n\nAs he hears this, Krishna is torn with longing. He does not, however, go\nimmediately to Radha but instead asks the friend to bring Radha to him.\nThe girl departs, meets Radha and gives her Krishna's message. She then\ndescribes Krishna's love-lorn state:\n\n  When he hears the noise of swarms of bees, he covers his ears from their\n    humming;\n  Pain he feels, night after night, of a heart in love that is parted.\n  He droops, separated from you, O friend, the wearer of garlands.\n\nThe girl assures Radha that Krishna is contrite and urges her to delay no\nlonger.\n\n  He has gone into the trysting place, full of all desired bliss, O you\n    with lovely hips delay no more\n  O go forth now and seek him out, him the master of your heart, him\n    endowed with passion's lovely form.\n\n  On fallen feathers of the birds, on leaves about the forest floor, he\n    lies excited making there his bed,\n  And he gazes out upon the path, looks about with trembling eyes, anxious,\n    looking out for your approach.\n\n  There on that bed of tender leaves, O lotus-eyed, embrace his hips, his\n    naked hips from whence the girdle drops,\n  Those hips from whence the garment falls, those loins which are a\n    treasure heap, the fountain and the source of all delight.\n\nRadha would willingly go but she is now so sick with love that she can no\nlonger move. The girl has, therefore, to go once more to Krishna and\ndescribe Radha's state.\n\n  In secret on every side she sees you\n  Drinking the honied sweet of her lips.\n  Where Radha stays now she wilts away,\n  She may live no longer without your skill,\n  Again and again she keeps telling her friend,\n  'O why must Krishna delay to come?'\n\n  Of her jewels abundant her limbs she adorns and spreads out her bed--\n  Imagining you on her fluttering couch of leaves--\n  And so to indulge, in a hundred ways, in the sport of love\n  She is fully resolved, arranging her bed with every adornment;\n  Not another night may that beautiful girl endure without you.\n  Why so much apathy, Krishna, beside the fig tree?\n  O brother, why not go to the pasture of eyes, the abode of bliss?\n\nDespite this message, however, Krishna still delays and Radha, who has\nhalf expected him, endures still greater anguish.\n\n  My lover has failed to come to the trysting place,\n  It is perhaps that his mind is dazed, or perhaps that he went to another\n    woman\n  Or lured perhaps by festive folk, that he delays,\n  Or perhaps along the dark fringe of the forest he wanders lost.\n\nShe imagines him toying with another cowgirl.\n\n  A certain girl, excelling in her charms unrivalled, dallies with the\n    sportive Krishna\n  Her face, a moon, is fondled by the fluttering petals in her hair,\n  The exciting moisture of his lips induces langour in her limbs,\n  Her earrings bruise her cheeks while dancing with the motion of her\n    head,\n  Her girdle by the tremor of her moving hips is made to tinkle,\n  She utters senseless sounds, through fever of her love,\n  He decorates with crimson flowers her curly tresses, curls which are\n    upon her lively face a mass of clouds,\n  Flowers with crimson flashings lovely in the forest of her tresses, haunt\n    of that wild creature love's desire.\n\nAnd thinking of her own hapless state, Radha contrasts it bitterly with\nthat of the fortunate girl.\n\n  She who with the wearer of the garland lies in dalliance.\n  With him whose lovely mouth is like a lotus that is opening,\n  With him whose words are nectar in their sweetness and their tenderness,\n  With him who wears a garment streaked with gold, all white and\n    beautiful\n  Not made to sigh is she, my friend, derided by her girls!\n\nNext morning Radha is standing with her girls when Krishna tries to\napproach her. Now, however, he has come too late. Radha has suffered too\ngreatly. Her patience is at an end and although Krishna implores her to\nforgive him, she rounds on him in anger, ordering him to return to the\nother girl whom he has just left.[57]\n\n  Your mouth, O Krishna, darkened, enhances the crimson beauty of\n    your lovely body,\n  Enhances with a, darkness, a blackness that arises from the kissing of\n    eyes coloured with black unguent.\n  Go, Krishna, go. Desist from uttering these deceitful words.\n  Follow her, you lotus-eyed, she who can dispel your trouble, go to\n    her.\n\n  I who follow you devoted--how can you deceive me, so tortured by\n    love's fever as I am?\n  O Krishna, like the look of you, your body which appears so black,\n    that heart of yours a blackness shall assume.\n  Follow her, you lotus-eyed, she who can dispel your trouble, go to her.\n\nFaced with these reproaches, Krishna slinks away. Radha's friend knows,\nhowever, that despite her bitter anger, Radha desires nothing more than\nhis love. She attempts, therefore, to instil in her a calmer frame of\nmind, urging her to end her pride and take Krishna back. She goes to look\nfor Krishna and while she is absent, Krishna returns. Standing before\nRadha, he implores her once again to end her anger.\n\n  If you speak but a little the moon-like gleam of your teeth will destroy\n    the darkness frightful, so very terrible, come over me;\n  Your moon of a face which glitters upon my eye, the moon-bird's eye,\n    now makes me long for the sweet of your lips.\n  O loved one, O beautiful, give up that baseless pride against me,\n  My heart is burnt by the fire of longing; give me that drink so sweet\n    of your lotus face.\n  O you with beautiful teeth, if you are in anger against me, strike me\n    then with your finger nails, sharp and like arrows,\n  Bind me, entwining, with the cords of your arms, and bite me then\n    with your teeth, and feel happy punishing.\n  O loved one, O beautiful, give up that baseless pride against me.\n\nAt these words, Radha's anger leaves her; and when Krishna withdraws, it\nis to go to the forest and await her coming. Radha's joy returns. She\ndecks herself in the loveliest of her ornaments and then, accompanied by\nher maids, moves slowly to the tryst.[58] As they reach the bower which\nKrishna has constructed, her friend urges her to enter.\n\n  O you who bear on your face the smile that comes of the ardour of\n    passion\n  Sport with him whose love-abode is the floor of the beautiful bower.\n\nRadha approaches and their love strains to its height.\n\n  She looked at Krishna who desired only her, on him who for long\n    wanted dalliance,\n  Whose face with his pleasure was overwhelmed and who was possessed\n    with desire\n  After embracing her long and ardently, Krishna with his necklace of\n    pearls\n  Krishna like the Jumna in a mighty flood with its necklace of specks of\n    foam.[59]\n\nThe cowgirls go and Krishna speaks to Radha.\n\n  O woman with desire, place on this patch of flower-strewn floor your\n    lotus foot,\n  And let your foot through beauty win,\n  To me who am the Lord of All, O be attached, now always yours.\n  O follow me, my little Radha.\n\n  O lovely woman, give me now the nectar of your lips, infuse new life\n    into this slave of yours, so dead,\n  This slave, whose heart is placed in you, whose body burned in\n    separation, this slave denied the pleasure of your love.\n\nRadha yields and as the night passes they achieve height upon height of\nsexual bliss.\n\n  Their love play grown great was very delightful, the love play where\n    thrills were a hindrance to firm embraces,\n  Where their helpless closing of eyes was a hindrance to longing looks\n    at each other, and their secret talk to their drinking of each the\n    other's nectar of lips, and where the skill of their love was\n    hindered by boundless delight.\n\n  She loved as never before throughout the course of the conflict of love,\n    to win, lying over his beautiful body, to triumph over her lover;\n  And so through taking the active part her thighs grew lifeless, and\n    languid her vine-like arms, and her heart beat fast, and her eyes\n    grew heavy and closed.\n\n  In the morning most wondrous, the heart of her lord was smitten with\n    arrows of Love, arrows which went through his eyes,\n  Arrows which were her nailed-scratched bosom, her reddened sleep-denied\n    eyes, her crimson lips from a bath of kisses, her hair disarranged\n    with the flowers awry, and her girdle all loose and slipping.\n  With hair knot loosened and stray locks waving, her cheeks perspiring,\n    her glitter of lips impaired,\n  And the necklace of pearls not appearing fair because of her jar-shaped\n    breast being denuded,\n  And her belt, her glittering girdle, dimmed in beauty,\n  The happy one drank of the face where the lips were washed with the\n    juice of his mouth,\n  His mouth half open uttering amorous noises, vague and delirious, the\n    rows of teeth in the breath of an indrawn sigh delightedly chattering.\n  Drank of the face of that deer-eyed woman whose body lay helpless,\n    released of excessive delight, the thrilling delight of embraces.\n\nWhen their passion is at last ended, Radha begs Krishna to help her with\nher toilet.\n\n  She said to the joy of her heart,\n  Adorn the curl on my brow which puts the lotus to shame, my spotless\n    brow,\n  Make a beautiful spot on my forehead, a spot with the paste of the\n    sandal,\n  O giver of pride, on my tresses, untidy now on account of desire, place\n    flowers,\n  Place on my hips the girdle, the clothes and the jewels,\n  Cover my beautiful loins, luscious and firm, the cavern of Love to be\n    feared.\n  Make a pattern upon my breasts and a picture on my cheeks and fasten over\n    my loins a girdle,\n  Bind my masses of hair with a beautiful garland and place many bracelets\n    upon my hands and jewelled anklets upon my feet.\n\nKrishna does so and with a final celebration of Krishna as God and of the\nsong itself--its words 'sweeter than sugar, like love's own glorious\nflavour'--the poem ends.\n\n[Footnote 51: Note 18.]\n\n[Footnote 52: Plate 20.]\n\n[Footnote 53: Plates 21 and 22.]\n\n[Footnote 54: Note 19.]\n\n[Footnote 55: Plate 23.]\n\n[Footnote 56: Plate 24.]\n\n[Footnote 57: Plate 25.]\n\n[Footnote 58: Plate 26.]\n\n[Footnote 59: Plate 27.]\n\n\n\n(iii) Later Poetry\n\n\nJayadeva's poem quickly achieved renown in Northern and Western India and\nfrom the early thirteenth century became a leading model for all poets who\nwere enthralled by Krishna as God and lover. In Western India,\nBilvamangala, a poet of Malabar, composed a whole galaxy of Krishna songs,\nhis poem, the _Balagopala Stuti_ (The Childhood of Krishna) earning for\nhim the title 'the Jayadeva of the South.' But it is during the fifteenth\nand sixteenth centuries that the most important developments occurred. In\nBengal, the poets Vidyapati and Chandi Das flourished in about the year\n1420, while in Western India, Mira Bai, a local princess, began a\nwide-spread popular movement. Mira Bai was followed by Vallabhacharya\n(born 1478) who in turn inspired four poet disciples--Krishna Das, Sur\nDas, Parmanand Das and Kumbhan Das. All these were at their height in the\nmiddle of the sixteenth century, writing Hindi poems in which Radha's\nadventures with Krishna and their rapturous love-making were devotedly\ndescribed.[60]\n\nThe work of Sur Das was of special importance for in one of his\ncompositions he took each of the thirty-six traditional modes of Indian\nmusic-the _Ragas_ and _Raginis_--but instead of celebrating them as\nseparate 'musical characters,' appended to each a love-poem about Krishna.\nSur Das was followed by Keshav Das of Orchha (fl. 1580), Govind Das (fl.\n1590), Bihari Lai (fl. 1650) and Kali Das (fl. 1700)--all poets in whom\nreligious ecstasy was blended with a feeling for passionate romance. Of\nthese poets Bihari Lai is famous for the _Sat Sai_ in which he celebrated\nKrishna's romance in seven hundred verses.\n\nAll this later poetry differed from the _Gita Govinda_ in one important\nrespect. Instead of dwelling on the temporary rupture in Radha and\nKrishna's relationship, it roved freely over the many phases of their\nlove-making, subjecting every incident to delighted analysis. A poet\nthought and felt himself into Radha's mind when as a young girl about to\nbecome a woman she discovered for the first time the exquisite sensations\nof awakening love. Or he imagined he was Krishna stumbling on Radha by\naccident and being stirred to ecstasy by his first glimpse of her glowing\ncharms. Sometimes he even became the unseen viewer of their rapturous\nexchanges, comforting Radha with sage remarks or egging her on to appease\nher hungry lover. In this way many incidents not recorded of any cowgirl\nin the _Bhagavata Purana_, though possibly preserved in oral tradition,\ncame gradually into prominence, thereby confirming Radha as Krishna's\ngreatest love.\n\nThe following incidents will illustrate this process. Radha would be\ndescribed as one day taking her curds and milk to a village the farther\nside of the river Jumma. Krishna hears of her expedition and along with\nother cowherd boys waylays Radha and her friends and claims a toll. Radha\nrefuses to pay but at last offers to make a token gift provided he ferries\nthem over. Meanwhile a cowherd boy has hidden the boat and night is coming\non. It is now too late to return so the girls have no alternative but to\nstay with Krishna. They lie down by the bank but in the darkness give\nKrishna not only the toll but also their souls and bodies.\n\nIn another poem, Krishna is shown pestering the cowgirls for curds. Radha\ndecides to stand this no longer and partly in jest dresses herself up as a\nconstable. When Krishna next teases the girls, she descends upon him,\ncatches him by the wrist and 'arrests' him as a thief.[61]\n\nIt is in the poems of Chandi Das, however, that Krishna's most daring\nruses are described. Having once gained admittance to Radha's house by\ndressing himself as a cowgirl, he is shown pretending to be a\nflower-seller. He strings some flowers into a bunch of garlands, dangles\nthem on his arm and strolls blandly down the village street. When he\nreaches Radha's house, he goes boldly in and is taken by Radha into a\ncorner where she starts to bargain. Krishna asks her to let him first\nadorn her with a garland and then she can pay him. Radha agrees and as he\nslips a garland over her head, Krishna kisses her. Radha suddenly sees who\nit is and holds his hand.\n\nOn another occasion, Radha is ill from love and is lying at home on her\nbed. Krishna thereupon becomes a doctor and goes from house to house\ncuring the sick. So successful are his cures that Radha also is tempted to\nconsult the new doctor and sends a maid to call him, Krishna comes but\nbefore entering adopts a wild disguise--putting his clothes on inside out,\nmatting his hair with mud, and slinging a bag of roots and plants over his\nshoulder. As he enters, he sits on Radha's bed, lifts her veil, gazes\nintently at her face and declares that certainly she is very ill indeed.\nHe then takes her pulse and says, 'it is the water of love that is rotting\nher heart like a poison.' Radha is elated at this diagnosis, rouses\nherself and stretches her limbs. 'You have understood my trouble,' she\nsays. 'Now tell me what I am to do.' 'I feel somewhat diffident at\nexplaining my remedy,' replies the doctor, 'But if I had the time and\nplace, I could ease your fever and cure you utterly.' As he says this,\nRadha knows that he is Krishna and this is only another of his reckless\nwiles designed to bring him near her.\n\nBut it was less in the recording of new incidents than in lyrical\ndescriptions of Radha and Krishna, their physical charms and ecstatic\nmeetings, that the poets excelled.\n\n  i\n\n  Krishna is dancing in a medley of moods and poses.\n  His crown sways, his eye-brows move,\n  Displaying the arts of a clever dancer.\n  The swing of his waist makes his girdle sing\n  And the anklets jingle.\n  One fancies one is listening to the sweet voice of a pair of geese as\n    they touch each other in dalliance.\n  The bangles glitter and the rings and armlets shoot their rays.\n  When with passion he moves his arms, what grace the movements bless!\n  Now he dances after the gait of ladies and now in a manner of his own.\n  The poet's lord is the jewel of the passionate\n  And builds his dance in the depths of ecstasy.[62]\n\n  (Sur Das)\n\n  ii\n\n  With Krishna in their midst the cowherds come to their homes.\n  The calves and cows are ahead, frisking and playing as they go.\n  All the pipes and horns go forth, each his own notes playing.\n  The sound of the flute moves the cows to low as they raise a cloud of\n    dust.\n  The crown of peacocks' feathers glistens on the head like a young moon.\n  The cowherd boys frolic on the path and Krishna in the centre sings his\n    song.\n  Ravished by the sight, the cowgirls pour out their minds and bodies,\n  Gazing on Krishna, quenching their heart's desire.\n\n  (Sur Das)\n\n  iii\n\n  Radha's glances dart from side to side.\n  Her restless body and clothes are heavy with dust.\n  Her glistening smile shines again and again.\n  Shy, she raises her skirt to her lips.\n  Startled, she stirs and once again is calm,\n  As now she enters the ways of love.\n  Sometimes she gazes at her blossoming breasts\n  Hiding them quickly, then forgetting they are there.\n  Childhood and girlhood melt in one\n  And young and old are both forgotten.\n  Says Vidyapati: O Lord of life,\n  Do you not know the signs of youth?[63]\n\n  (Vidyapati)\n\n  iv\n\n  Each day the breasts of Radha swelled.\n  Her hips grew shapely, her waist more slender.\n  Love's secrets stole upon her eyes.\n  Startled her childhood sought escape.\n  Her plum-like breasts grew large,\n  Harder and crisper, aching for love.\n  Krishna soon saw her as she bathed\n  Her filmy dress still clinging to her breasts,\n  Her tangled tresses falling on her heart,\n  A golden image swathed in yak's tail plumes.\n  Says Vidyapati: O wonder of women,\n  Only a handsome man can long for her.\n\n  (Vidyapati)\n\n  v\n\n  There was a shudder in her whispering voice.\n  She was shy to frame her words.\n  What has happened tonight to lovely Radha?\n  Now she consents, now she is scared.\n  When asked for love, she closes up her eyes,\n  Eager to reach the ocean of desire.\n  He begs her for a kiss.\n  She turns her mouth away\n  And then, like a night lily, the moon seized her.\n  She felt his touch startling her girdle.\n  She knew her love treasure was being robbed.\n  With her dress she covered up her breasts.\n  The treasure was left uncovered.\n  Vidyapati wonders at the neglected bed.\n  Lovers are busy in each other's arms.\n\n  (Vidyapati)\n\n  vi\n\n  Awake, Radha, awake\n  Calls the parrot and its love\n  For how long must you sleep,\n  Clasped to the heart of your Dark-stone?\n  Listen. The dawn has come\n  And the red shafts of the sun\n  Are making us shudder.\n\n  (Vidyapati)\n\n  vii\n\n  Startled, the parrot calls.\n  See those young lovers are still asleep.\n  On a bed of tender leaves\n  His dark figure is lying still.\n  She, the fair one,\n  Looks like a piece of jewelled gold.\n  They have emptied their quivers.\n  All their flower-arrows are discharged,\n  Drowning each other in the joy of love.\n  O lovely Radha, awake.\n  Your friends are going to the temple.\n  Asks Govind Das:\n  Whose business is it\n  To interrupt the ways of love?\n\n  (Govind Das)\n\nIn another kind of poem, Radha and Krishna are themselves made to\nspeak--Krishna, for example, describing his first glimpses of Radha and\nRadha struggling to evoke in words the ecstasies of their love.\n\n  viii\n\n  Like stilled lightning her fair face.\n  I saw her by the river,\n  Her hair dressed with jasmine,\n  Plaited like a coiled snake.\n  O friend, I will tell you\n  The secret of my heart.\n  With her darting glances\n  And gentle smiles\n  She made me wild with love.\n  Throwing and catching a ball of flowers,\n  She showed me to the full\n  Her youthful form.\n  Uptilted breasts\n  Peeped from her dress.\n  Her face was bright\n  With taunting smiles.\n  With anklet bells\n  Her feet shone red.\n  Says Chandi Das:\n  Will you see her again?\n\n  (Chandi Das)\n\n  ix\n\n  Listen, O lovely darling,\n  Cease your anger.\n  I promise by the golden pitchers of your breasts\n  And by your necklace-snake,\n  Which now I gather in my hands,\n  If ever I touch anyone but you\n  May your necklace-snake bite me;\n  And if my words do not ring true,\n  Punish me as I deserve.\n  Bind me in your arms, hit me with your thighs,\n  Choke my heart with your milk-swollen breasts,\n  Lock me day and night in the prison of your heart.\n\n  (Vidyapati)\n\n  x\n\n  Never have I seen such love nor heard of it.\n  Even the eyelids' flutter\n  Holds eternity.\n  Clasped to my breasts, you are far from me.\n  I would keep you as a veil close to my face.\n  I shudder with fright when you turn your eyes away,\n  As one body, we spend the night,\n  Sinking in the deeps of delight.\n  As dawn comes, we see with anxious hearts\n  Life desert us.\n  The very thought breaks my heart.\n  Says Chandi Das:\n  O sweet girl, how I understand.\n\n  (Chandi Das)\n\n  xi\n\n  O friend, I cannot tell you\n  Whether he was near or far, real or a dream.\n  Like a vine of lightning,\n  As I chained the dark one,\n  felt a river flooding in my heart.\n  Like a shining moon,\n  I devoured that liquid face.\n  I felt stars shooting around me.\n  The sky fell with my dress\n  Leaving my ravished breasts.\n  I was rocking like the earth.\n  In my storming breath\n  I could hear my ankle-bells,\n  Sounding like bees.\n  Drowned in the last-waters of dissolution\n  I knew that this was not the end.\n  Says Vidyapati:\n  How can I possibly believe such nonsense?\n\n  (Vidyapati)\n\n[Footnote 60: Plate 29.]\n\n[Footnote 61: Plate 35.]\n\n[Footnote 62: Note 20.]\n\n[Footnote 63: Note 20.]\n\n\n\n(iv) The Rasika Priya\n\n\nIt is a third development, however, which reveals the insistent\nattractions of Krishna the divine lover. From about the seventh century\nonwards Indian thinkers had been fascinated by the great variety of\npossible romantic experiences. Writers had classified feminine beauty and\ncodified the different situations which might arise in the course of a\nromance. A woman, for example, would be catalogued according as she was\n'one's own, another's or anyone's' and whether she was young, adolescent\nor adult. Beauties with adult physiques were divided into unmarried and\nmarried, while cutting across such divisions was yet another based on the\nparticular circumstances in which a woman might find herself. Such\ncircumstances were normally eight in number--when her husband or lover was\non the point of coming and she was ready to receive him; when she was\nparted from him and was filled with longing; when he was constant and she\nwas thus enjoying the calm happiness of stable love; when, for the time\nbeing, she was estranged due to some quarrel or tiff; when she had been\ndeceived; when she had gone to meet her lover but had waited in vain,\nthereby being jilted; when her husband or lover had gone abroad and she\nwas faced with days of lonely waiting; and finally, when she had left the\nhouse and gone to meet him. Ladies in situations such as these were known\nas _nayikas_ and the text embodying the standard classification was the\nSanskrit treatise, the _Bharatiya Natya Sastra_. A similar analysis was\nmade of men--lovers or _nayakas_ being sometimes divided into fourteen\ndifferent types.\n\nUntil the fourteenth century, such writings were studies in erotics\nrather than in literature--the actual situations rather than their\nliterary treatment being the authors' prime concern. During the fourteenth\ncentury, however, questions of literary taste began to be discussed and\nthere arose a new type of Sanskrit treatise, showing how different kinds\nof lover should be treated in poetry and illustrating the correct\nattitudes by carefully chosen verses. In all these writings the standard\nof reference was human passion. The lovers of poetry might bear only a\nslight relation to lovers in real life. Many of the situations envisaged\nmight rarely, if ever, occur. It was sufficient that granted some\nfavourable accident, some chance suspension of normal circumstances,\nlovers could be imagined as acting in these special ways.\n\nIt is out of this critical literature that our new development springs. As\nvernacular languages were used for poetry, problems of Hindi composition\nbegan to dwarf those of Sanskrit. It was necessary to discuss how best to\ntreat each _nayika_ and _nayaka_ not only in Sanskrit but in Hindi poetry\nalso, and to meet this situation Keshav Das, the poet of Orchha in\nBundelkhand, produced in 1591 his _Rasika Priya_. Here all the standard\nsituations were once again examined, _nayikas_ and _nayakas_ were newly\ndistinguished and verses illustrating their appropriate treatments were\nsystematically included. The book differed, however, in two important ways\nfrom any of its predecessors. It was written in Hindi, Keshav Das himself\nsupplying both poems and commentary and what was even more significant,\nthe _nayaka_ or lover was portrayed not as any ordinary well-bred young\nman but as Krishna himself.[64] As a girl waits at the tryst it is not for\nan ordinary lover but for Krishna that Keshav Das depicts her as longing.\n\n'Is he detained by work? Is he loath to leave his friends? Has he had a\nquarrel? Is his body uneasy? Is he afraid when he sees the rainy dark? O\nKrishna, Giver of Bliss, why do you not come?'[65]\n\nAs a girl waits by her bed looking out through her door, it is the\nprospect of Krishna's arrival--not of an ordinary lover's--that makes her\nhappy.\n\n'As she runs, her blue dress hides her limbs. She hears the wind ruffling\nthe trees and the birds shifting in the night. She thinks it must be he.\nHow she longs for love, watching for Krishna like a bird in a cage.'\n\nWhen the lover arrives at dawn, having failed to come in the night, the\ngirl (another _nayika_, 'one who has been deceived') upbraids Krishna for\nwandering about like a crow, picking up worthless grains of rice, wasting\nhis hours in bad company and ruining houses by squatting in them like an\nowl.\n\nSimilarly when a married girl sits longing for her husband's return, her\ncompanion comments not on an ordinary husband's conduct but on that of\nKrishna. 'He said he would not be long. \"I shall be back,\" he said, \"as\nsoon as I have had my meal.\" But now it is hours since he went. Why does\nhe sit beside them and no one urge him to go? Does he know that her eyes\nare wet with tears, that she is crying her heart out because he does not\ncome?'\n\nKrishna, in fact, is here regarded as resuming in himself all possible\nromantic experiences. He is no longer merely the cowherd lover or the hero\nprince, the central figure of a sacred narrative. Neither is he merely or\nonly the lover of Radha. He is deemed to know love from every angle and\nthus to sanctify all modes of passionate behaviour. He is love itself.\n\nSuch a development concludes the varied phases through which the character\nof Krishna has passed. The cowherd lover supersedes the hero prince. Radha\nbecomes all in all, yet touches of Krishna's princely majesty remain\nthroughout. Even as a cowherd Krishna shows an elegance and poise which\nbetrays his different origin. And in the _Rasika Priya_ it is once again\nhis courtly aura which determines his new role. A blend of prince and\ncowherd, Krishna ousts from poetry the courtly lovers who previously had\nseemed the acme of romance. Adoration of God acquires the grace and charm\nof courtly loving, passionate sensuality all the refinement and nobility\nof a spiritual religion. It is out of all these varied texts that the\nKrishna of Indian painting now emerges.\n\n[Footnote 64: Plate 28.]\n\n[Footnote 65: Note 21.]\n\n\n\n\nVI\n\n\nTHE KRISHNA OF PAINTING\n\nIndian pictures of Krishna confront us with a series of difficult\nproblems. The most exalted expressions of the theme are mainly from\nKangra, a large Hindu state within the Punjab Hills.[66] It was here that\nKrishna, the cowherd lover, was most fully celebrated. Pictures were\nproduced in large numbers and the Kangra style with its delicate\nrefinement exactly mirrored the enraptured poetry of the later cult. This\npainting was due entirely to a particular Kangra ruler, Raja Sansar Chand\n(1775-1823)--his delight in painting causing him to spare no cost in\nre-creating the Krishna idyll in exquisite terms. Elsewhere, however,\nconditions varied. At the end of the sixteenth century, it was not a Hindu\nbut a Muslim ruler who commissioned the greatest illustrations of the\nstory. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Hindu patrons were the\nrule but in certain states it was junior members of the ruling family\nrather than the Raja himself who worshipped Krishna. Sometimes it was not\nthe ruling family but members of the merchant community who sponsored the\nartists and, occasionally, it was even a pious lady or devout princess who\nserved as patron. Such differences of stimulus had vital effects and, as a\nconsequence, while the cult of Krishna came increasingly to enthrall the\nnorthern half of India, its expression in art was the reverse of neat and\norderly. Where a patron was so imbued with love for Krishna that adoration\nof the cowherd lover preceded all, the intensity of his feeling itself\nevoked a new style. There then resulted the Indian equivalent of pictures\nby El Greco, Grunewald or Altdorfer--paintings in which the artist's own\nreligious emotions were the direct occasion of a new manner. In other\ncases, the patron might adhere to Krishna, pay him nominal respect or take\na moderate pleasure in his story but not evince a burning enthusiasm. In\nsuch cases, paintings of Krishna would still be produced but the style\nwould merely repeat existing conventions. The pictures which resulted\nwould then resemble German paintings of the Danube or Cologne\nschools--pictures in which the artist applied an already mature style to a\nreligious theme but did not originate a fresh mode of expression. Whether\nthe greatest art resulted from the first or second method was\nproblematical for the outcome depended as much on the nature of the styles\nas on the artist's powers. In considering Indian pictures of Krishna,\nthen, we must be prepared for sudden fluctuations in expression and abrupt\ndifferences of style and quality. Adoration of Krishna was to prove one of\nthe most vital elements in village and courtly life. It was to capture the\nimagination of Rajput princes and to lead to some of the most intimate\nrevelations of the Indian mind. Yet in art its expression was to hover\nbetween the crude and the sensitive, the savage and the exquisite. It was\nto stimulate some of the most delicate Indian pictures ever painted and,\nat the same time, some of the most forceful.\n\nThe first pictures of Krishna to be painted in India fall within this\nsecond category. In about 1450, one version of the _Gita Govinda_ and two\nof the _Balagopala Stuti_ were produced in Western India.[67] They were\ndoubtless made for middle-class patrons and were executed in Western India\nfor one important reason. Dwarka, the scene of Krishna's life as a prince,\nand Prabhasa, the scene of the final slaughter, were both in Western\nIndia. Both had already become centres of pilgrimage and although Jayadeva\nhad written his great poem far to the East, on the other side of India,\npilgrims had brought copies with them while journeying from Bengal on\nvisits to the sites. The _Gita Govinda_ of Jayadeva had become in fact as\nmuch a Western Indian text as the _Balagopala Stuti_ of Bilvamangala. With\nmanuscript illustrations being already produced in Western India--but not,\nso far as we know, elsewhere--it was not unnatural that the first\nillustrated versions of these poems should be painted here. And it is\nthese circumstances which determined their style. Until the fifteenth\ncentury the chief manuscripts illustrated in Western India were Jain\nscriptures commissioned by members of the merchant community. Jainism had\noriginated in the sixth century B.C. as a parallel movement to Buddhism.\nIt had proved more accommodating to Hinduism, and when Buddhism had\ncollapsed in Western India in the ninth century A.D., Jainism had\ncontinued as a local variant of Hinduism proper. Jain manuscripts had at\nfirst consisted of long rectangular strips made of palm-leaves on which\nthe scriptures were written in heavy black letters. Each slip was roughly\nthree inches wide and ten long and into the text had been inserted lean\ndiagrammatic paintings either portraying Mahavira, the founder of the\ncult, or illustrating episodes in his earthly career.\n\nAbout 1400, palm-leaf was superseded by paper and from then onwards\nmanuscripts were given slightly larger pages. Owing partly to their\nassociation with the same religious order and partly to their constant\nduplication, Jain manuscripts had early conformed to a certain rigid type.\nThe painting was marked by lean and wiry outlines, brilliant red and blue\nand above all by an air of savage ferocity expressed through the idiom of\nfaces shown three-quarter view with the farther eye detached and\nprojecting into space. This style was exercised almost exclusively on Jain\nsubjects and in the year 1400 it was the main style of painting in Western\nIndia and Raj as than.\n\nDuring the fifteenth century, this exclusive character gradually weakened.\nThere arose the idea that besides Jain scriptures, secular poetry might\nalso be illustrated and along with the growing devotion to Krishna as God\ncame the demand for illustrated versions of Krishna texts. The three texts\nwe have just mentioned are due to this tendency. All three are illustrated\nin the prevailing Jain style with its spiky angular idioms and all three\nhave the same somewhat sinister air of barbarous frenzy. At the same time,\nall disclose a partial loosening of the rigid wiry convention, a more\nboisterous rhythm and a slightly softer treatment of trees and animals;\nand, although no very close correlation is possible, the theme itself may\nwell have helped to precipitate these important changes.\n\nBetween 1450 and 1575, Western Indian painting continued to focus on Jain\nthemes, adulterated to only a very slight extent by subjects drawn from\npoetry. It is possible that the Krishna story was also illustrated, but no\nexamples have survived; and it is not until the very end of the sixteenth\ncentury that the Krishna theme again appears in painting and then in two\ndistinct forms. The first is represented by a group of three\nmanuscripts--two of them dated respectively 1598[68] and 1610[69] and\nconsisting of the tenth book of the _Bhagavata Purana_, the third being\nyet another illustration of the _Gita Govinda[70]_. All three sets of\nillustrations are in a closely similar style--a style which, while\npossessing roots in Jain painting is now considerably laxer and more\nsprawling. The faces are no longer shown three-quarter view, the detached\nobtruding eye has gone and in place of the early sharpness there is now a\ncertain slovenly crudity. We do not know for whom these manuscripts were\nmade nor even in what particular part of Western India or Rajasthan they\nwere executed. They were clearly not produced in any great centre of\npainting and can hardly have been commissioned by a prince or merchant of\nmuch aesthetic sensibility. They prove, however, that a demand for\nillustrated versions of the Krishna story was persisting and suggest that\neven prosperous traders may perhaps have acted as patrons.\n\nThe second type is obviously the product of far more sophisticated\ninfluences. It is once again a copy of the _Gita Govinda_ and was probably\nexecuted in about 1590 in or near Jaunpur in Eastern India. As early as\n1465, a manuscript of the leading Jain scripture, the _Kalpasutra_, had\nbeen executed at Jaunpur for a wealthy merchant.[71] Its style was\nbasically Western Indian, yet being executed in an area so far to the\neast, it also possessed certain novelties of manner. The heads were more\nsquarely shaped, the eyes larger in proportion to the face, the ladies'\ndrapery fanning out in great angular swirls. The bodies' contours were\nalso delineated with exquisitely sharp precision. The court at the time\nwas that of Hussain Shah, a member of the marauding Muslim dynasties which\nsince the twelfth century had enveloped Northern India; and it is possibly\ndue to persistent Muslim influence that painting revived in the last two\ndecades of the sixteenth century. Illustrated versions of passionate love\npoetry were executed[72] and as part of the same vogue for poetic romance,\nthe _Gita Govinda_ may once again have been illustrated.[73] Between the\nstyle of these later pictures and that of the Jain text of 1465, there are\nsuch clear affinities that the same local tradition is obviously\nresponsible. Yet the new group of paintings has a distinctive elegance all\nits own. As in the previous group, the detached projecting eye has gone.\nEach situation is treated with a slashing boldness. There is no longer a\nsense of cramping detail and the flat red backgrounds of Western Indian\npainting infuse the settings with hot passion. But it is the treatment of\nthe feminine form which charges the pictures with sophisticated charm. The\nlarge breasts, the sweeping dip in the back, the proud curve of the\nhaunches, the agitated jutting-out of the skirts, all these convey an air\nof vivid sensual charm. That Radha and Krishna should be portrayed in so\ncivilized a manner is evidence of the power which the Krishna story had\ncome to exercise on courtly minds. Krishna is portrayed not as God but as\nthe most elegant of lovers, Radha and the cowgirls as the very embodiment\nof fashionable women.\n\nJaunpur painting does not seem to have survived the sixteenth century and\nfor our next illustrations of the theme, we must turn to the school of\npainting fostered by the Mughals. During the sixteenth century at least\nthree Muslim states other than Jaunpur itself had possessed schools of\npainting--Malwa in Central India and Bijapur and Ahmadnagar in the Deccan.\nTheir styles can best be regarded as Indian offshoots of a Persian mode of\npainting which was current in the Persian province of Shiraz in about the\nyear 1500. In this style, known as Turkman, the flat figures of previous\nPersian painting were set in landscapes of rich and glowing herbage,\nplants and trees being rendered with wild and primitive vigour. In each\ncase the style was probably brought to India by Persian artists who\ncommunicated it to Indian painters or themselves adjusted it to local\nconditions. And it is this process which was repeated but on an altogether\ngrander scale by the Muslim dynasty of the Mughals. Under the emperor\nAkbar (1556-1605), the Mughals absorbed the greater part of Northern\nIndia, concentrating in one imperial court more power and wealth than had\nprobably been amassed at any previous time in India. Among Akbar's\ncultural institutions was a great imperial library for which a colony of\nartists was employed in illustrating manuscripts in Persian. The founders\nof this colony were Persian and it is once again a local style of Persian\npainting which forms the starting point. This style is no longer the\nTurkman style of Shiraz but a later style--a local version of Safavid\npainting as current in Khurasan. With its lively and delicate naturalism\nit not only corresponded to certain predilections of the emperor Akbar\nhimself, but seems also to have appealed to Indian artists recruited to\nthe colony. Its representational finesse made it an ideal medium for\ntranscribing the Indian scene and the appearance at the court of European\nminiatures, themselves highly naturalistic, stimulated this character\nstill further. The result was the sudden rise in India, between 1570 and\n1605, of a huge new school of painting, exquisitely representational in\nmanner and committed to a new kind of Indian naturalism. Such a school,\nthe creation of an alien Muslim dynasty, would at first sight seem\nunlikely to produce illustrations of Hindu religion. Its main function was\nto illustrate works of literature, science and contemporary history--a\nfunction which resulted in such grandiose productions as the _Akbarnama_\nor Annals of Akbar, now preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum.[74]\nNone the less there are two ways in which Mughal painting, as developed\nunder Akbar, contributed to the Krishna story. Akbar, although a Muslim by\nbirth, was keenly interested in all religions and in his dealings with the\nRajputs had shown himself markedly tolerant. He desired to minimise the\nhatred of Muslims for Hindus and believing it to arise from mutual\nignorance, ordained that certain Hindu texts should be translated into\nPersian and thus rendered more accessible. The texts chosen were the two\nepics, the _Ramayana_ and the _Mahabharata_, and of these Persian\nabridgements were duly prepared. The abridgement of the _Mahabharata_,\nknown as the _Razmnama_, was probably completed in 1588 but illustrated\ncopies, including the great folios now in the palace library at Jaipur,\nwere probably not completed before 1595. As part of the project, its\nappendix, the _Harivansa_ was also summarized and a separate volume with\nfourteen illustrations all concerned with Krishna is part of the great\nversion now at Jaipur.[75] In these illustrations, it is Krishna the\nprince who is chiefly shown, all the pictures illustrating his career\nafter he has left the cowherds. There is no attempt to stress his romantic\nqualities or to present him as a lover. He appears rather as the great\nfighter, the slayer of demons. Such a portrayal is what we might perhaps\nexpect from a Mughal edition. None the less the paintings are remarkable\ninterpretations, investing Krishna with an air of effortless composure,\nand exalting his princely grace. The style is notable for its use of\nsmoothly flowing outlines and gentle shading, and although there is no\ndirect connection, it is these characteristics which were later to be\nembodied in the Hindu art of the Punjab Hills.\n\nSuch interest by the Emperor may well have spurred Hindu members of the\ncourt to have other texts illustrated for, ten to fifteen years later, in\nperhaps 1615, a manuscript of the _Gita Govinda_ was produced, its\nillustrations possessing a certain fairy-like refinement.[76] Krishna in a\nflowing dhoti wanders in meadows gay with feathered trees while Radha and\nher confidante appear in Mughal garb. Romance is hardly evident for it is\nthe scene itself with its rustic prettiness which is chiefly stressed. Yet\nthe patron by whom this version was commissioned may well have felt that\nit was sensitively rendered and within its minor compass expressed to\nsome extent the magical enchantment distilled by the verses. That the\nEmperor's stimulus survived his death is plain; for in about the year\n1620, two manuscripts of the _Bhagavata Purana_ appeared--both in a style\nof awkward crudity in which the idioms of Akbar's school of artists were\nconsciously aped.[77] The manuscripts in question are at Bikaner and it is\npossible that one or two inferior Mughal artists, deprived of work at the\ncentral court, travelled out to this northerly Rajput state, daring the\ndesert, and there produced these vapid works. It is likely that in the\nearly years of the seventeenth century, many areas of India possessed no\nartists whatsoever and if a Hindu ruler was to copy Mughal fashion, the\nonly artists available to him might be those of an inferior rank. And\nalthough exact data are wanting, such circumstances may well explain\nanother document of Krishna, the first illustrated version of Keshav Das's\n_Rasika Priya_.[78] As we have seen, this poem was composed at Orchha in\nBundelkhand in 1591, at a time when both poet and court were in close\nassociation with Akbar. Yet the version in question shows the same\npoverty-stricken manner with its crude aping of imperial idioms and utter\nlack of sensitive expression. There is no evidence that at this time\nBundelkhand possessed its own school of painting and in consequence the\nmost likely explanation is that yet another inferior artist trained in the\nearly Mughal manner, migrated to the court and there produced this crude\nprosaic version. In none of these provincial Mughal pictures is there any\nfeeling for Krishna as God or even as a character. The figures have a\nwooden doll-like stiffness, parodying by their evident jerkiness the\nexquisite emotions intended by the poet and we can only assume that\nimpressed by the imperial example minor rulers or nobles encouraged\nstruggling practitioners but in an atmosphere far removed from that of the\ngreat emperor.\n\nSuch paintings in a broken-down Akbari manner characterize the period 1615\nto 1630. From then onwards Mughal painting, as it developed under the\nemperor Shah Jahan, concentrated on more courtly themes. The early\ninterest in dramatic action disappeared and the demand for costly\nmanuscripts, sumptuously illustrated, withered up. Under Aurangzeb,\ntolerant understanding gave way to a vicious proselytism and it was only\nin remote centres such as Bikaner that later Mughal artists exercised\ntheir style on Krishna themes. It is significant that at Bikaner their\nleader was a Muslim, Ruknuddin, and that his chief work was a series of\npictures illustrating the _Rasika Priya_.[79] His figures have a shallow\nprettiness of manner, stamping them once again as products of a style\nwhich, in its earliest phases, was admirably suited to recording dramatic\naction but which had little relevance to either religion or romance. For\nthese a more poetic and symbolic manner was necessary and such a style\nappeared in the city of Udaipur in the Rajput State of Mewar.\n\nPainting at Udaipur is inseparably associated with the influence of two\ngreat rulers--Rana Jagat Singh (1628-1652) and Rana Raj Singh (1652-1681)\nAs early as 1605 pictures had been produced at the State's former capital,\nChawand--the artist being a Muhammadan named Nasiruddin. His style was\nobviously quite independent of any Mughal influence and it is rather to\nthe separate tradition of painting which had grown up in Malwa that we\nmust look for its salient qualities--a tensely rhythmical line, a\nflamboyant use of strong emphatic colours, vigorous simplifications and\nboldly primitive idioms for plants and trees. It is this style which\nthirty or forty years later comes to luxuriant maturity in a series of\nillustrations executed at Udaipur.[80] Although the artists responsible\nincluded a Muslim, Shahabaddin, and a Hindu, Manohar, it is the Krishna\ntheme itself which seems to have evoked this marvellous efflorescence.\nRana Jagat Singh was clearly a devout worshipper whose faithful adhesion\nto Rajput standards found exhilarating compensations in Krishna's role as\nlover. Keshav Das's _Rasika Priya_ achieved the greatest popularity at his\ncourt--its blend of reverent devotion and ecstatic passion fulfilling some\nof the deepest Rajput needs. Between the years 1645 and 1660 there\naccordingly occurred a systematic production not only of pictures\nillustrating this great poetic text but of the various books in the\n_Bhagavata Purana_ most closely connected with Krishna's career. Krishna\nis shown as a Rajput princeling dressed in fashionable garb, threading his\nway among the cowgirls, pursuing his amorous inclinations and practising\nwith artless guile the seductive graces of a courtly lover. Each picture\nhas a passionate intensity--its rich browns and reds, greens and blues\nendowing its characters with glowing fervour, while Krishna and the\ncowgirls, with their sharp robust forms and great intent eyes, display a\nbrusque vitality and an eager rapturous vigour. A certain simplification\nof structure--each picture possessing one or more rectangular\ncompartments--enhances this effect while the addition of swirling trees\nstudded with flowers imbues each wild encounter with a surging vegetative\nrhythm. Krishna is no longer the tepid well-groomed youth of Mughal\ntradition, but a vigorous Rajput noble expressing with decorous vehemence\nall the violent longings denied expression by the Rajput moral code. Such\npictures have a lyrical splendour, a certain wild elation quite distinct\nfrom previous Indian painting and we can only explain these new stylistic\nqualities by reference to the cult of Krishna himself. The realization\nthat Krishna was adorable, that his practice of romantic love was a\nsublime revelation of Godhead and that in his worship lay release is the\nmotive force behind these pictures and the result is a new style\ntranscending in its rhythmical assurance and glowing ardour all previous\nachievements.\n\nSuch an outburst of painting could hardly leave other areas unaffected and\nin the closing quarter of the seventeenth century, not only Bundi, the\nRajput State immediately adjoining Udaipur to the east, but Malwa, the\nwild hilly area farther south east, witnessed a renaissance of painting.\nAt Bundi, the style was obviously a direct development from that of\nUdaipur itself--the idioms for human figures and faces as well as the\nglowing colours being clearly based on Udaipur originals. At the same\ntime, a kind of sumptuous luxuriance, a predilection for greens and\noranges in brilliant juxtaposition, a delight in natural profusion and the\nuse of recessions, shading and round volumes give each picture a\ndistinctive aura.[81] In Malwa, on the other hand, the earlier tradition\nseems to have undergone a new resuscitation. Following various wars in\nMiddle India, the former Muslim kingdom had been divided into fiefs--some\nbeing awarded to Rajput nobles of loyalty and valour. The result was yet\nanother style of painting--comparable in certain ways to that of Bundi and\nUdaipur yet markedly original in its total effect. In place of tightly\ngeometrical compositions, Malwa artists preferred a more fluid grouping,\ntheir straining luxuriant trees blending with swaying creepers to create a\nsoft meandering rhythm and only the human figures, with their sharply cut\nveils and taut intense faces, expressing the prevailing cult of frenzied\npassion.[82] Such schools of painting reflected the Rajput need for\npassionate romance rather than any specially strong adhesion to Krishna,\nthe divine lover. Although one copy of the _Rasika Priya_ and one of the\n_Bhagavata Purana_ were executed at both these centres, their chief\nsubjects were the _ragas_ and _raginis_ (the thirty-six modes of Indian\nmusic) _nayakas_ and _nayikas_ (the ideal lovers) and _barahmasas_ (the\ntwelve months) while in the case of Malwa, there was the added theme of\nSanskrit love-poetry. Krishna the god was rarely celebrated and it was\nrather as 'the best of lovers' that he was sometimes introduced into\npictures. In a Bundi series depicting the twelve months, courtly lovers\nare shown sitting in a balcony watching a series of rustic incidents\nproceeding below. The lover, however, is not an ordinary prince but\nKrishna himself, his blue skin and royal halo leaving no possible doubt as\nto his real identity.[83] Similarly in paintings illustrating the\ncharacter and personality of musical modes, Krishna was often introduced\nas the perfect embodiment of passionate loving. None of the poems\naccompanying the modes make any allusion to him. Indeed, their prime\npurpose is to woo the presiding genius of the melody and suggest the\nvisual scene most likely to evoke its spirit. The musical mode, _Bhairava\nRaga_, for example, was actually associated with Siva, yet because the\ncharacter of the music suggested furious passion the central figure of the\nlover dallying with a lady was depicted as Krishna.[84] In _Hindola Raga_,\na mode connected with swinging, a similar result ensued. Swinging in\nIndian sentiment was normally associated with the rains and these in turn\nevoked 'memory and desire.' The character of the music was therefore\nvisualized as that of a young prince swinging in the rain--his very\nmovements symbolizing the act of love. Since Krishna, however, was the\nperfect lover, nothing was easier than to portray _Hindola Raga_ as\nKrishna himself. _Hindola_ might be invoked in the poem, but it was\nKrishna who appeared seated on the swing.[85] An exactly similar process\noccurred in the case of _Megh Mallar Raga_. This was connected with the\nrainy season, yet because rain and storm were symbolic of sex, _Megh\nMallar_ was portrayed not as a separate figure, but as Krishna once again\ndancing in the rain with ladies accompanying him. Even feminine modes of\nmusic suffered the same kind of transformation. _Vasanta Ragini_, 'the\nmusic of springtime,' was normally apostrophized as a lovely lady, yet\nbecause springtime suggested lovers, she was shown in painting as if she\nwere Krishna dancing with a vase of flowers, holding a wand in his hand or\ncelebrating the spring fertility festival. The mode, _Pancham Ragini_, was\nalso feminine in character and was conceived of as a beauty enjoying her\nlover's advances. The lady herself was portrayed, yet once again Krishna\nwas introduced, this time as her lover. In all these cases the celebration\nof Krishna was incidental to the main theme and only in one instance--a\nMalwa _Rasika Priya_--is there a trace of undisguised adoration. In this\nlovely series,[86] Krishna's enchantment is perfectly suggested by the\nflowering trees which wave above him, the style acquiring an even more\nintense lyricism on account of its divine subject.\n\nDuring the eighteenth century, painting in Rajasthan became increasingly\nsecular, even artists of Udaipur devoting themselves almost exclusively to\nscenes of court life. The Ranas and the Mewar nobility were depicted\nhunting in the local landscape, watching elephant fights or moving in\nprocession. Similar fashions prevailed in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner,\nBundi and Kotah. Only, in fact, in two Rajasthan States and then for only\nbrief periods was there any major celebration of the Krishna theme. At\nKishangarh, a small State midway between Ajmer and Jaipur, a series of\nintensely poetic paintings were produced between the years 1750 and\n1760--the prime stimulus being the delight of Raja Sawant Singh in\nKrishna's romance.[87] Born in 1699, Sawant Singh had ascended the throne\nin 1748 and given all his time to three activities, the rapturous\nre-living of Krishna's romance with Radha, the composition of ecstatic\npoems and the daily worship of Krishna as lover god. So great was his\ndevotion that in 1757 he abandoned the throne and taking with him his\nfavourite maid of honour, the beautiful poetess, Bani Thani, retired to\nBrindaban where he died in 1764. Sawant Singh's delight seems to have been\nshared by a local artist, Nihal Chand, for under the Raja's direction he\nproduced a number of pictures in which Radha and Krishna sustained the\nleading roles. The pictures were mainly illustrations of Sawant Singh's\nown poems--the lovers being portrayed at moments of blissful wonder,\ndrifting on a lake in a scarlet boat, watching fireworks cascading down\nthe sky or gently dallying in a marble pavilion.\n\n  Here is Love's enchanted zone\n  Here Time and the Firmament stand still\n  Here the Bride and Bridegroom\n  Never can grow old.\n  Here the fountains never cease to play\n  And the night is ever young.[88]\n\nNihal Chand's style was eminently fitted to express this mood of sensitive\nadoration. Originally trained in the later Mughal style, he was able to\nrender appearances with exquisite delicacy but was also acutely aware of\nrhythmical elegance. And it is this which constantly characterized his\nwork, his greatest achievement being the creation of a local manner for\nportraying Radha and Krishna.[89] Radha was endowed with great arched\neyebrows and long eyes--the end of the eye being tilted so as to join the\ndownward sweeping line of the eyebrow while Krishna was given a slender\nreceding forehead and narrow waist. Each was made to seem the acme of\nelegance and the result was a conception of Krishna and his love as the\nvery embodiment of aristocratic breeding.\n\nThe same sense of aristocratic loveliness is conveyed by a scene of\ndancing figures almost life size in the palace library at Jaipur.[90]\nPainted under Raja Pratap Singh (1779-1803) the picture shows ladies of\nthe palace impersonating Radha and Krishna dancing together attended by\ngirl musicians.[91] Against a pale green background, the figures, dressed\nin greenish yellow, pale greyish blue and the purest white, posture with\ncalm assured grace, while the pure tones and exquisite line-work invest\nthe scene with gay and luminous clarity. We do not know the circumstances\nin which this great picture was painted but the existence of another\nlarge-scale picture portraying the circular dance--the lines of cowgirls\nrevolving like flowers, with Radha and Krishna swaying in their\nmidst--suggests that the Krishna theme had once again inflamed a Rajput\nruler's imagination.[92]\n\nSuch groups of paintings are, at most, exquisite exceptions and it is\nrather in the Rajput states of the Punjab Hills--an area remote and quite\ndistinct from Rajasthan--that the theme of Krishna the divine lover\nreceived its most enraptured expression in the eighteenth century. Until\nthe second half of the seventeenth century this stretch of country\nbordering the Western Himalayas seems to have had no kind of painting\nwhatsoever. In 1678, however, Raja Kirpal Pal inherited the tiny state of\nBasohli and almost immediately a new artistic urge became apparent.\nPictures were produced on a scale comparable to that of Udaipur thirty\nyears earlier and at the same time a local style of great emotional\nintensity makes its sudden appearance.[93] This new Basohli style, with\nits flat planes of brilliant green, brown, red, blue and orange, its\nsavage profiles and great intense eyes has obvious connections with\nUdaipur paintings of the 1650-60 period. And although exact historical\nproof is still wanting, the most likely explanation is that under Rana Raj\nSingh some Udaipur artists were persuaded to migrate to Basohli. We know\nthat Rajput rulers in the Punjab Hills were often connected by marriage\nwith Rajput families in Rajasthan and it is therefore possible that during\na visit to Udaipur, Raja Kirpal Pal recruited his atelier. Udaipur\npainting, however, can hardly have been the only source for even in its\nearliest examples Basohli painting has a smooth polish, a savage\nsophistication and a command of shading which suggests the influence of\nthe Mughal style of Delhi. We must assume, in fact, a series of influences\ndetermined to a great extent by Raja Kirpal Pal's political contacts, his\nprivate journeys and individual taste, but perhaps above all by an urge to\nexpress his feelings for Krishna in a novel and personal manner. The\nresult is not only a new style but a special choice of subject-matter. The\n_Rasika Priya_ and the _Bhagavata Purana_, the texts so greatly favoured\nat Udaipur, were discarded and in their place Basohli artists produced a\nseries of isolated scenes from Krishna's life--the child Krishna stealing\nbutter,[94] Krishna the gallant robbing the cowgirls or exacting toll,\nKrishna extinguishing the forest-fire,[95] Krishna the violent lover\ndevouring Radha with hungry eyes. Their greatest achievements, however,\nwere two versions of Bhanu Datta's _Rasamanjari_, one of them completed in\n1695,[96] shortly after Raja Kirpal Pal's death, the other almost\ncertainly fifteen years earlier.[97] The text in question is a treatise on\npoetics illustrating how romantic situations should best be treated in\nSanskrit poetry--the conduct of mature mistresses, experienced lovers, sly\ngo-betweens, clowns or jokers being all subjected to analysis.[98] The\nsubject of the text is secular romantic poetry and Krishna himself is\nnever mentioned. None the less, in producing their illustrations, the\nartists made Krishna the central figure and we can only conclude that\neschewing the obvious _Rasika Priya_, Raja Kirpal Pal had directed his\nartists to do for Sanskrit what Keshav Das had done for Hindi poetry--to\ncelebrate Krishna as the most varied and skilled of lovers and as a\ncorollary show him in a whole variety of romantic and poetic situations.\nAs a result Krishna was portrayed in a number of highly conflicting\nroles--as husband, rake, seducer, paramour and gallant.\n\nIn one picture he is 'a gallant whose word cannot be trusted' and we see\nhim in the act of delicately disengaging a lady's dress and gazing at her\nwith passion-haunted eyes. The poem on the reverse runs as follows:\n\n  Showing her a beautiful girdle\n  Drawing on a fair panel with red chalk\n  Putting a bracelet on her wrists\n  And laying a necklace on her breasts\n  Winning the confidence of the fawn-eyed lady of fair brows\n  He slyly loosens the knot of her skirt\n  Below the girdle-stead, with naughty hand.[99]\n\nIn another picture, he appears as 'a gallant well versed in the ways of\ncourtesans,' the dreaded seducer of inexperienced girls. He is now shown\napproaching a formal pavilion, set in a lonely field. Inside the pavilion\nis the lovely object of his attack, sitting with a companion, knowing that\nwilly-nilly she must shortly yield yet timidly making show of maidenly\nreserve.\n\n  His swollen heart\n  Knows neither shame nor pity\n  Nor any fear of anger\n  How can such a tender bud as I\n  Be cast into his hands today?[100]\n\nIn yet a third picture, he is portrayed standing outside a house while the\nlady, the subject of his passions, sits within. He is once again 'a false\ngallant,' his amorous intentions being shown by the orange, a conventional\nsymbol for the breasts, poised lightly in his hand. As the lady turns to\ngreet him, she puts a dot in the circle which she has just drawn on the\nwall--a gesture which once again contains a hint of sex. On the picture's\nreverse the poem records a _conversation galante_.\n\n  'Beloved, what are you doing\n  With a golden orange in your hand?'\n  So said the moon-faced one\n  Placing a dot\n  On the bright circles\n  Painted in the house. [101]\n\nIn other pictures, a clown or jester appears, introducing a witty joking\nelement into the scene and thus presenting Krishna's attitude to love as\nall-inclusive.\n\nFrom 1693, the year of Raja Kirpal's death, painting at Basohli\nconcentrated mainly on portraying rulers and on illustrating _ragas_ and\n_raginis_--the poems which interpreted the moods and spirit of music. The\nstyle maintained its fierce intensity but there was now a gradual rounding\nof faces and figures, leading to a slight softening of the former brusque\nvigour. Devotion to Krishna does not seem to have bulked quite so largely\nin the minds of later Basohli rulers, although the cult itself may well\nhave continued to exert a strong emotional appeal. In 1730, a Basohli\nprincess, the lady Manaku, commissioned a set of illustrations to the\n_Gita Govinda_ and Krishna's power to enchant not only the male but also\nthe female mind was once again demonstrated.[102]\n\nThis series of illustrations is in some ways a turning point in Indian\npainting for not only was it to serve as a model and inspiration to later\nartists but its production brings to a close the most creative phase in\nBasohli art. After 1730, painting continued to be practised there but no\nlonger with the same fervour. Basohli artists seem to have carried the\nstyle to other states--to Guler, Jammu, Chamba, Kulu, Nurpur and\nBilaspur--but it is not until 1770 that the Krishna theme again comes into\nprominence. In about this year, artists from Guler migrated to the distant\nGarhwal, a large and straggling state at the far south of the Punjab\nHills, taking with them a style of exquisite naturalism which had\ngradually reached maturity under the Guler ruler, Raja Govardhan\nSingh.[103] During his reign, a family of Kashmiri Brahmans skilled in the\nMughal technique had joined his court and had there absorbed a new\nromantic outlook. On at least three occasions they had illustrated scenes\nfrom the _Bhagavata Purana_--Nanda celebrating Krishna's birth,[104]\nKrishna rescuing Nanda from the python which had started to devour his\nfoot,[105] and finally the game of blind man's bluff[106]--but their chief\nsubject had been the tender enchantments of courtly love. Ladies were\nportrayed longing for their lovers. The greatest emphasis was placed on\nelegance of pose. Fierce distortions were gradually discarded and the whole\npurpose of painting was to dwell on exquisite figures and to suggest a rapt\ndevotion to the needs of love.\n\nIt is this suavely delicate art which now appears in Garhwal. Among the\nGuler painters was a master-artist and although his first Garhwal pictures\nare concerned with passionate romance, devotion to Krishna quickly\nbecomes apparent.[107] The great Alaknanda River which roared through\nSrinagar, the capital, had a special fascination for him and just as\nLeonardo da Vinci evinced at one time a passionate interest in springing\ncurls, the Guler artist found a special excitement in winding eddies and\ndashing water. The result was a sudden new interpretation of the Krishna\ntheme. In two pictures where Krishna is shown quelling the snake\nKaliya,[108] all the Guler qualities of elegant naturalism are abundantly\npresent. Each figure has a smooth suavity and in every face there appears\na look of calm adoration. It is the swirling, curling water, however,\nwhich gives the pictures their special Garhwal quality. The play of water\nevokes a melody of line and the result is a sense of upsurging joy. A\nsimilar religious exaltation marks other pictures by this master. At some\ntime he appears to have been commissioned to illustrate the tale of Sudama\nthe poor Brahman whose tattered hovel is changed by Krishna into a golden\npalace. He was evidently assisted by a weaker painter but in the pictures\nwhich are clearly his own work, the same quality of lyrical incantation\nappears. As Sudama journeys to Dwarka Krishna's golden city, his heart\nswoons with adoration, the hills, trees and ocean appear to dance about\nhim and once again, the linear music of the composition engenders a\nfeeling of supreme ecstasy.[109] We do not know which member of the Garhwal\ncourt acted as his patron--it is even possible that it was not the ruler\nhimself but his consort, the Guler princess whom he had married in about\nthe year 1770. What, at any rate, is clear is that at least one lively\nadorer of Krishna existed at the Garhwal court and that until the Gurkha\ninvasions of 1803, there were other painters, besides the master-artist,\nwho were similarly encouraged to interpret the Krishna theme.[110] Their\nstyle was clearly influenced by that of the master but in their use of\nslender leafless branches and towering spikes of blossom, they developed a\nspecial Garhwal imagery designed to suggest the slender beauty of\nlove-enchanted girls. After the expulsion of the Gurkhas in 1816, a new\nRaja revived Garhwal painting. Krishna the lover was once again portrayed\nand until the middle of the nineteenth century, pictures continued to be\nproduced blending the delights of courtly passion with adoration of God.\n\nIt was in the state of Kangra, however, that the greatest developments\noccurred. In 1775, the young Sansar Chand became Raja, and despite his\nextreme youth, quickly acquired mastery of the Kangra court. It is\nunlikely that artists were immediately summoned, but certainly by 1780 a\nflourishing school of painters had come into existence.[111] As at Garhwal,\nthe artists of Kangra came originally from Guler and thus a similar\nphenomenon arises--the Guler manner providing the basis for yet a second\ngreat style. Sansar Chand was obviously quite exceptional, for not only\nwas he successful in politics and war, but from his early manhood was\ndevoted to Krishna as lover god. And it is this all-absorbing interest\nwhich explains the vast expansion of painting which now occurred. Under\nSansar Chand's stimulus artists began to portray every situation involving\nKrishna, the cowherd. He was shown as a baby crying for the moon, being\nwashed by his foster-mother, Yasoda, or mischievously breaking pitchers\nfull of curds. He would be painted strolling with the cowherds, playing on\nhis flute, or bringing the cattle home at evening. But the main theme to\nwhich the artists constantly returned was his main cowgirl love. Radha\nwould be shown standing with Krishna in the forest, gazing trustfully into\nhis eyes, seeking shelter with him from the rain or sitting with him by a\nstream.[112] Sometimes she and the cowgirls were shown celebrating the\nspring festival of Holi, Krishna syringing them with tinted water while\nthey themselves strove to return his onslaughts by throwing red\npowder.[113] Often the scene would shift from the forest to the village,\nand Krishna would then be shown gazing at Radha as she dried herself after\nbathing or squatted in a courtyard cooking food. At other times he\nappeared assisting her at her toilet, helping her to dress her hair or\napplying a beauty mark to her forehead. If the scene was night itself,\nRadha would be shown sitting in her chamber, while far away across the\ncourtyards and gardens would loom the small figure of Krishna waiting\nlonely on a bed. Occasionally the lovers would be portrayed expressing\ntheir rapture by means of simple gestures. Krishna's arm would be shown\nplaced lovingly around Radha's shoulders, or Radha herself would be\nportrayed hiding her head on Krishna's breast.[114] In all these pictures,\nthe style had an innocent and exquisite clarity, suggesting by its simple\nunaffected naturalism the artists' delight in Krishna's character, their\nappreciation of the feminine mind, their sense of sex as inherently noble\nand their association of romance with God himself.\n\nIt is in a series of illustrations to certain texts, however, that Kangra\npainting reaches its greatest heights. Among the many artists employed by\nSansar Chand, a certain Purkhu was notable for his 'remarkable clearness\nof tone and delicacy of handling,'[115] and though none of his pictures are\nsigned it is these qualities which characterize one of the two most famous\nsets of illustrations executed in Kangra. The subject was the tenth book\nof the _Bhagavata Purana_ and the scenes illustrated ranged from Krishna's\nbirth and adventures with demons to his frolics with the cowgirls and\nfinal slaughter of Kansa. Purkhu's style--if Purkhu is indeed the master\nresponsible--is remarkable for its luminous clarity, its faint suggestions\nof modelling, and above all for its natural use of rhythm. In every\nscene,[116] cowherds appear engaged in different tasks, yet throughout\nthere is a sense of oneness with Krishna himself. Krishna is shown\ndelighting all by his simple friendliness and dignified charm and the\nstyle itself endows each scene with gentle harmony.\n\nPurkhu was clearly one of the greatest artists ever to practise in the\nPunjab Hills, but it is a certain Kushala who is supposed to have been\nSansar Chand's special favourite. We do not know which pictures are by his\nhand but there exist two series of illustrations of such distinctive\nquality that Kushala may well have been responsible.[117] One is a series\nof paintings illustrating part of Bihari's _Sat Sai_--the seven-hundred\npoems in which he extolled Krishna's love-making.[118] The other is yet\nanother version of the _Gita Govinda_ where Krishna is shown consorting\nwith the cowgirls in blissful abandon.[119] In both these series, the\ninherent loveliness of Radha and the cowgirls is expressed by supple\nflowing line, a flair for natural posture and the inclusion of poetic\nimages. The scarlet of a cowgirl's skirt is echoed by the redness of a\ngathering storm, the insertion of Krishna into the background suggesting\nthe passionate nature of their imminent embraces.[120] In a similar way,\nthe forest itself is 'threaded with phases of passion' and slender trees\nin flower parallel the slim romantic girls who long for Krishna's love.\n\nOne other Kangra master remains to be mentioned. Besides the pictures\nalready noted, there exists a further series illustrating the tenth book\nof the _Bhagavata Purana_. The artist's identity is once again uncertain,\nbut just as the Garhwal master was fascinated by the swirl of curling\nwater, the Kangra artist in question delighted in the blonde pallor of\nthe Indian moon.[121] Each incident in the text is rendered as if in\nmoonlight--a full moon riding in the sky, its pale reflection shining in\nwater, the countryside itself bathed throughout in frosty whiteness. As a\nresult the figures of Radha and the cowgirls seem imbued with pallid\nglamour, their love for Krishna with an almost unearthly radiance.\n\nKangra painting continued throughout the nineteenth century but it was\nonly during Sansar Chand's own reign (1775-1823) that the style achieved\ngreat lyrical glory. Similarly it was only towards the end of the\neighteenth century that other states in the Punjab Hills developed their\nown interpretations of the great impassioned theme. At Nurpur, Chamba,\nKulu and Bilaspur[122] pictures of Krishna had temporary vogues and at all\nthese places artists created new modes of expression. None of the local\nstyles, however, possessed the same prestige as that of Kangra and all\nwere subsequently obliterated by the general Kangra manner. By the\nmid-nineteenth century, the Rajput order in the Punjab Hills foundered\nbefore the British and while lesser nobles and merchants continued to\npurchase pictures of Krishna the cult as a whole declined in princely\nfavour. Only in Eastern India and then mainly in the villages did delight\nin Krishna continue to evoke new painting. From the twelfth century\nonwards Bengal had constantly celebrated the loves of Krishna--the poets\nJayadeva, Chandi Das and Vidyapati being all natives of this part of\nIndia. Hymns to Krishna were sung in the villages and as part of this\nfervid adhesion, local manuscripts of the _Bhagavata Purana_ and the _Gita\nGovinda_ were often produced. Such manuscripts were normally not\nillustrated but were preserved between wooden covers, on which scenes of\nKrishna dancing with the cowgirls or with male devotees were painted.[123]\nBook covers of this kind were produced in the seventeenth and eighteenth\ncenturies and the resulting pictures have something of the savage elation\nassociated with the Basohli style and its derivatives. During the\nnineteenth century, painted book-covers ceased to be produced but three\nother kinds of painting continued to celebrate the Krishna theme. Frescoes\nof Hindu gods and goddesses including Krishna were often executed on the\nmud walls of village houses in Mithila, the birthplace of the poet\nVidyapati, and the style of painting with its brilliant colours and\nbrusque distortions testified to the great excitement still engendered by\nKrishna's name.[124] At Kalighat near Calcutta, a special type of\nwater-colour picture was mass-produced for sale to pilgrims and although\nthe stock subjects included almost every Hindu god, many incidents from\nKrishna's life were boldly portrayed.[125] The style with its curving\nsumptuous forms is more a clue to general Bengali interests than to any\nspecial attitudes to Krishna, but the pictures, strangely parallel in\nstyle to the work of the modern artist Fernand L\u00e9ger, have a robust gaiety\nand bounding vigour, not inappropriate to the Krishna theme. The third\ntype of painting is the work of professional village minstrels known as\n_jadupatuas_. As a means of livelihood, _jadupatuas_ travel from village\nto village in West Bengal, entertaining the people by singing ballads and\nillustrating their songs with long painted scrolls. As each ballad\nproceeds, the scroll is slowly unwound, one scene leading to another until\nthe whole is concluded. Among the ballads thus intoned, the romance of\nKrishna is among the most common and the style of painting with its crude\nexuberance suggests the strength of popular devotion.[126]\n\nThere remains one last form of painting. During the twentieth century, the\nmodern movement in Indian art has produced at least four major\nartists--Rabindranath Tagore, Amrita Sher-Gil, Jamini Roy and George Keyt.\nOf these four, the first two did not illustrate the Krishna theme. Jamini\nRoy, on the other hand, has often painted Krishna as flute-player and\ndancer.[127] It would be unrealistic to suggest that these pictures spring\nfrom a lively sense of Krishna as God--Jamini Roy has, in fact, resorted\nto themes of Christ with equal, if not greater, frequency but has shown no\nsigns of becoming a Christian. It is rather that in painting these\npictures, he has treated Krishna as a symbol of rural vitality, a figure\nwhose boisterous career among the cowherds is an exact reflection of his\nown attitudes and enthusiasms. To Jamini Roy, the Bengali village with its\nsense of rude health is infinitely to be preferred to a city such as\nCalcutta with its artificiality and disease and in a style of bold\nsimplifications, he has constantly celebrated the natural vigour and\ninherent dignity of simple unsophisticated men.\n\nSuch pictures stress a comparatively unimportant side of Krishna's\ncharacter and it is rather in the paintings of George Keyt that Krishna\nthe lover is proudly portrayed. Born in Ceylon of mixed ancestry, Keyt\nhas, for many years, been acutely responsive to Indian poetry. In 1947,\nhe published the translation of the _Gita Govinda,_ excerpts from which\nhave been quoted in the text, and throughout his career his work has been\ndistinguished by a poet's delight in feminine form and sensuous rapture.\nTo Keyt such a delight is a vital component of adult minds and in the\nromance of Radha and Krishna he found a subject subtly expressive of his\nown most intimate beliefs. His paintings and line-drawings of Radha,\nKrishna and the cowgirls--at once modern yet vitally Indian in\nspirit--have the same qualities as those in the _Gita Govinda_.[128] Radha\nand Krishna are shown luxuriating in each other's elegance, a certain\nineffable tenderness characterizing their gestures and movements. Their\nlove is gentle rather than brusque, an air of glamorous wonder broods\nabove them and we meet once more that blend of romantic sensuality and\nloving innocence which is perhaps the chief Indian contribution to\ncultured living. It is this quality which gives to Indian paintings of\nKrishna and his loves their incomparable fervour, and makes them enduring\nexpressions of Indian religion.\n\n[Footnote 66: Plates 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13-17, 21 and 36.]\n\n[Footnote 67: M.R. Mazumdar, 'The Gujarati School of Painting,' _Journal of\nthe Indian Society of Oriental Art_, 1942, Vol. X, plates 3 and 4.]\n\n[Footnote 68: Collection Maharaja of Jaipur, Pothikhana, Jaipur.]\n\n[Footnote 69: Collection Maharaja of Jodhpur, Pustakaprakash, Jodhpur\nFort.]\n\n[Footnote 70: Plate 22. Collection N.C. Mehta, Bombay. For reproductions of\n2 and 3, see Karl Khandalavala, 'Leaves from Rajasthan,' _Marg_, Vol. IV,\nNo. 3. Figs. 8 and 10.]\n\n[Footnote 71: Moti Chandra, _Jain Miniature Paintings from Western India_\n(Ahmedabad, 1949), Figs. 99-105.]\n\n[Footnote 72: Khandalavala, op. cit., Fig. 14; _The Art of India and\nPakistan_, Pls. 81 and 82.]\n\n[Footnote 73: Plates 23 and 24.]\n\n[Footnote 74: For reproductions, see E. Wellesz, _Akbar's Religious Thought\nreflected in Mogul Painting_ (London, 1952), Pls. 1-37.]\n\n[Footnote 75: Reproduced Hendley, _Memorials, The Razm Namah_; see also\nPlates 1 and 2 below.]\n\n[Footnote 76: _The Art of India and Pakistan_, Plate 88.]\n\n[Footnote 77: H. Goetz, _The Art and Architecture of Bikaner State_\n(Oxford, 1950), Fig. 91.]\n\n[Footnote 78: Coomaraswamy, _Boston Catalogue, VI, Mughal Painting_,\nPlates 8-19.]\n\n[Footnote 79: Goetz, op. cit., Figs. 78 and 93.]\n\n[Footnote 80: Plate 29. See also B. Gray, _Treasures of Indian Miniatures\nfrom the Bikaner Palace Collection_ (Oxford, 1951), Plate 6.]\n\n[Footnote 81: Plates 28 and 32. See also Archer, _Indian Painting_, Plate\n7.]\n\n[Footnote 82: _The Art of India and Pakistan_, Plate 85.]\n\n[Footnote 83: Plate 32.]\n\n[Footnote 84: Plate 34.]\n\n[Footnote 85: Plate 33.]\n\n[Footnote 86: Bharat Kala Bhawan, Banaras.]\n\n[Footnote 87: Eric Dickinson, 'The Way of Pleasure: the Kishangarh\nPaintings', 2 _Marg_, Vol. III, No. 4, 29-35.]\n\n[Footnote 88: Ibid., 31.]\n\n[Footnote 89: Plate 39.]\n\n[Footnote 90: For cartoons of this picture, see A.K. Coomaraswamy, _Indian\nDrawings_ (London, 1912), Vol. II, Plate 2 and _Rajput Painting_, Vol. II,\nPlates 9 and 10.]\n\n[Footnote 91: Note 22.]\n\n[Footnote 92: Gangoly, _Masterpieces of Rajput Painting_, Plate 10.]\n\n[Footnote 93: Plates 4, 10, 26, 27, 30 and 31. _The Art of India and\nPakistan_, Plates 100-102.]\n\n[Footnote 94: Plate 4.]\n\n[Footnote 95: Plate 10.]\n\n[Footnote 96: Archer, _Indian Painting in the Punjab Hills_, Fig. 6.]\n\n[Footnote 97: Plate 30. Coomaraswamy, _Boston Catalogue, V, Rajput\nPainting_, Plates 92-95.]\n\n[Footnote 98: Note 23.]\n\n[Footnote 99: Coomaraswamy, _Boston Catalogue, V, Rajput Painting, 171_.]\n\n[Footnote 100: Ibid., 172.]\n\n[Footnote 101: Ibid., 173.]\n\n[Footnote 102: Plates 26 and 27. _The Art of India and Pakistan_, Plate\n102.]\n\n[Footnote 103: Archer, _Garhwal Painting_, 1-4.]\n\n[Footnote 104: Gangoly, op. cit., Plate 35.]\n\n[Footnote 105: Archer, _Indian Painting in the Punjab Hills_, Fig. 23.]\n\n[Footnote 106: Mehta, _Studies in Indian Painting_, Plate 21.]\n\n[Footnote 107: Plates 19, 20 and 35.]\n\n[Footnote 108: Coomaraswamy, _Rajput Painting_, Plates 53 and 54.]\n\n[Footnote 109: Archer, _Garhwal Painting_, Plate 1.]\n\n[Footnote 110: Plates 7, 12 and 25.]\n\n[Footnote 111: Archer, _Kangra Painting_, 2-5.]\n\n[Footnote 112: Ibid., Plate 2.]\n\n[Footnote 113: Ibid., Plate 1.]\n\n[Footnote 114: Ibid., Plate 2.]\n\n[Footnote 115: B.H. Baden Powell, _Handbook of the Manufactures and Arts\nof the Punjab_ (Lahore, 1872), 355. Purkhu must now, most probably, be\nconnected with the first of the two Kangra masters described in _Kangra\nPainting_ (p. 4)--Plates 3 and 4 being examples of his work.]\n\n[Footnote 116: Plates 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 16.]\n\n[Footnote 117: Archer, _Kangra Painting_, Plates 1 and 2; also p. 4 where\nthe second of the two Kangra masters is described.]\n\n[Footnote 118: Plate 36; Mehta, op. cit., Plates 25 and 26.]\n\n[Footnote 119: Plate 21.]\n\n[Footnote 120: Mehta, op. cit., Plate 22.]\n\n[Footnote 121: Plates 13-15.]\n\n[Footnote 122: Plate 18.]\n\n[Footnote 123: _The Art of India and Pakistan_, Plate 79]\n\n[Footnote 124: W.G. Archer, 'Maithil Painting,' _Marg_, Vol. III, No. 2.]\n\n[Footnote 125: W.G. Archer, _Bazaar Paintings of Calcutta_ (London, 1953),\nPlates 8, 9, 14, 19, 30, 31 and 41.]\n\n[Footnote 126: Ajit Mookerjee, _Art of India_, (Calcutta, 1952) Fig. 94.]\n\n[Footnote 127: B. Dey and J. Irwin, 'Jamini Roy,' _Journal of the Indian\nSociety of Oriental Art_ (1944), Vol. XII, Plate 6.]\n\n[Footnote 128: For reproductions of Keyt's work, see Martin Russell,\n_George Keyt_ (Bombay, 1950), Plates 1-101.]\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nNote 1, p. 13.\n\nFor a further discussion of these two main kinds of Indian expression, see\nmy _Indian Painting_ (Iris, Batsford, London, 1956).\n\n\nNote 2, p. 14.\n\nIn Indian painting, Krishna is normally blue or mauve in colour, though\ncases occur in which he is black, green or dark brown. Black would seem\nto follow from Krishna's name--the word 'Krishna' meaning 'black'--and may\nhave been applied either because he sprang from a black hair of Vishnu\nor because he was born at midnight, 'black as a thundercloud.' It has\nbeen suggested that his dark complexion proves a Dravidian or even an\naboriginal origin since both the Dravidian races and the aboriginal tribes\nare dark brown in colour in contrast to the paler Aryans. None of the\ntexts, however, appears to corroborate this theory. So far as 'blue' and\n'mauve' are concerned, 'blue' is the colour of Vishnu and characterizes\nmost of his incarnations. As the colour of the sky, it is appropriate to\na deity who was originally associated with the sun--the sun with its\nlife-giving rays according well with Vishnu's role as loving protector.\n'Blue' is also supposed to be the colour of the ocean on which Vishnu is\nsaid to recline at the commencement of each age. In view of the variations\nin colour in the pictures, it is perhaps significant that 'blue,' 'mauve'\nand 'green' are commonly regarded in village India as variants of\n'black'--many Indians making no distinction between them. In Indian\npainting, the fact that Krishna is blue makes it easy to identify him, his\nonly serious rival being another and earlier incarnation of Vishnu, the\nprincely Rama. The latter can usually be distinguished from Krishna by the\nfact that he carries a bow (never a cowherd's stick) and is often\naccompanied by Hanuman, the monkey leader.\n\n\nNote 3, p. 17.\n\nFor a comparison of Ghora Angirasa's teaching in the _Chandogya Upanishad_\nwith Krishna's precepts in the _Gita_, see Mazumdar, _The Age of Imperial\nUnity_ (432-4) and Basham, _The Wonder that was India_ (242-7, 304-5)\n\n\nNote 4, p. 17.\n\nAlthough the actual date of the _Mahabharata_ war has been variously\nassessed--'between 1400 and 1000 B.C.' (M.A. Mehendale in _The Age of\nImperial Unity_, 251) 'the beginning of the ninth century B.C. (Basham,\nop. cit., 39)--the epic itself is generally recognized as being a product\nof many centuries of compilation. The portions relating to Krishna the\nhero may well date from the third century B.C. The _Gita_, on the other\nhand, was possibly composed in the second century B.C. 'but assumed the\nform in which it appears in the _Mahabharata_ today in the early centuries\nA.D.' (Mehendale, op. cit., 249).\n\n\nNote 5, p. 24.\n\nThe implication is that the Pandavas have not been granted ultimate\nsalvation i.e. final release from living but have reached the important\ntransitional level of 'the heaven of the doers of good deeds.' They have\nalso been granted the limited status of petty gods.\n\n\nNote 6, p. 25.\n\n_Harivansa_, 'the Genealogy of Krishna' but more literally, 'the Genealogy\nof Hari,' a synonym for Vishnu. For the sake of clearness and to avoid\nburdening the text with too much periphrasis, I have throughout referred\nto Krishna as such. In the texts themselves, however, he is constantly\ninvoked under other names--Hari (or Vishnu), Govinda (the cowherd),\nKeshava (the hairy or radiant one), Janarddana (the most worshipful),\nDamodara ('bound with a rope,' referring to the incident (p. 32) when\nhaving been tied by Yasoda to a mortar, Krishna uproots the two trees),\nMurari ('foe of Mura, the arch demon' p. 58) or in phrases such as\n'queller of Kaliya the snake,' 'destroyer of Kesi, the demon horse,'\n'slayer of Madhu--the demon who sprang from the ear of Vishnu and was\nkilled by him.' A similar use of periphrasis occurs in Anglo-Saxon\nkennings ('world-candle' for sun, 'battle-adders' for arrows). In the same\nway, Abul Fazl's chronicle, the _Akbarnama_, never names the emperor Akbar\nbut refers to him in terms such as 'His Majesty,' 'the holy soul,' 'lord\nof the age,' 'fountain of generosity,' 'the sacred heart,' 'the\nworld-adorning mind,' 'the decorated mansion of sports.'\n\n\nNote 7, p. 26, 34, 46, 68, 69.\n\nIn Chapters 3 and 4 I have, in the main, strictly followed the _Bhagavata\nPurana,_ incorporating, however, a few important details and passages\neither not given in this text but included in the _Vishnu Purana_ or if\ngiven, not so vividly expressed. The details and passages in question are\npage 27 concerning the white and black hairs of Vishnu, page 34--the\nlyrical description of Krishna's life in the forest, page 46--Akrura's\nmeditation as he goes to visit Krishna, page 68--the drunken brawl and\npage 69 the deaths of Balarama and Krishna. All extracts are from H.H.\nWilson, _The Vishnu Purana_ (pages 498, 511, 541-2, 609-612).\n\n\nNote 8, p. 28.\n\nThe resemblance between Kansa's order to kill all male infants and Herod's\nslaughter of the innocents has often been remarked.\n\n\nNote 9, p. 29.\n\nKrishna's constant alterations of role, appearing sometimes as God but\nmore often as boy or man, have been commented on by Isherwood and\nPrabhavananda in connection with Arjuna's dilemma in the _Mahabharata_.\n'Krishna is the divine incarnation of Vishnu, Arjuna's chosen deity.\nArjuna knows this--yet, by a merciful ignorance, he sometimes forgets.\nIndeed, it is Krishna who makes him forget, since no ordinary man could\nbear the strain of constant companionship with God. After the vision of\nKrishna's divine aspect, Arjuna is appalled by the realization that he has\nbeen treating the Lord of the universe as 'friend and fellow-mortal.' He\nhumbly begs Krishna's pardon, but his awe soon leaves him. Again, he has\nforgotten. We may infer the same relationship between Jesus and his\ndisciples after the vision of the transfiguration.' _(The Song of God,\nBhagavad-Gita,_ 29-30).\n\n\nNote 10, p. 33.\n\nAlthough part of the supreme Trinity, Brahma was often treated in\nliterature as an ordinary god who ambled gently about the world, was often\nrather absent-minded, sometimes behaved as if he were a priest, and was\nprone, as on the present occasion, to act a trifle misguidedly.\n\n\nNote 12, p. 40.\n\nThe scene is illustrated in two Kangra and Guler paintings (Archer,\n_Indian Painting in the Punjab Hills_, Figs. 10 and 23).\n\n\nNote 12, p. 58.\n\nPragjyotisha--a city situated in the east, in Kamarupa on the borders of\nAssam. According to the _Vishnu Purana_ (Wilson, 582), its environs were\ndefended by 'nooses, constructed by the demon Mura (Naraka's ally), the\nedges of which were as sharp as razors.' Mura had seven thousand sons (not\nseven, as stated in the _Bhagavata_). All, however, were 'burnt like moths\nwith the flame of the edge of Krishna's discus.'\n\n\nNote 13, p. 67.\n\nBasham (op. cit., 305) points out that elements in the Krishna story such\nas the destruction of the Yadavas and the death of the god are 'quite\nun-Indian in their tragic character. The themes of the drunken brawl\nleading to a general slaughter, of the hero slain by an arrow piercing his\none vulnerable spot, and of the great city engulfed by the sea, are\nwell-known in European epic literature, but do not occur elsewhere in that\nof India and are not hinted at in the Vedas. The concept of the dying god,\nso widespread in the ancient Near East, is found nowhere else in Indian\nmythology.'\n\nIt is unfortunate that Krishna's reasons for destroying the Yadava race\nare nowhere made very clear. The affront to the Brahmans is the immediate\noccasion for the slaughter but hardly its actual cause; and, if it is\nargued that the Yadavas must first be destroyed in order to render\nKrishna's withdrawal from the world complete, we must then assume that the\nYadavas are in some mysterious way essential parts of Krishna himself.\nSuch a status, however, does not seem to be claimed for them and none of\nthe texts suggest that this is so. The slaughter, therefore, remains an\nenigma.\n\n\nNote 14, p. 68.\n\nWilson (op. cit., 608) summarizing the portents listed in the\n_Mahabharata_ but not included in the _Vishnu_ or _Bhagavata Puranas_.\n\n\nNote 15, p. 72.\n\nFrom the _Brihadaranyaka_, quoted A. Danielou, 'An Approach to Hindu\nErotic Sculpture,' _Marg_, Vol. II, No. i, 88. For a Western expression of\nthis point of view, compare Eric Gill, 'Art and Love,' _Rupam_ (Calcutta,\n1925), No. 21, 5.\n\n'If the trees and rocks, the thunder and the sea, the frightful avidity of\nanimal life and the loveliness of flowers are so many hints of the God who\nmade them, how much more obviously are the things of humanity analogues of\nthe things of God? And among all such things, the union of man and woman\ntakes the highest place and is the most potent symbol. Therefore it is\nthat outside the commercial civilizations of the western world, love and\nmarriage take their place as types of divine union and everywhere love and\nmarriage are the subject matter, the theme of religious writers, singers,\npainters and sculptors. It is true that love is the theme of western\nwriters also but with them the idea of love is entirely free from divine\nsignification. (As a corollary), the more the divine background\ndisappears, the more the prudishness of the police becomes the standard of\nethics and aesthetics alike. Under such an aegis the arts are necessarily\ndegraded to the level of the merely sentimental or the merely sensual and\nwhile the sentimental is everywhere applauded, the sensual is a source of\npanic.'\n\n\nNote 16, p. 73.\n\nIn later poetry as well as in popular worship, Radha's position is always\nthat of an adored mistress--never that of a beloved wife. And it is\noutside or rather in the teeth of marriage that her romance with Krishna\nis prosecuted. Such a position clearly involved a sharp conflict with\nconventional morals and in the fourteenth century, an attempt was made,\nin the _Brahma Vaivarta Purana_, to re-write the _Bhagavata Purana_,\nmagnifying Radha as leader of the cow-girls, disguising or rather denying\nher adultery and finally presenting her as Krishna's eternal consort. For\nthis purpose, three hypotheses were adopted. Radha was throughout assumed\nto be Krishna's spouse and it is only on account of a curse that she takes\nhuman form as a cowgirl and comes to live in Brindaban. Radha herself does\nnot marry Ayana the cowherd--his wedding being only with her shadow.\nThirdly, Krishna comes to Brindaban and goes through a secret marriage\nwith her. Their love-making is, therefore, no longer adulterous but\nstrictly conjugal. It is not perhaps surprising that the _Brahma Vaivarta\nPurana_ failed to capture the Indian imagination and indeed is nowadays\nhardly ever heard of. It is of interest mainly on account of the prolific\ninformation given about Radha, the fact that it sets her firmly in the\ncentre, dethroning the hapless Rukmini, and its baroque descriptions of\nsexual union.\n\n\nNote 17, p. 73.\n\nDuring the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a parallel situation seems to\nhave arisen in feudal France and Germany where local love-poetry also\ntreated adultery as a _sine qua non_ of romance.\n\n'Two things prevented the men of that age from connecting their ideal of\nromantic and passionate love with marriage. The first is, of course, the\nactual practice of feudal society. Marriages had nothing to do with love\nand no 'nonsense' about marriage was tolerated. All marriages were matches\nof interest and, worse still, of an interest that was continually\nchanging. When the alliance which had answered would answer no longer, the\nhusband's object was to get rid of the lady as quickly as possible.\nMarriages were frequently dissolved. The same woman who was the lady and\n'the dearest dread' of her vassals was often little better than a piece of\nproperty to her husband. He was master in his own house. So far from being\na natural channel for the new kind of love, marriage was rather the drab\nbackground against which that love stood out in all the contrast of its\nnew tenderness and delicacy. The situation is indeed a very simple one,\nand not peculiar to the Middle Ages. Any idealization of sexual love, in a\nsociety where marriage is purely utilitarian, must begin by being an\nidealization of adultery.' (C.S. Lewis, _The Allegory of Love_ (London,\n1936), 13.)\n\n\nNote 18, p. 77.\n\nMuch of the _Gita Govinda's_ power arises from the endowment of Nature\nwith romantic ardour, the forest itself being presented as a highly\nsensitive and symbolic setting for the behaviour of lovers. The following\npassage from _Tess of the D'Urbervilles_ is perhaps the nearest approach\nin English to this kind of treatment.\n\n'Amid the oozing fatness and warm ferments of the Var Vale, at a season\nwhen the rush of juices could almost be heard below the hiss of\nfertilization, it was impossible that the most fanciful love should not\ngrow passionate. The ready bosoms existing there were impregnated by their\nsurroundings. July passed over their heads and the weather which came in\nits wake seemed an effort on the part of Nature to match the state of\nhearts at Talbothays Dairy. The air of the place, so fresh in the spring\nand early summer, was stagnant and enervating now. Its heavy scents\nweighed upon them, and at mid-day the landscape seemed lying in a swoon.\nEthiopic scorchings browned the upper slopes of the pastures, but there\nwas still bright herbage here where the water courses purled. And as Clare\nwas oppressed by the outward heats, so was he burdened inwardly by waxing\nfervour of passion for the soft and silent Tess.'\n\n\nNote 19, p. 77.\n\nThe _Gita Govinda_ was one of the first Sanskrit poems to be rendered into\nEnglish--Sir William Jones publishing a mellifluous version in _Asiatick\nResearches_ in 1792. Later in the nineteenth century it was translated\ninto Victorian verse by Sir Edwin Arnold. The present translation from\nwhich all the extracts are taken is by George Keyt, the foremost modern\nartist of Ceylon. It is greatly to be hoped that the entire translation,\nhitherto available only in an Indian edition, will one day be published in\nEngland.\n\n\nNote 20, p. 86.\n\nPoems 1 and 2 are based on versions by O.C. Gangoly (_Masterpieces of\nRajput Painting_, 29, 58); poems 3-11 are from new translations by Deben\nBhattacharya.\n\n\n\n\n\nNote 21, p. 91.\n\nFor the originals of certain poems in the _Rasika Priya_ and their literal\ntranslation, see Coomaraswamy, 'The Eight Nayikas.'\n\n\nNote 22, p. 104.\n\nThe first scholar to draw attention to this fact, i.e. that the subjects\nare not Radha and Krishna but palace ladies impersonating them, is Dr.\nJoan van Lohuizen de Leeuw, whose paper on this and kindred problems is\nunder preparation.\n\n\nNote 23, p. 105.\n\nFor a detailed discussion of Bhanu Datta's _Rasamanjari_ and of similar\ntreatises by other Sanskrit authors, see V. Raghavan, _Srngaramanjari of\nSaint Akbar Shah_ (Hyderabad, 1951).\n\n\n\n\nBIBLIOGRAPHY\n\n\nAGRAWALA, V.S.: 'The Romance of Himachal Paintings,' _Roopa-Lekha_ XX, 2,\n(1948-9), 87-93.\n\nARCHER, W.G.: _Indian Painting in the Punjab Hills_ (London, 1952).\n_Kangra Painting_ (London, 1952). _Garhwal Painting_ (London, 1954).\n_Indian Painting_ (London, 1956).\n\nBASHAM, A.L.: _The Wonder that was India_ (London, 1954).\n\nBURNOUF, E. (trans.): _Le Bhagavata Purana_ (Paris, 1840-98).\n\nCOOMARASWAMY, A.C.: 'The Eight Nayikas,' _Journal of Indian Art and\nIndustry_, XVI (New Series), No. 128 (1914), 99-116. _Rajput Painting_\n(Oxford, 1916). _Catalogue of the Indian Collections in the Museum of Fine\nArts, Boston: Part V, Rajput Painting; Part VI, Mughal Painting_\n(Cambridge, Mass. 1926, 1930). (trans.) _The Taking of Toll_ (London,\n1915).\n\nGANGOLY, O.C.: _Masterpieces of Rajput Painting_ (Calcutta, 1926). _Ragas\nand Raginis_ (Calcutta, 1934).\n\nGRAY, B.: _Rajput Painting_ (London, 1948). 'Painting,' _The Art of India\nand Pakistan_, ed. L. Ashton (London, 1950).\n\nGRIERSON, G.A.: _The Modern Vernacular Literature of Hindustan_ (Calcutta,\n1889).\n\nHENDLEY, T.H.: _Memorials of the Jeypore Exhibition. IV, the Razm Namah_\n(London, 1883).\n\nHOLLINGS, W. (trans.): _The Prem Sagar_ (Lucknow, 1880).\n\nISHERWOOD, C. and PRABHAVANANDA, S. (trans.): _The Song of God,\nBhagavad-Gita_ (London, 1947).\n\nJONES, W. (trans.): 'Gitagovinda or Songs of Jayadeva,' _Asiatick\nResearches_ (Calcutta, 1792).\n\nKEYT, G. (trans.): _Sri Jayadeva's Gita Govinda_ (Bombay, 1947).\n\nMATHERS, E. POWYS (trans.): _Eastern Love_ (London, 1927-30). (trans.)\n_Love Songs of Asia_ (London, 1944).\n\nMAZUMDAR, R.C. (ed.): _The History and Culture of the Indian People, I, The\nVedic Age_ (London, 1951); II, _The Age of Imperial Unity_ (Bombay, 1951).\n\nMEHTA, N.C.: _Studies in Indian Painting_ (Bombay, 1926). _Gujarati\nPainting in the Fifteenth Century_ (London, 1931).\n\nRANDHAWA, M.S.: _Kangra Valley Painting_ (New Delhi, 1954). _The Krishna\nLegend in Pahari Painting_ (New Delhi, 1956).\n\nROY, P.C. (trans.): _The Mahabharata_ (Calcutta, 1883).\n\nSEN, D.C.: _History of Bengali Language and Literature_ (Calcutta, 1911).\n\nSEN, R.N. (trans.): _The Brahma Vaivarta Purana_ (Allahabad, 1920).\n\nSTCHOUKINE, I.: _La Peinture Indienne_ (Paris, 1929).\n\nWINTERNITZ, M.: _A History of Indian Literature_ (Calcutta, I, 1927; II,\n1933).\n\nWILSON, H.H. (trans.): _The Vishnu Purana_ (London, 1840).\n\n\n\n\nINDEX\n\n\nAbul Fazl, 116, pl. 1 (comment)\nAditi, mother of the gods, 58, 59\n_Age of Imperial Unity, The_, 115, 121\nAgni, god of fire, 18\nAgrawala, V.S., 121\nAhmadnagar, Deccan, 97\nAjmer, Rajasthan, 103\nAkbar, Mughal Emperor, 97-99, 116, pl. 1 (comment)\n_Akbarnama_, 98, 116\nAkrura, chief of the Yadavas, 45-47, 49, 51, 57, 116\n_Allegory of Love, The_, 119\nAltdorfer, 93\nAmaru, Sanskrit poet, 73\nAniruddha, son of Pradyumna and grandson of Krishna, 64\nArcher, Mildred, 4, 9\nArcher, W.G., 4, 101, 105, 107-112, 115, 117, 121\nArjuna, leading Pandava, husband of Draupadi, husband of Krishna's sister,\n  Subhadra, 20-22, 64, 65, 67, 69, 116, 117\nArnold, Sir Edwin, 119\n_Art of India and Pakistan, The_, 96, 98, 101, 104, 107, 111, 121\n_Asiatick Researches_, 119\nAssam, 117\nAurangzeb, Mughal Emperor, 99\nAyana, husband of Radha, brother of Yasoda, 72, 118\n\nBaden Powell, B.H., 110\nBakasura, crane demon, 33\n_Balagopala Stuti_, poem by Bilvamangala, 84, 94\nBalarama, brother of Krishna, 27, 30, 31, 34-36, 44-48, 50-56, 61-64, 66,\n  67, 69, 116, pls. 1, 5, 6, 9, 12, 16, 17\nBali, ruler of the underworld, 62\nBani Thani, poetess of Kishangarh, 103\n_Barahmasa_, poems of the twelve months, 102, pl. 32\nBasawan, Mughal artist, pls. 1, 2 (comment), 3 (comment)\nBasham, A.L., 9, 19, 115, 117, 121\nBasohli, Punjab Hills, 104, 105, 107, 111, pls. 18 (comment),\n  26 (comment), 30 (comment)\nBeatty, Sir Chester, pls. 17, 19\n_Bhagavad Gita_, 15-17, 24, 67, 115, 117\n_Bhagavata Purana_, 11, 25-71, 72, 74, 85, 85, 99, 101, 105, 107,\n  110, 111, 116-18, 121, pls. 3-19\n_Bhakti_, devotion to God, 19, 24\nBhanu Datta, author of _Rasamanjari_, 9, 105, 120, pls. 30, 31\nBharat Kala Bhawan, Banaras, 103, pl. 37\n_Bharatiya Natya Sastra_, Sanskrit treatise, 90\nBhartrihari, Sanskrit poet, 73\nBhattacharya, Deben, 9, 87-90, 119\nBhima, strongest of the five Pandavas, 24, 65, 66\nBihari Lai, poet, 84, 110, pl. 36\nBijapur, Deccan, 97\nBikaner, Rajasthan, 99, 100, 103\nBilaspur, Punjab Hills, 107, 111, pl. 18\nBilvamangala, poet, 84, 94\nBlue, colour of Krishna, 14, 115\nBook covers, Bengali, 111\nBrahma, 17, 27, 28, 33, 34, 58, 59, 65, 67, 117, pl. 2\n_Brahma Vaivarta Purana_, 118, 121\nBrahmans, 22, 28, 30, 38, 39, 62, 63, 67, 68, 71, 74, 107, 108, 117\n  Wives of, 38, 39\nBraj, country around Mathura, 26, 28, 40\n_Brihadaranyaka_, 117\nBrindaban, forest near Gokula, 33, 35, 45, 46, 49, 52, 53, 59-62, 103,\n  pl. 6\nBritish Museum, pl. 18\nBrough, J., 9\nBuddhism, 94\nBull demon, 44\nBundelkhand, 91, 99\nBundi, Rajasthan, 101-103\nBurnouf, E., 121\n\nCalcutta, 111, 112\nCampbell, Roy, 75\nCeylon, 57, 112\nChamba, Punjab Hills, 107, 111\nChandi Das, Bengali poet, 84, 85, 89, 111\nChandigarh Art Gallery, East Punjab, pl. 27\n_Chandogya Upanishad_, 17, 24, 115\nChanura, wrestler, 45, 48\nChawand, Mewar, 100\nChrist, 14, 112, 117\nClothes, stealing of cowgirls', 37, 38, 74, 75, pl. 11\nCoomaraswamy, A.K., 99, 104-6, 108, 120, 121, pl. 8 (comment)\nCowgirls, loves of the, 29, 36-38, 41-44, 46, 49, 50, 52, 53, 58, 60-62,\n  66, 70-82, 85, 86, 109, 110, 113, pls. 11, 13-15, 20-23.\nCowherds, abandonment of, by Krishna,\n  Krishna's life with, 49-53, 61, 62\n\nDamodara, pseudonym for Krishna, 116\nDance, circular, 38, 41, 43, 46, 74, 75, p. 13 (comment)\nDanielou, A., 117\nDaruka, charioteer to Krishna, 68, 69\nDemons, combats with, 29, 30, 33-36, 44, 45, 54, 55, 58, 64, 116, 117,\n  pl. 9\n  role of, 18, 19\nDevaka, younger brother of King Ugrasena, 27\nDevaki, mother of Krishna, 17, 27, 28, 44, 46, 48-50, 52, 63, 69, pl. 3\nDevi, goddess, Earth Mother, 28, 40, 56, pls. 3, 18\nDey, B., 112\n_Dharma_, 18, 23\nDhenuka, ass demon, 34\nDhritarashtra, blind son of Kuru, father of Kauravas, 20, 21, 51, 66\nDice, contest by, 21\nDickinson, Eric, 103\nDraupadi, daughter of King of Panchal, common wife of the five Pandavas,\n  20-23, 64, 67\nDrumalika, demon, 26\nDuryodhana, leading Kaurava and son of Dhritarashtra, 23, 51, 66, 67\nDwarka, Krishna's capital in Western India, 21, 22, 54-59, 61-64, 66-70,\n  94, 108, pls. 2 (comment), 19\n\nEarth, 27, 49, 58, 67\n_Eastern Love_, 121\nEl Greco, 93\n\nFlute playing, 15, 36, 37, 41, 61, 78, 86, 109, 112, pl. 21\nForest fires, 35, 36, pl. 10\nFrance, feudal, 118\n\nGames with cowherds, Krishna's, 31-35, 45, pls. 4-9\nGandhi, Mahatma, 15\nGangoly, O.C., 104, 119, 121\nGarga, sage, 30, 31\nGarhwal, Punjab Hills, 107-110, pl. 38\n_Garhwal Painting_, 107, 108, 121\nGermany, feudal, 118\nGhora Angirasa, 17, 115\nGill, Eric, 118\n_Gita Govinda_, Sanskrit poem by Jayadeva, 9, 11, 76-84, 94-96, 98,\n  110, 111, 113, 119, 121, pls. 20-27\nGods, role of, 18, 19\nGoetz, H., 99, 100\nGokula, district near Mathura, 26, 30, 33, 44\nGovardhan Singh, Raja of Guler, 107\nGovardhana, greatest of the hills, 39, 40, 42, 59, pl. 12\nGovind Das, poet, 84, 88\nGovinda, pseudonym for Krishna, 116\nGray, Basil, 100, 121\nGrierson, Sir G.A., 121\nGrunewald, 93\n_Gujarati Painting in the Fifteenth Century_, 121\nGuler, Punjab Hills, 107-109, pl. 18 (comment)\n\nHari, pseudonym for Krishna, 116\n_Harivansa_, appendix to _Mahabharata_ epic, 25, 32, 98, 116\nHendley, T.H., 98, 121\nHerod, 116\nHoli festival, 109\nHollings, W., 121\nHunter, slayer of Krishna, see Jara.\nHussain Shah, ruler of Jaunpur, 96\n\nIndia Office Library, London, pl. 34 (comment)\nIndian Museum, Calcutta, pl. 35\n_Indian Painting_, 115, 121\n_Indian Painting in the Punjab Hills_, 105, 107\nIndra, king of the gods, lord of the clouds, 18, 24, 39, 40, 46, 58, 59,\n  65, 66, pls. 2, 12\nIrwin, J., 112\nIsherwood, Christopher, 15, 24, 116\n\nJadupatuas, minstrel artists of Bengal, 112\nJaipur, Rajasthan, 95, 98, 103, 104, pls. 1 (comment), 2 (comment)\nJaisalmer, Rajasthan, 103\nJambhavati, a queen of Krishna, 56, 57, 60\nJammu, Punjab Hills, 107\nJanarddana, pseudonym for Krishna, 116\nJapan, 13\nJara, Bhil hunter, slayer of Krishna, 24, 67, 69, pl. 2\nJarasandha, demon king of Magadha, 26, 54-56, 65\nJaunpur, Eastern India, 96, 97\nJayadeva, Sanskrit poet, 76, 77, 84, 94, 111, 121\nJodhpur, Rajasthan, 95, 103\nJones, Sir William, 119, 121\nJumna, river, 22, 28, 35, 37, 41, 43, 47, 48, 61, 74, 82, 85, pls. 8,\n  13-15\n\nKalidasa, Sanskrit poet, 73\nKalindi, a queen of Krishna, 57, 60, 64\nKaliya, giant hydra-headed snake, 35, 42, 46, 108, 116, pls. 8,\n  10 (comment)\nKaliyavana, 54\n_Kalpasutra_, Jain Scripture, 96\nKama, god of passion, 18, 64\nKamalavati, mother of Radha, 72\nKangra, Punjab Hills, 93, 108-11, pl. 3 (comment)\n_Kangra Painting_, 109, 110, 121\n_Kangra Valley Painting_, 121\nKanoria, Gopi Krishna, 9, pls. 7, 29, 39\nKansa, tyrant king of Mathura, son of Pavanarekha by the demon\n  Drumalika, 26-9, 31, 33, 43-50, 54, 55, 57, 62, 110, 116, pls. 3,\n  9 (comment), 16 (comment), 17, 35 (comment)\nKarna, leading Kaurava killed by Arjuna at Kurukshetra, 23\nKauravas, the 100 sons of Dhritarashtra, rivals of the Pandavas\n  (vide _Mahabharata_) 20, 21, 23, 26, 51, 62, 66, 67\nKennings, Anglo-Saxon, 116\nKeshav Das, poet, 84, 91, 99, 100, 105, pls. 28, 30 (comment)\nKeshava, pseudonym for Krishna, 116\nKesi, horse demon, 44, 45, 115\nKeyt, George, artist and translator of the _Gita Govinda_, 9, 76-83,\n  112, 113, 119, 121, pls. 21-27 (comments)\nKhandalawala, Karl, 95, 96, pls. 10, 23 (comment)\nKhurasan, 97, pl. 1 (comment)\nKirpal Pal, Raja of Basohli, 104, 105, 107, pl. 10 (comment)\nKishangarh, Rajasthan, 103, pl. 39\nKotah, Rajasthan, 103\nKrishna Das, poet, 84\nKubera, yaksha king, pl. 5 (comment)\nKubja, hunchback girl, 47, 53, 54\nKulu, Punjab Hills, 107, 111\nKumbhan Das, poet, 84\nKundulpur, 56\n  Raja of, father of Rukmini, 55\nKunti, wife of Pandu, mother of the Pandavas, sister of Vasudeva\n  (Krishna's father), 20, 21, 51, 57, 62, 64\nKuru, common ancestor of the Pandavas and Kauravas, 20\nKurukshetra, battle-field of, 15, 21, 26, 61\nKushala, Kangra artist, 110, pls. 3, 21, 36\nKuvara, brother of Nala, 32, pl. 5.\n\nLahore, State Museum, pl. 26\nLanka, modern Ceylon, 57\nL\u00e9ger, F., 112\nLewis, C.S., 119\nLohuizen, Dr. Joan van, de Leeuw, 120\n_Love Songs of Asia_, 121\nLucknow, State Museum, pl. 5\n\nMacNeice, Louis, 15\nMadhu, demon, 116\nMagadha, 26, 54, 55\n_Mahabharata_, 11, 17, 19-25, 51, 70, 98, 115\nMahavira, founder of Jainism, 94\nMalabar, 84\nMalwa, Central India, 97, 100-2\nManaku, Basohli princess, patron of painting, 107, pl. 26 (comment)\nManohar, Mewar artist, 100\n_Marg_, Indian art journal, 95, 103, 111, 117\n_Masterpieces of Rajput Painting_, 104, 119, 121\nMathers, E. Powys, 121\nMathura, town in Northern India, 26, 29, 30, 38, 39, 44-55, 61, 74, 76,\n  pls. 16 (comment), 17 (comment)\nMazumdar, M.R., 94\n  R.C., 115, 121\nMehendale, M.A., 115, 116\nMehta, N.C., 95, 107, 110, 121, pls. 4, 21, 22, 36\nMewar, Rajasthan, 100, 103\nMira Bai, poetess, 84\nMithila, 111\n_Modern Vernacular Literature of Hindustan, The_, 121\nMody, J.K., pls. 3, 8, 11, 13, 15, 16\nMonkey demon, 64\nMookerjee, A., 112\nMoonlight, master of the, pls. 13-5\nMoti Chandra, 96\nMukund, Mughal artist, pl. 2\nMurari, pseudonym for Krishna, 116\nMuru (or Mura), arch demon, 58, 117\nMuslim artists, 99, 100\n  invasions, 73\n  rulers, 93, 96, 98\n  states, 97, 101\nMustaka, wrestler, 48\n\nNainsukh, Guler artist, pls. 3 (comment), 21 (comment)\nNala, brother of Kuvara, 32, pl. 5\nNanda, wealthy herdsman, foster-father of Krishna, 27-32, 35-41, 44-53,\n  61, 62, 77, 107, pls. 5, 10, 12, 20\nNarada, sage, 60\nNaraka, demon son of Earth, 58, 117\nNasiruddin, Mewar artist, 100\n_Nayikas_ and _Nayakas_, 90, 91, 102, pl. 28\nNew Delhi, National Museum, pls. 5, 9, 12, 14, 20, 28\nNew Testament, 15\nNihal Chand, Kishangarh artist, 103\nNude, the, pl. 11\nNurpur, Punjab Hills, 107, 111\n\nOcean, 69\nOrchha, Central India, 84, 91, 99\n\nPainting, Basohli, 104-7, pls. 4, 10, 18 (comment), 26 (comment), 27,\n  30, 31\n  Bengali, 111, 112\n  Bikaner, 99, 100\n  Bilaspur, 107, 111, pl. 18\n  Bundi, 101, 102, pls. 28, 32\n  Deccani, 97, pl. 34\n  European, pl. 1 (comment)\n  Flemish, 14\n  Garhwal, 107, 108, pls. 3 (comment), 7, 8 (comment), 12, 19, 20, 25, 35,\n    38 (comment)\nGerman, 93\n  Gujarati, 94, 121\n  Guler, 107, 108, 117, 121, pls. 3 (comment), 21 (comment), 37\n  Italian, 14\n  Jain, 94-96, pl. 22 (comment)\n  Jaipur, 104, 120\n  Jaunpur, 96, pls. 23-24\n  Kalighat, 111, 112\n  Kangra, 93, 103-111, 117, 121, pls. 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13-17, 21, 36\n  Kishangarh, 103, 104, pl. 39\n  Maithil, 111\n  Malwa, 97, 101, 102, pl. 33\n  Mughal, 13, 97-99, 103, 105, 107, 121, pls. 1, 2, 3 (comment)\n  Nahan, pl. 38\n  Persian, 97\n  Udaipur, Mewar, 100, 101, 103-105, pl. 28 (comment), 29\n  Western Indian, 94-96, pl. 22 (comment)\n  Western Rajasthani, pl. 22\nPanchala, kingdom of, 20, 21\nPandavas, five sons of Pandu, rivals of the Kauravas (vide _Mahabharata_),\n  20-26, 51, 57, 62-66, 70, 116\nPandu, second son of Kuru, father of the Pandavas, 20\nParasurama, 'Rama with the Axe,' incarnation of Vishnu, 20\nParikshit, great-grandson of Krishna, 69\nParmanand Das, poet, 84\nParvati, consort of Siva, 37\nPavanarekha, wife of King Ugrasena, 26\nPrabhasa, town near Dwarka, 68, 94, pl. 1 (comment)\nPrabhavananda, Swami, 15, 24, 116, 121\nPradyumna, Krishna's son by Rukmini, 64\nPragjyotisha, city of the demon, Naraka, 58, 117\nPralamba, demon in human form, 35, pls. 9, 10 (comment)\nPratap Singh, Raja of Jaipur, 104\nPrince of Wales Museum, Bombay, pls. 23, 24, 32\nPunjab Hills, 4, 13, 93, 98, 104, 105, 107, 111\nPurkhu, Kangra artist, 109, 110, pls. 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 16\nPutana, ogress, 29, 42\n\nRadha, Krishna's chief cowgirl love, 15, 16, 72-90, 96, 98, 103-105,\n  109-111, 113, 117, pls. 13 (comment). 20-29, 31-39\n_Ragas_ and _Raginis_, modes of Indian music, 84, 101, 102, 107,\n  pls. 33, 34\n_Ragas and Raginis_, 121\nRaghavan, V., 120\nRajasthan, 13, 95, 96, 99-105\n_Rajput Painting_ (Coomaraswamy), 104, 108, 121, pl. 8 (comment)\n  (Gray), 121\nRam Gopal, 15\nRama, incarnation of Vishnu, 20, 57, 115\n_Ramayana_, 98\nRana Jagat Singh, ruler of Mewar, 100\nRana Raj Singh, ruler of Mewar, 100, 105\nRandhawa, M.S., 121\n_Rasamanjari_, Sanskrit treatise by Bhanu Datta, 9, 105, 106, 120,\n  pls. 30, 31\n_Rasika Priya_, Hindi treatise by Keshav Das (comment), 11, 90-92,\n  99-102, 105, 120, pls. 28, 30 (comment)\n_Razmnama_, Persian abridgement of the _Mahabharata_, 98, Pls. 1, 2\nRe-birth, theory of, 17-19\nRevati, wife of Balarama, 55\nRohini, a wife of Vasudeva, mother of Balarama, 27-31, 35, 44, 53, 99\n_Roopa-lekha_, Indian art journal, 121\nRoy, Jamini, 112\nRoy, P.C., 121\nRukma, brother of Rukmini, 56, 64\nRukmini, Krishna's first queen, 15, 55, 56, 59, 60, 64, 66, 69-72, 118,\n  pl. 18\nRuknuddin, Bikaner artist, 99\n_Rupam_, Indian art journal, 118\nRussell, M., 113\n\nSaktasura, demon, 30\nSankhasura, yaksha demon, 44\nSansar Chand, Raja of Kangra, 13, 108-111\n_Sat Sat_, poems by Bihari Lal, 110, pl. 36\nSattrajit, father of Satyabhama, 56, 57\nSatyabhama, a queen of Krishna, 56, 57, 59, 60\nSawant Singh, Raja of Kishangarh, 103\nScroll paintings, 112\nSen, D.C., 121\nSen, R.N., 121\nSesha, serpent of eternity, a part of Vishnu, 27, 69, pl. 1\nShah Jahan, Mughal emperor, 99\nShahabaddin, Mewar artist, 100\nSher-Gil, Amrita, 112\nShiraz, 97\nSirmur, Punjab Hills, pl. 38 (comment)\nSisupala, claimant to Rukmini, rival of Krishna, 22, 56, 59, 66,\n  pl. 18 (comment)\nSitwell, Sacheverell, 14\nSiva, 17, 18, 37, 44, 58, 59, 64, 65, 67, pl. 2\nSrinagar, Garhwal, 108\nSt. John of the Cross, 74, 75\nStchoukine, I, 121\n_Studies in Indian Painting_, 121\nSubhadra, sister of Krishna, 22, 64, 65\nSudama, brahman, early friend of Krishna, 62, 63, 108, pl. 19\nSudarsana, Celestial dancer, 40, 41\nSur Das, poet, 84, 86, pl. 29\nSurabhi, cow of plenty, 40\nSursagar, Hindi poem, pl. 29\nSurya, sun god, 18\n\nTagore, Rabindranath, 112\n_Taking of Toll, The_, 121\n_Ten Burnt Offerings_, 15\n_Tess of the D'Urbervilles,_ 119\nTrinavarta, whirlwind demon, 30\n\nUdaipur, chief city, Mewar, 100, 101, 103-105, pl. 29 (comment)\nUdho, friend of Krishna, 52-54, 68\nUgrasena, king of Mathura, 26, 48, 54, 57, 67, 69\nUgrasura, snake demon, 33\n_Upanishads_, 17\nUsa, daughter of demon Vanasura, 64\n\nVaikuntha, heaven of Vishnu, 18, 59\nVallabhacharya, poet, 84\nVamana, dwarf incarnation of Vishnu, 20\nVanasura, demon with a thousand arms, 64\nVaruna, god of water, 18, 38, pl. 1\nVasudeva, Yadava prince, father of Krishna, husband of Devaki, brother of\n  Kunti, 21, 27-31, 44, 46, 48-53, 62, 69, pl. 3\nVatsasura, cow demon, 33\nVedas, 39, 46, 56, 117\n_Vedic Age, The_, 121\nVictoria and Albert Museum, 98, pls. 30, 33, 34\nVidyapati, poet, 84, 87, 90, 111\nVishnu, 17-20, 26-29, 36, 39, 40, 45-47, 49, 56-58, 67, 69, 70, 76, 115,\n  116, pl. 2 (comment)\n_Vishnu Purana_, 25, 116, 117, pl. 8 (comment)\nVisvakarma, divine architect, 54, 63\nVrishabhanu, father of Radha, 72\nVrishnis, kinsmen of Krishna, 23\nVyamasura, wolf demon, 45\n\nWellesz, E., 98\nWilliams, R.H.B., pl. 30 (comment)\nWilson, H.H., 116, 117\nWinternitz, M., 121\n_Wonder that was India, The_, 19, 115, 117, 121\nWrestlers, Krishna's conflict with, 44, 45, 48, pl. 17\n\nYadavas, pastoral caste, Krishna's castemen, 21, 26, 27, 45, 49-57, 61,\n  62, 54, 66-69, 117, pls. 1 (comment), 2 (comment)\nYasoda, wife of Nanda, foster-mother of Krishna, 27-33, 35, 49, 51-53, 61,\n  62, 72, 109\nYoga, 19, 23\nYudhisthira, leader of the Pandavas, husband of Draupadi, 21-23, 65, 66\n\n\n\n\nTHE PLATES\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 1\n\n_The Death of Balarama_\n\nIllustration to the Persian abridgement of the\n_Mahabharata_, the _Razmnama_ (or Book of the Wars)\nBy Basawan\nMughal (Akbar period), c. 1595\nCollection H.H. the Maharaja of Jaipur, Jaipur\n\nAlthough illustrations of the Hindu epic, the _Mahabharata_, were rarely\ncommissioned by Hindu patrons, the gigantic text possessed a unique appeal\nto Indian minds and for this reason the Mughal emperor, Akbar, chose it\nfor translation into Persian. 'Having observed the fanatical hatred\nprevailing between Hindus and Muslims,' writes his biographer, Abul Fazl,\n'and convinced that it arose only from their mutual ignorance, the\nenlightened monarch wished to dispel the same by rendering the books of\nthe former accessible to the latter.' The work of translation was begun in\n1582 and was probably concluded in 1588 when Abul Fazl wrote the preface.\nIt is unlikely, however, that the illustrations were completed before\n1595.\n\nThe present picture by one of Akbar's greatest Hindu artists illustrates\nthe sensitive naturalism which from antecedents in Khurasan came to\nelegant maturity in Mughal India between 1585 and 1600. Certain\ndetails--the drapery with its shaded folds, the steeples rising in the\ndistance--are modelled on the European Renaissance pictures which by 1580\nhad already reached the court. Other details such as the lithe squirrels\ngambolling in the tree, the rearing snakes and dense luxuriant foliage can\nonly have been painted by an artist devoted to the Indian scene.\n\nIn subject, the picture represents what Krishna saw on his return from\ndestroying the Yadavas at Prabhasa. Balarama, his half-brother, has gone\ndown to the sea and has there yielded up his spirit. Sesha, the great\nserpent, who is part of Vishnu himself, is now issuing from the body\nBalarama having been his incarnation. Snakes come to greet him while\nVaruna, the god of water, stands as 'an old man of the sea' ready to\nescort him to his long home.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 2\n\n_The Death of Krishna_\n\nIllustration to the Persian abridgement of the\n_Mahabharata_, the _Razmuama_ (or Book of the Wars)\nBy Mukund\nMughal (Akbar period), c. 1595\nCollection H.H. the Maharaja of Jaipur, Jaipur\n\nFollowing the death of Balarama, Krishna prepares to leave the world. He\nsits in meditation and is shot in the sole of his right foot by Jara, a\nBhil hunter--the arrow which kills him being tipped with part of the iron\nwhich has caused the destruction of the Yadavas.\n\nThe picture shows Krishna reclining on a platform of the kind still\nconstructed in India at the base of sacred trees. An arrow transfixes his\nright foot while the hunter, dressed as a courtier in Mughal dress, is\nshown releasing the bow. In front of Krishna stand four awe-struck\nfigures, representing the celestial sages and devotees of Vishnu who have\ncome to attend his passing. In the sky four gods look down. To the right\nis Siva. Then, a little to the left, is four-headed Brahma, below him,\nIndra, his body spotted with a thousand eyes and finally a fourth god of\nuncertain identity. Around the platform surges the snarling sea as if\nimpatiently awaiting Krishna's death before engulfing the doomed Dwarka.\n\nThe painting is by a colleague of Basawan (Plate 1) and illustrates the\nsame great text.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 3\n\n_The Slaughter of an Innocent_\n\nIllustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_\nKangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790\nJ.K. Mody collection, Bombay\n\nFollowing the expansion of Indian miniature painting in the early\nseventeenth century, illustrated versions of the tenth book of the\n_Bhagavata Purana_ began to be produced in parts of Hindu India. It was in\nthe Punjab Hills, at the end of the eighteenth century, however, that\nromance and religion achieved their most delicate expression. The artist\nchiefly responsible was a certain Nainsukh who had arrived at the State of\nGuler in about 1740. His way of painting had marked affinities with that\nof Basawan (Plate 1) and represents a blend of early Mughal naturalism\nwith later Hindu sentiment. The style founded by him influenced members of\nhis own family, including his nephew Kushala and ultimately spread to\nKangra and Garhwal where it reached its greatest heights. The present\npicture, together with Plates 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 16, is possibly by the\nKangra artist Purkhu and with others of the series illustrates perhaps the\ngreatest interpretation of the _Bhagavata Purana_ ever produced in Indian\npainting.\n\nIn the picture, the tyrant ruler Kansa is sleeping on a bed as a courtier\nprepares to break the fateful news of Krishna's birth. To the right,\nDevaki, Krishna's mother, nurses the baby girl whom her husband, Vasudeva,\nhas substituted for the infant Krishna. Kansa is wresting the baby from\nher in order to dash its head against a boulder. As he does so, she eludes\nhis grasp and ascends to heaven in a flash, being, in fact, the\neight-armed goddess Devi.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 4\n\n_Krishna stealing Butter_\n\nIllustration to an incident from the _Bhagavata Purana_\nBasohli, Punjab Hills, c. 1700\nN.C. Mehta collection, Bombay\n\nBesides illustrating the tenth book of the _Bhagavata Purana_ as a whole,\nIndian artists sometimes chose isolated episodes and composed their\npictures around them. The present picture is an instance of this practice,\nits subject being the baby Krishna pilfering butter. As Yasoda, Krishna's\nfoster-mother, goes inside the house, Krishna and the cowherd children\nstage an impudent raid. A cowherd boy mounts a wooden mortar and then,\nbalanced on his shoulders, the young Krishna helps himself to the butter\nwhich is kept stored in a pot suspended by strings from the roof. A second\ncowherd boy reaches up to lift the butter down while edging in from the\nright, a monkey, emblematic of mischievous thieving, shares in the spoil.\n\nThe picture illustrates the wild and vehemently expressive style of\npainting which suddenly appeared at Basohli, a tiny State in the Punjab\nHills, towards the end of the seventeenth century. The jagged form of\nYasoda, cut in two by the lintel of the doorway, the stabbing lines of the\nchurning pole, grazing sticks and cords, as well as the sharp angles of\nthe house and its furniture, all contribute to a state of taut excitement.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 5\n\n_The Felling of the Trees_\n\nIllustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_\nKangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790\nState Museum, Lucknow\n\nFrom the same great series as Plate 3, here attributed to the Kangra\nartist Purkhu.\n\nThe young Krishna, tied to a mortar to keep him out of mischief, has\ndragged it between two trees and thereby uprooted them. The cowherds, led\nby the bearded Nanda, Krishna's foster-father, have hurried to the scene\nand Balarama, Krishna's half-brother, is excitedly pointing out that\nKrishna is safe. In the foreground, emerging from the earth are two\ncrowned figures--Nala and Kuvara, the sons of the yaksha king, Kubera,\nwho, as a consequence of a curse had been turned into the two trees.\nDoomed to await Krishna's intervention, they have now been released.\nReclining on the trunks, still tied to the mortar, the young Krishna\nsurveys the scene with pert satisfaction.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 6\n\n_The Road to Brindaban_\n\nIllustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_\nKangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790\nNational Museum, New Delhi\n\nWith Plates 3 and 5, part of the series attributed to Purkhu.\n\nLed by Nanda, the majestic figure in the front bullock-cart, the cowherds\nare moving a day's march across the River Jumna to enjoy the larger\nfreedom of Brindaban. Their possessions--bundles of clothes,\nspinning-wheels, baskets of grain and pitchers--are being taken with them\nand mounted with Yasoda on a second cart go the children, Balarama and\nKrishna. With its great variety of stances, simple naturalism and air of\ninnocent calm, the picture exactly expresses the terms of tender\nfamiliarity on which the cowherds lived with Krishna.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 7\n\n_Krishna milking_\n\nIllustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_\nGarhwal, Punjab Hills, c. 1800\nG.K. Kanoria collection, Calcutta\n\nLike Plate 4, an illustration of an isolated episode. Krishna, having\ngraduated from tending the calves, is milking a cow, his mind filled with\nbrooding thoughts. A cowgirl restrains the calf by tugging at its string\nwhile the cow licks its restive offspring with tender care. Other\ndetails--the tree clasped by a flowering creeper, the peacock perched in\nits branches--suggest the cowgirls' growing love. The image of tree and\ncreeper was a common symbol in poetry for the lover embraced by his\nbeloved and peacocks, thirsting for rain, were evocative of desire.\n\nIn style, the picture represents the end of the first great phase of\nGarhwal painting (c. 1770-1804) when romantic themes were treated with\nglowing ardour.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 8\n\n_The Quelling of the Snake Kaliya_\n\nIllustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_\nKangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790\nJ.K. Mody collection, Bombay\n\nWith Plates 3, 5 and 6, an example of Kangra painting in its most serene\nform.\n\nKrishna, having defied the hydra-headed snake whose poison has befouled\nthe River Jumna, is dancing in triumph on its sagging heads. The snake's\nconsorts plead for mercy--one of them holding out bunches of lotus\nflowers, the others folding their hands or stretching out their arms in\nmute entreaty. The river is once again depicted as a surging flood but it\nis the master-artist's command of sinuous line and power of suffusing a\nscene of turmoil with majestic calm which gives the picture greatness.\n\nAlthough the present study is true to the _Bhagavata Purana_ where the\nsnake is explicitly described as vacating the water and meeting its end\non dry land, other pictures, notably those from Garhwal[129] follow the\n_Vishnu Purana_ and show the final struggle taking place in the river\nitself.\n\n[Footnote 129: Reproduced A.K. Coomaraswamy, _Rajput Painting_ (Oxford,\n1916), Vol. II, Plates 53 and 54.]\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 9\n\n_Balarama killing the Demon Pralamba_\n\nIllustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_\nKangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790\nNational Museum, New Delhi\n\nA further example from the Kangra series, here attributed to Purkhu.\n\nAs part of his war on Krishna and young boys, the tyrant Kansa sends\nvarious demons to harry and kill them, the present picture showing four\nstages in one such attack. To the right, the cowherd children, divided\ninto two parties, face each other by an ant-hill, Krishna with arms\ncrossed heading the right-hand group and Balarama the left. Concealed as a\ncowherd in Krishna's party, the demon Pralamba awaits an opportunity of\nkilling Balarama. The second stage, in the right-hand bottom corner, shows\nBalarama's party giving the other side 'pick-a-backs,' after having been\nvanquished in a game of guessing flowers and fruit. The third stage is\nreached in the top left-hand corner. Here Pralamba has regained his demon\nform and is hurrying off with Balarama. Balarama's left hand is tightly\nclutched but with his right he beats at the demon's head. The fourth and\nfinal stage is illustrated in the bottom left-hand corner where Balarama\nhas subdued the demon and is about to slay him.\n\nThe picture departs from the normal version, as given in the _Bhagavata\nPurana,_ by showing Balarama's side, instead of Krishna's, carrying out\nthe forfeits. According to the _Purana_, it was Krishna's side that lost\nand since Pralamba was among the defeated, he was in a position to take\nBalarama for a ride. It is likely, however, that in view of the other\nepisode in the _Purana_ in which Krishna humbles his favourite cowgirl\nwhen she asks to be carried (Plate 14), the artist shrank from showing\nKrishna in this servile posture so changed the two sides round.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 10\n\n_The Forest Fire_\n\nIllustration to an incident from the _Bhagavata Purana_\nBasohli, Punjab Hills, c. 1680\nKarl Khandalavala collection, Bombay\n\nUnder Raja Kirpal Pal (c. 1680-1693), painting at Basohli attained a\nsavage intensity of expression--the present picture illustrating the style\nin its earliest and greatest phase. Surrounded by a ring of fire and with\ncowherd boys and cattle stupefied by smoke, Krishna is putting out the\nblaze by sucking the flames into his cheeks. Deer and pig are bounding to\nsafety while birds and wild bees hover distractedly overhead.\n\nDuring his life among the cowherds, Krishna was on two occasions\nconfronted with a forest fire--the first, on the night following his\nstruggle with Kaliya the snake when Nanda, Yasoda and other cowherds and\ncowgirls were also present and the second, following Balarama's encounter\nwith the demon Pralamba (Plate 10), when only cowherd boys were with him.\nSince Nanda and the cowgirls are absent from the present picture, it is\nprobably the second of these two occasions which is illustrated.\n\nFor a reproduction in colour of this passionately glowing picture, see\nKarl Khandalavala, _Indian Sculpture and Painting_ (Bombay, 1938) (Plate\n10).\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 11\n\n_The Stealing of the Clothes_\n\nIllustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_\nKangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790\nJ.K. Mody collection, Bombay\n\nDespite the Indian delight in sensuous charm, the nude was only rarely\ndepicted in Indian painting--feelings of reverence and delicacy forbidding\ntoo unabashed a portrayal of the feminine physique. The present picture\nwith its band of nude girls is therefore an exception--the facts of the\n_Purana_ rendering necessary their frank inclusion.\n\nThe scene illustrated concerns the efforts of the cowgirls to win\nKrishna's love. Bathing naked in the river at dawn in order to rid\nthemselves of sin, they are surprised by Krishna who takes their clothes\nup into a tree. When they beg him to return them, he insists that each\nshould freely expose herself before him, arguing that only in this way can\nthey convince him of their love. In the picture, the girls are shyly\nadvancing while Krishna looks down at them from the tree.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 12\n\n_The Raising of Mount Govardhana_\n\nIllustration to an incident from the _Bhagavata Purana_\nGarhwal, Punjab Hills, c. 1790\nNational Museum, New Delhi\n\nWith Plate 7, an example of Garhwal painting and its use of smoothly\ncurving line.\n\nKrishna is lifting Mount Govardhana on his little finger and Nanda, the\ncowherds and cowgirls are sheltering underneath. The occasion is Krishna's\nslight to Indra, king of the gods and lord of the clouds, whose worship he\nhas persuaded the cowherds to abandon. Incensed at Krishna's action, Indra\nhas retaliated by sending storms of rain.\n\nIn the picture, Indra, a tiny figure mounted on a white elephant careers\nacross the sky, goading the clouds to fall in torrents. Lightning flickers\nwildly and on Govardhana itself, the torn and shattered trees bespeak the\ngale's havoc. Below all is calm as the cowherds acclaim Krishna's power.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 13\n\n_Krishna with his Favourite after leaving the Dance_\n\nIllustration to the _Bhagavala Purana_\nKangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790\nJ.K. Mody collection, Bombay\n\nBesides Purkhu, at least two other master-artists worked at Kangra towards\nthe end of the eighteenth century--one, responsible for the present\npicture and Plates 14 and 15, being still unknown. He is here referred to\nas 'the master of the moonlight' on account of his special preoccupation\nwith moonlight effects.\n\nThe present picture shows Krishna and a girl standing by an inlet of the\nRiver Jumna. The girl is later to be identified as Radha but in the\n_Bhagavata Purana_ she is merely referred to as one who has been\nparticularly favoured, her actual name being suppressed. The moment is\nsome time after they have left the circular dance and before their sudden\nseparation. Krishna, whose hand rests on the girl's shoulder, is urging\nher forward but the girl is weary and begs him to carry her. The incident\nillustrates one of the vicissitudes in Radha and Krishna's romance and was\nlater to be endowed with deep religious meaning.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 14\n\n_Krishna's Favourite deserted_\n\nIllustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_\nKangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790\nNational Museum, New Delhi\n\nFrom the same series as Plates 13 and 15 by 'the master of the moonlight.'\n\nThe girl's request (Plate 13) that Krishna should carry her brings to a\nhead the question of Krishna's proper status. To an adoring lover, the\nrequest is not unreasonable. Made to God, it implies an excess of pride.\nDespite their impassioned love-making, therefore, the girl must be humbled\nand as she puts out her arms and prepares to mount, Krishna vanishes.\n\nIn the picture, the great woods overhanging the rolling Jumna are tilting\nforward as if to join the girl in her agonized advances while around her\nrise the bleak and empty slopes, their eerie loneliness intensified by\nfrigid moonlight.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 15\n\n_The Quest for Krishna_\n\nIllustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_\nKangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790\nJ.K. Mody collection, Bombay\n\nBy the same 'master of the moonlight' as Plates 13 and 14.\n\nKrishna's favourite, stunned by his brusque desertion, has now been met by\na party of cowgirls. Their plight is similar to her own, for, after\nenjoying his enchanting love, they also have been deserted when Krishna\nleft the dance taking his favourite with him. In the picture, Radha holds\nher head in anguish while to the right the cowgirls look at her in mute\ndistress. Drooping branches echo their stricken love while a tree in the\nbackground, its branches stretching wanly against the sky, suggests their\nplaintive yearning.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 16\n\n_The Eve of the final Encounter_\n\nIllustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_\nKangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790\nJ.K. Mody collection, Bombay\n\nFrom the same series as Plates 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 11, here attributed to\nthe Kangra artist Purkhu.\n\nInvited by Kansa, the tyrant king, to attend a festival of arms, Nanda and\nthe cowherds have arrived at Mathura and pitched their tents outside the\nwalls. Krishna and Balarama are eating their evening meal by candle-light,\na cowherd, wearing a dark cloak to keep off the night air, is attending to\nthe bullocks while three cowherd boys, worn out by the day's march, rest\non string-beds under the night sky. In the background, Krishna and\nBalarama, having finished their meal, are peacefully sleeping, serenely\nindifferent to the struggle which awaits them the next day. The moon\nwaning in the sky parallels the tyrant's declining fortunes.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 17\n\n_The End of the Tyrant_\n\nIllustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_\nKangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790\nChester Beatty Library, Dublin\n\nIn the same style as Plate 16, but perhaps from a different series.\n\nThe festival of arms is now in progress but has already taken an\nunexpected turn. Set on by the savage elephant, Krishna and Balarama have\nkilled it and taken out the tusks. They have then engaged two giant\nwrestlers, Krishna killing his opponent outright. In the picture Balarama\nis about to kill the other wrestler and Krishna, holding an elephant tusk\nunder his arm, looks at the king with calm defiance. The king's end is now\nin sight for a little later Krishna will spring on the platform and hurl\nhim to his death. Gathered in the wide arena, townspeople from Mathura\nawait the outcome, while cowherd boys delightedly encourage the two\nheroes.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 18\n\n_The Rape of Rukmini_\n\nIllustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_\nBilaspur, Punjab Hills, c. 1745\nBritish Museum. London\n\nCompared with Krishna's life among the cowherds, his adventures as a\nprince were only scantily illustrated in Indian painting--his consort\nRukmini being totally eclipsed in courtly favour by the adored cowgirl,\nRadha. The present picture--one of the very few to represent the\ntheme--shows Rukmini and her maids worshipping at the shrine to Devi, the\nearth mother, on the morning of her wedding. Her proposed husband is\nSisupala and already he and his party have arrived to claim her hand. In\ndespair Rukmini has apprised Krishna of her fate but does not know that he\nwill intervene. As she worships, Krishna suddenly appears, places her on\nhis chariot and, in the teeth of Sisupala's forces, carries her away. The\npicture illustrates the dramatic moment when after descending on the\nshrine, Krishna effects her rescue.\n\nThe picture is in an eighteenth-century style of painting which, from\nantecedents in Kashmir and the Punjab Plains, developed at Bilaspur. This\nsmall Rajput State adjoined Guler in the Punjab Hills and shared in the\ngeneral revival of painting caused by the diffusion of artists from\nBasohli.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 19\n\n_Krishna welcoming the Brahman Sudama_\n\nIllustration to the Sudama episode in the _Bhagavata Purana_\nGarhwal, Punjab Hills, c. 1785\nChester Beatty Library, Dublin\n\nSudama is a poor Brahman whose devotion leads him to go to Dwarka, and\nseek out Krishna. Krishna remembers the time when they had shared the same\npreceptor and warmly welcomes him to his princely palace. The picture\nshows Sudama in rags seated on a stool while Krishna washes his feet and\nhails him as a Brahman. In close attendance are various ladies of the\ncourt, their graceful forms transcribed with sinuous delicacy and suave\npoetic charm.\n\nAlthough an episode in Krishna's later career as a prince and one designed\nto buttress the priestly caste of Brahmans, the story--with its emphasis\non loving devotion--is actually in close accord with Krishna's life among\nthe cowherds. For this reason, it probably continued to excite interest\nlong after other aspects of his courtly life had been ignored. In this\nrespect. Sudama's visit to Krishna is as much a parable of divine love as\nKrishna's dances with the cowgirls.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 20\n\n_The Beginnings of Romance_\n\nIllustration to the _Gita Govinda_\nGarhwal. Punjab Hills, c. 1790\nNational Museum, New Delhi\n\nThe first poem to celebrate Radha as Krishna's supreme love is the _Gita\nGovinda_ of Jayadeva, written at the end of the twelfth century. The poem\nrecounts Radha's anguish at Krishna's fickleness, his subsequent\nrepentance and finally their passionate re-union.\n\nThe present picture with its glamorous interpretation of the forest in\nspring illustrates the poem's opening verse and re-creates the setting in\nterms of which the drama will proceed. Nanda, the tall figure towering\nabove the cowherd children, is commanding Radha to take Krishna home. The\nevening sky is dark with clouds, the wind has risen and already the\nflower-studded branches are swaying and bending in the breeze. Krishna is\nstill a young boy and Radha a girl a few years older. As Radha takes him\nhome, they loiter by the river, passion suddenly flares and they fall into\neach other's arms. In this way, the verse declares, the loves of Radha and\nKrishna began. The left-hand side of the picture shows the two lovers\nembracing--the change in their attitudes being reflected in their altered\nheights. Krishna who originally was shorter than Radha is now the taller\nof the two, the change suggesting the mature character of their passionate\nrelations.\n\nThe picture with its graceful feminine forms and twining lines has the\nsame quality of rhythmical exaltation as Plates 19 and 35, a quality\ntypical of the Garwhal master-artist in his greatest phase.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 21\n\n_Krishna playing on the Flute_\n\nIllustration to the _Gita Govinda_\nKangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790\nN.C. Mehta collection, Bombay\n\nAs Radha wilts in lonely anguish, a friend describes how Krishna is\nbehaving.\n\n  'The wife of a certain herdsman sings as Krishna sounds a tune of love\n  Krishna here disports himself with charming women given to love.'\n\nIn the picture, Radha sits beneath a flowering tree, conversing with the\nfriend while, to the right, Krishna plays the flute to a circle of adoring\ngirls.\n\nThe painting is by a Kangra master, perhaps Kushala, the nephew of the\nGuler artist, Nainsukh, and illustrates the power of Kangra painters to\nimbue with innocent delicacy the most intensely emotional of situations.\nIt was the investment of passion with dignity which was one of the chief\ncontributions of Kangra painting to Indian art.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 22\n\n_Krishna dancing with the Cowgirls_\n\nIllustration to the _Gita Govinda_\nWestern Rajasthan, c. 1610\nN.C. Mehta collection, Bombay\n\nBesides describing Krishna's flute-playing, Radha's friend gives her an\naccount of his love-making.\n\n  'An artless woman looks with ardour on Krishna's lotus face.'\n  'Another on the bank of the Jumna, when Krishna goes to a bamboo\n    thicket,\n  Pulls at his garment to draw him back, so eager is she for amorous\n    play.'\n  'Krishna praises another woman, lost with him in the dance of love,\n  The dance where the sweet low flute is heard in the clamour of\n    bangles on hands that clap. He embraces one woman, he kisses\n    another, and fondles another beautiful one.'\n  'Krishna here disports himself with charming women given to love.'\n\nThe present picture illustrates phases of this glamorous love-making--Krishna\nembracing one woman, dancing with another and conversing with a third. The\nbackground is a diagram of the forest as it might appear in spring--the\nslack looseness of treatment befitting the freedom of conduct adumbrated\nby the verse. The large insects hovering in the branches are the black\nbees of Indian love-poetry whose quest for flowers was regarded as\nsymbolic of urgent lovers pestering their mistresses. In style the picture\nillustrates the Jain painting of Western India after its early angular\nrigidity had been softened by application to tender and more romantic\nthemes.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 23\n\n_Krishna seated with the Cowgirls_\n\nIllustration to the _Gita Govinda_\nJaunpur, Eastern India, c. 1590\nPrince of Wales Museum, Bombay\n\nAfter flute-playing and dancing (Plates 21 and 22), Krishna sits with the\ncowgirls.\n\n  'With his limbs, tender and dark like rows of clumps of blue lotus\n    flowers.\n  By herd girls surrounded, who embrace at pleasure any part of his body,\n  Friend, in spring, beautiful Krishna plays like Love's own self\n  Conducting the love sport, with love for all, bringing delight into\n    being.'\n\nAnd it is here that Radha finds him.\n\n  'May the smiling captivating Krishna protect you, whom Radha, blinded\n    by love,\n  Violently kissed as she made as if singing a song of welcome saying,\n  \"Your face is nectar, excellent,\" ardently clasping his bosom\n  In the presence of the fair-browed herdgirls dazed in the sport of love.'\n\nThe picture shows Krishna surrounded by a group of cowgirls, one of whom\nis caressing his leg. To the right, Radha and the friend are approaching\nthrough the trees. The style with its sharp curves and luxuriating\nsmartness illustrates a vital development of the Jain manner in the later\nsixteenth century.[130]\n\n[Footnote 130: For a first discussion of this important series, see a\ncontribution by Karl Khandalavala, 'A _Gita Govinda_ Series in the Prince\nof Wales Museum,' _Bulletin of the Prince of Wales Museum. Bombay_ (1956),\nNo. 4.]\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 24\n\n_The neglected Radha_\n\nIllustration to the _Gita Govinda_\nJaunpur, Eastern India, c. 1590\nPrince of Wales Museum, Bombay\n\nFollowing his revels with the cowgirls, Krishna is smitten with remorse.\nHe roams the forest, searching for the lovely Radha but finding her\nnowhere. As he pursues his quest, he encounters the friend and learns of\nRadha's dejected state.\n\n  'Her body is wholly tormented by the heat of the flame of desire;\n  But only of you, so loved, she thinks in her langour,\n  Your extinguishing body; secluded she waits, all wasted--\n  A short while, perhaps, surviving she lives.\n  Formerly even a moment when weary she closed her eyes.\n  The moment's parting she could not endure, from the sight of you;\n  And now in this long separation, O how does she breathe\n  Having seen the flowery branch of the mango, the shaft of Love?'\n\nIn the picture, Radha is sitting in the forest, lonely and neglected.\nTrees surround her, suggesting by their rank luxuriance the upward surge\nof spring while cranes, slowly winging their way in pairs across the\nblackening sky, poignantly remind her of her former love.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 25\n\n_Krishna repentant_\n\nIllustration to the _Gita Govinda_\nGarhwal, Punjab Hills, c. 1790\n\nLearning of Radha's plight, Krishna longs to comfort her. Before\napproaching her, however, he spends a night passionately dallying with\nanother cowgirl and only in the morning tenders his submission. By this\ntime, Radha's mood has turned to bitter anger and although Krishna begs to\nbe forgiven, Radha tells him to return to his latest love.\n\n  'Go, Krishna, go. Desist from uttering these deceitful words.\n  Follow her, you lotus-eyed, she who can dispel your trouble, go to her.'\n\nIn the picture, Krishna is striving to calm her ruffled feelings while\nRadha, 'cruel to one who loves you, unbending to one who bows, angry with\none who desires, averting your face from this your lover,' has none of\nhim.\n\nAccording to the poem, the scene of this tense encounter is not a palace\nterrace but the forest--the Garhwal artist deeming a courtly setting more\nappropriate for Radha's exquisite physique. The suavely curving linear\nrhythm, characteristic of Garhwal painting at its best, is once again the\nmeans by which a mood of still adoration is sensitively conveyed.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 26\n\n_The last Tryst_\n\nIllustration to the _Gita Govinda_\nBasohli. Punjab Hills, c. 1730\nState Museum, Lahore\n\nHaving brusquely dismissed Krishna, Radha is overcome with longing and\nwhen he once again approaches her she showers on him her adoring love. The\nfriend urges her to delay no longer.\n\n  'Your friends are all aware that you are ready for love's conflict\n  Go, your belt aloud with bells, shameless, amorous, to the meeting.'\n\nRadha succumbs to her advice and slowly approaches Krishna's forest bower.\n\nIn the picture, Krishna is impatiently awaiting her while Radha, urged\nonward by the friend, pauses for a moment to shed her shyness. The picture\nis part of an illustrated edition of the poem executed in Basohli in 1730\nfor a local princess, the lady Manaku. As in other Basohli paintings,\ntrees are shown as small and summary symbols, the horizon is a streak of\nclouds and there is a deliberate shrinkage from physical refinement. The\npurpose of the picture is rather to express with the maximum of power the\nsavagery of passion and the stark nature of lovers' encounters.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 27\n\n_The closing Scene_\n\nIllustration to the _Gita Govinda_\nBasohli, Punjab Hills. c. 1730\nArt Gallery, Chandigarh, East Punjab\n\nFrom the same series as Plate 26.\n\nAfter agonies of 'love unsatisfied,' Radha and Krishna are at last\nreconciled.\n\n  'She looked on Krishna who desired only her, on him who for long wanted\n    dalliance,\n  Whose face with his pleasure was overwhelmed and who was possessed with\n    Desire,\n  Who engendered passion with his face made lovely through tremblings of\n    glancing eyes,\n  Like a pond in autumn with a pair of wagtails at play in a fullblown\n    lotus.\n  Like the gushing of the shower of sweat in the effort of her travel to\n    come to his hearing,\n  Radha's eyes let fall a shower of tears when she met her beloved,\n  Tears of delight which went to the ends of her eyes and fell on her\n    flawless necklace.\n  When she went near the couch and her friends left the bower, scratching\n    their faces to hide their smiles,\n  And she looked on the mouth of her loved one, lovely with longing, under\n    the power of love,\n  The modest shame of that deer-eyed one departed.'\n\nIn the picture, Radha and Krishna are again united. Krishna has drawn\nRadha to him and is caressing her cheek while friends of Radha gossip in\nthe courtyard. As in Plate 25, the artist has preferred a house to the\nforest--the sharp thrust of the angular walls exactly expressing the\nfierceness of the lovers' desires.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 28\n\n_Krishna awaiting Radha_\n\nIllustration to the _Rasika Priya_ of Keshav Das\nBundi (Rajasthan), c. 1700\nNational Museum, New Delhi\n\nFollowing the Sanskrit practice of discussing poetic taste, Keshav Das\nproduced in 1592 a Hindi manual of poetics. In this book, poems on love\nwere analysed with special reference to Krishna--Krishna himself\nsustaining the role of _nayaka_ or ideal lover. During the seventeenth\ncentury, illustrated versions of the manual were produced--poems appearing\nat the top of the picture and the subjects being illustrated beneath. The\npresent picture treats Radha as the _nayika_ or ideal mistress and shows\nher about to visit Krishna, She is, at first, seated on a bed but a little\nlater, is leaning against a pillar as a maid or friend induces her to\ndescend. In the left-hand bottom corner, Krishna sits quietly waiting. The\nbower is hung with garlands and floored with lotus petals while lightning\ntwisting in the sky and torches flickering in the courtyard suggest the\nstorm of love. The figures with their neat line and eager faces are\ntypical of Bundi painting after it had broken free from the parent style\nof Udaipur.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 29\n\n_Radha and Krishna making Love_\n\nIllustration to the _Sursagar_ of Sur Das\nUdaipur, Rajasthan, c. 1650\nG.K. Kanoria collection, Calcutta\n\nLike Plate 28, an illustration to a Hindi poem analysing Krishna's conduct\nas ideal lover.\n\nKrishna is here embracing Radha while outside two of Radha's friends await\nthe outcome. Above them, two girls are watching peacocks--the strained\nadvances of the birds and the ardent gazes of the girls hinting at the\ntense encounter proceeding in the room below.\n\nThe Udaipur style of painting with its vehement figures, geometrical\ncompositions and brilliant colouring was admirably suited to interpreting\nscenes of romantic violence.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 30\n\n_The Lover approaching_\n\nIllustration to the _Rasamanjari_ of Bhanu Datta\nBasohli, Punjab Hills, c. 1680\nVictoria and Albert Museum, London (I.S. 52-1953)\n\nAlthough the _Rasika Priya_ of Keshav Das was the manual of poetry most\nfrequently illustrated by Indian artists, an earlier Sanskrit treatise,\nthe _Rasamanjari_ of Bhanu Datta, excited a particular raja's interest and\nresulted in the production at Basohli of a vividly illustrated text. The\noriginal poem discusses the conventions of ordinary lovers. Under this\nBasohli ruler's stimulus, however, the lover was deemed to be Krishna and\nalthough the verses make no allusion to him, it is Krishna who monopolizes\nthe illustrations.\n\nIn the present instance, Krishna the lover, carrying a lotus-bud, is about\nto visit his mistress. The lady sits within, a pair of lotus-leaves\nprotecting her nude bust, her hair falling in strands across her thighs. A\nmaid explains to Krishna that her mistress is still at her toilet and\nchides him for arriving so abruptly.\n\nThe poem expresses the sentiments which a lover, denied early access,\nmight fittingly address to his mistress.\n\n'Longing to behold your path, my inmost heart--like a lotus-leaf when a\nnew rain-cloud has appeared--mounts to your neck. My eye, too, takes\nwing, soaring in the guise of a lotus-bird, to regard the moon of your\nface.'[131]\n\n[Footnote 131: Translation R.H.B. Williams.]\n\nIn the picture, the lotus imagery is retained but is given a subtle\ntwist--the lotus-leaves themselves, rather than the lover's inmost heart,\nbeing shown as mounting to the lady's neck.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 31\n\n_Radha extinguishing the Lamp_\n\nBasohli, Punjab Hills, c. 1690\nBharat Kala Bhawan, Benares\n\nAlthough no inscription has so far been published, it is likely that this\npicture is an illustration to the _Rasamanjari_ of Bhanu Datta. The lover\nis once again Krishna and the girl most probably Radha. Krishna is\ninviting her to extinguish the lamp so that they may better enjoy the\nexcitements of darkness.\n\nWith its air of violent frenzy, the picture is typical of Basohli painting\nat the end of the seventeenth century--the girl's wide-flung legs and\nrushing movements symbolizing the frantic nature of passionate desire.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 32\n\n_The Month of Asarh (June-July)_\n\nIllustration to a _Barahmasa_ (or Cycle of the Months)\nBundi, Rajasthan, c. 1750\nPrince of Wales Museum, Bombay\n\nIn Hindi poetry, lovers were sometimes described against a background of\nthe twelve months--each month suggesting a different kind of mood or\nbehaviour. Such poems known as _Barahmasa_ (barah, twelve; masa, month)\nwere sometimes illustrated--a princely lover and his lady being shown\nseated on a terrace with the sights and scenes appropriate to the month\ngoing on around. When this lover was identified with Krishna, any aspect\nof love was regarded as, in some degree, expressive of his character.\n\nThe present picture portrays the beginning of the Rains. The sky is black\nwith clouds. On a lake lovers dally in a tiny pavilion, while in the\nbackground two princes consult a hermit before leaving on their travels.\nThe rainy season was associated in poetry with love in separation and for\nthis reason a lonely girl is shown walking in a wood. In a garden pavilion\nKrishna dallies with Radha, the approaching rain augmenting their desire.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 33\n\n_Radha and Krishna swinging_\n\nIllustration to the musical mode. _Hindola Raga_\n('the swinging music')\nMalwa, Middle India, c. 1750\nVictoria and Albert Museum, London\n\nA poem celebrating one of the main modes of Indian music is here\nrepresented by Radha and Krishna seated on a swing. The mode itself is\ncalled 'the swinging music' but since swinging was symbolical of\nlove-making and also took place during the rains, the season of longing,\nits spirit was sometimes impersonated not by an ordinary prince but by\nKrishna himself. In the picture, peacocks, which were common symbols for\nthe lover, are shown against a storm-tossed sky--the battered clouds and\nwrithing lightning being symbolic references to 'the strife of love.' At\nthe foot, lotus plants, their flowers symbolizing the male, their leaves\nthe female, rise from a rain-filled river.\n\nThe picture represents one of the more poetic traditions of Indian\npainting but at a comparatively late stage of its development. During the\nsixteenth century the Malwa style had played a decisive part in the\nevolution of Rajput painting, but by the eighteenth century had shed\nsomething of its early ardour.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 34\n\n_Krishna attended by Ladies_\n\nIllustration to the musical mode, _Bhairava Raga_\nHyderabad. Deccan, c. 1750\nVictoria and Albert Museum, London\n\nLike Plate 33, an illustration to a poem accompanying a leading mode of\nIndian music. Krishna is sitting on a bed while Radha is rubbing his right\narm with sandal preparatory to making love. In the foreground a maid is\ngrinding the sandalwood into a paste. Although the poem itself contains no\nmention of Krishna, it speaks of Bhairava--a form of Siva--as a raging\nlover, 'insensate in a whirlwind of desire.' On this account\nKrishna--identified by his blue skin--has been inserted in the picture,\nhis character as a lover according with the frenzied character of the\npoem. In the background a bullock is lifting water from a well and a\ngardener is bending over a bed of poppies. Ducks and fishes sport in the\nwater.\n\nIllustrations to modes of music were common features of the Muslim art of\nthe Deccan--the association of certain modes with Krishna being carefully\npreserved. One of the finest series of _raga_ and _ragini_ pictures\nexecuted at Hyderabad and now in the India Office Library, London,\ncontains exquisite versions with Krishna themes.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 35\n\n_Radha disguised as a Constable arresting Krishna as a Thief_\n\nGarhwal, Punjab Hills, c. 1785\nIndian Museum, Calcutta\n\nTired of Krishna's attempts to waylay the cowgirls, Radha dons a turban,\nbrandishes a constable's heavy staff and seizes Krishna by the wrist. 'I\nam a policeman of Raja Kansa, come to take you to gaol,' she says. The\npicture shows the cowgirls standing with their pitchers of curd, while\ncowherd boys--Krishna's accomplices--take to their heels. Krishna himself\nstands limply by, as if uncertain who the constable is.\n\nThe incident is unrecorded in the _Bhagavata Purana_ but appears in later\npoetry as an instance of Radha and Krishna's mutual fun--teasing being an\nessential part of their love-making.\n\nThe picture is by the same master artist as Plate 19.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 36\n\n_Krishna meeting Radha_\n\nIllustration to a poem from the _Sat Sai_ of Bihari\nKangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790\nN.C. Mehta collection. Bombay\n\nAn example of Krishna's meetings with Radha. Appearing as if by accident\nKrishna is lolling on his cowherd's stick while Radha, encouraged by a\nfriend, has come to meet him. As she stands, there ensues that idyllic\n'meeting of eyes' which Indian sentiment regarded as one of the most\nelectrifying experiences in romance. In the picture, a tree pushes its\nflowering branches across open rolling slopes, suggesting by its fresh\nupsurgence the exquisite emotions stirring in Radha's and Krishna's\nhearts.\n\nThe picture is most probably by the Kangra artist, Kushala, to whom Plate\n21 may also be assigned.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 37\n\n_Radha's Longing_\n\nGuler, Punjab Hills, c. 1810\nBharat Kala Bhawan, Banaras\n\nIn Indian painting and poetry, it was women driven to distraction by\nunappeased longing rather than men hungry with desire who formed the chief\nsubject of romantic art. Pictures focussed on woman in all her varied\nmoods and flattered the male mind by portraying her wilting with sadness\nwhen deprived of husband or lover.\n\nThe present picture shows Radha frenziedly contemplating her lonely state.\nOrnaments grown too hot for wearing--from the passion burning in her\nheart--are strewn about the bed, while hands tightly clasped suggest her\nwild unhappy torment. The vast and barren hills, empty angular buildings,\ntiny guttering candles and lonely flowering tree provide a sympathetic\nsetting.\n\nWith its sinuous line and innocent delight in feminine form, the picture\nis typical of Guler painting at the start of the nineteenth century.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 38\n\n_Radha and Krishna returning in the Rain_\n\nNahan, Punjab Hills, c. 1820\nState Museum, Lahore.\n\nA scene from Radha and Krishna's idyllic life together. Caught by a gale\nof wind and rain, the lovers are hurrying to shelter, Krishna carrying a\nleaf umbrella while cows and cowherds bend before the storm. In the\ndistance, small figures wearing hooded cloaks hasten towards the village.\nAlthough keenly evocative of actual landscapes in the Punjab Hills--where\npalaces were usually set on rocky hill-tops with nearby villages\nclustering at their feet--the picture's main concern is to illustrate and\ninterpret the lovers' feelings. The black clouds lit by eerie lightning\nand the trees tossing and swaying in the wind symbolize the passion raging\nin their hearts and suggest its ultimate outcome.\n\nThe picture represents a style of painting which is thought to have grown\nup at Nahan, the capital of Sirmur, after its neighbour, Garhwal, had been\noverrun by Gurkhas in 1804. Garhwal artists probably sought asylum at the\nSirmur court and there developed a distinctive offshoot of the Garhwal\nmanner.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPLATE 39\n\n_The Triumph of Radha_\n\nKishangarh, Rajasthan, c. 1770\nC.K. Kanoria collection, Calcutta\n\nDuring the eighteenth century, Radha was often regarded as Krishna's\npermanent consort and was accorded divine honours--the present picture\nillustrating her final apotheosis. Seated together, their heads surrounded\nby haloes, the two lovers display their courtly charms. Krishna has now\nthe mannered luxury of a high-born prince and Radha, no longer the simple\ncowgirl, is the very embodiment of aristocratic loveliness. As the lovers\nsit together, their forms offset by a carpet of lotus petals, Krishna\nattempts to put betel-nut in Radha's mouth--the gesture subtly indicating\ntheir loving intimacy.\n\n\n\n\nSOURCES\n\n\nFrontispiece. By courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and of\nMessrs Faber and Faber.\n\n1, 2. Hendley, _Memorials of the Jeypore Exhibition, IV, the Razm Namah_.\n\n5. By courtesy of State Museum, Lucknow and of Mr. M.M. Nagar.\n\n6, 12, 20, 28. Archeological Survey of India, New Delhi.\n\n10, 19, 30, 33, 34. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.\n\n18. Stchoukine, _La Peinture Indienne_.\n\n22, 26, 31, 38. Messrs. A.C. Cooper Ltd, London.\n\n23, 24. By courtesy of the Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay and of Dr. Moti\nChandra.\n\n25. _Journal of Indian Art_, Vol. XVI, 116.\n\n27. By courtesy of Mr. M.S. Randhawa, I.C.S.\n\n39. By courtesy of Mr. Gopi Krishna Kanoria.\n\n3, 4, 7-9, 11, 13-17, 21, 29, 32, 35-37. Author's photographs.","title":"The Loves of Krishna in Indian Painting and Poetry","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":56019}