[Illustration: _Radha and Krishna in the Grove_ Kangra(Punjab Hills), c. 1785]

THE LOVES OF KRISHNA

IN INDIAN PAINTINGAND POETRY

ByW. G. ARCHER

ToMR. AND MRS. H. N. WITH LOVE AND ADMIRATION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am deeply indebted to Dr. A. L. Basham for generous guidance throughoutthe preparation of this book, to George Keyt for permitting me to quoteextensively from his brilliant translation of the _Gita Govinda_, and toDeben Bhattacharya who supplied me with new translations of later poemsand discussed a number of important points. I must also express my deepgratitude to Mildred Archer and to Gopi Krishna Kanoria for valuedcriticism and advice, to Messrs. Faber and Faber, the Harvill Press, Messrs. Macmillan, the Oxford University Press, the Phoenix House andMessrs. Sidgwick and Jackson for permitting me to quote passages fromworks still copyright, to Professor J. Brough for an informative note onBhanu Datta's _Rasamanjari_ and to all those owners of collections whohave either allowed me to reproduce pictures in their possession or havekindly supplied me with photographs. 

Part of the material for this book was delivered as lectures to the RoyalAsiatic Society, the Royal India, Pakistan and Ceylon Society and at theVictoria and Albert Museum. 

CONTENTS

 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

 I INTRODUCTION

 II THE MAHABHARATA: KRISHNA THE HERO

III THE BHAGAVATA PURANA: THE COWHERD i Birth and Early Adventures ii The Loves of the Cowgirls iii The Death of the Tyrant

 IV THE BHAGAVATA PURANA: THE PRINCE i The Return to Court ii Marriages and Offspring iii Last Phases iv The _Purana_ Re-considered

 V THE KRISHNA OF POETRY i The Triumph of Radha ii The _Gita Govinda_ iii Later Poetry iv The _Rasika Priya_

 VI THE KRISHNA OF PAINTING

 NOTES

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 INDEX

 PLATES AND COMMENTARY

 SOURCES

I

INTRODUCTION

During the twentieth century, a certain type of Indian painting began tofascinate the West. Unlike Mughal art, it was a product of Hindu courts inRajasthan and the Punjab Hills and unlike Mughal painting, its chiefconcern was with the varied phases of romance. Ladies would be shownbrooding in their chambers as storm clouds mounted in the sky. A girlmight be portrayed desperately fondling a plantain tree, gripping a petfalcon, the symbol of her lover, or hurrying through the rainy darknessintent only on reaching a longed-for tryst. A prince would appear lying ona terrace, his outstretched arms striving vainly to detain a calm beautyor welcoming with delight a bashful girl as she slowly advanced. In allthese pictures, romantic love was treated as the highest good and physicalpassion was interpreted with a freshness and innocence unequalled in theworld's art. 

Such paintings were, at first sight, easy to appreciate. Although theyalternated between two methods of expression--the first a style of savagedistortion, the second a style of the softest grace--each manner enlivenedthe common subject. [1] Yet in two respects elucidation was vitallynecessary. Just as in Japan, the lover might express his longings bycryptic references to Nature, the Indian artist employed poetic symbols tocharge his subjects with romantic ardour. Flowers were never merelyflowers nor clouds clouds. The symbols of Indian poetry--the lotus swayingin a stream, the flowering creeper embracing a trunk--were intended tosuggest passion-haunted ladies. The mingling of clouds, rain and lightningsymbolized the embraces of lovers, and commonplace objects such as dishes, vases, ewers and lamps were brought into subtle conjunction to hint at'the right true end of love. ' What, in fact, might seem at first sight tobe a simple portrait, proved on closer understanding to be a study indespair, a revelation of delight or a clue to rapture, each image with itssexual implications contriving to express some nuance of longing. In thesepictures, only a part of the meaning was apparent and without acomprehension of the poetry, much of its true significance was lost. 

Such an obstacle to understanding was real enough but, as the eye rangedover this new kind of love-painting, a second difficulty appeared. In manypictures, the lover had special characteristics. He was shown with a crownof peacock's feathers, clad in a golden _dhoti_ and in every case his skinwas mauve or slate-blue. [2] In certain cases, the lady of his choiceappeared bowing at his feet, her pose suggesting the deepest adoration;yet, in other pictures, his role was quite different. He was then aresolute warrior, fighting and destroying demons. It was clear, in fact, that here was no ordinary lover but one who might also be a god. At thesame time, other perplexing circumstances were present. The lover'sappearance was that of an aristocratic youth and the ladies whom he lovedhad the bearing of elegant princesses. Yet often the scene of theirencounters was a forest thick with flowering trees. His companions werecowherds and the objects of his love were not the ladies of a court butcowgirls. Other activities betrayed the same lowly sphere. In certainpictures, he was shown eating with cowherds, sharing in their sports, grazing the cattle and himself milking cows. That such a lover shoulddominate the paintings was perplexing in the extreme and just as culturedIndians would be baffled by Italian and Flemish painting unless theyalready knew the life of Christ, it was clear that part, even themajority, of these pictures would remain obscure unless the character oftheir central figure was first explained. One further point remained. Inmany cases, the pictures were not intended to be viewed in isolation butwere illustrations of a text. Many were inscribed with Sanskrit or Hindiverses and in each case there was an intimate connection between thecontent of the picture and the poem's subject. To understand the pictures, therefore, some acquaintance with these texts was necessary for only inthis way could the identity and role of the blue-skinned lover beappreciated. He was, in fact, Krishna--an incarnation of God--and in hisworship some of the deepest requirements of the Indian spirit foundecstatic release. 

The purpose of this book is to throw some light on Indian painting bypresenting the story of Krishna in the clearest possible terms. It mightbe supposed that, of all Indian gods, Krishna was already the one bestknown to the West and therefore, perhaps, the one least requiringexplanation. Among modern poets, Sacheverell Sitwell devotes a whole poemin _Canons of Giant Art_ to describing Krishna's effect. 

 Rain falls and ceases, all the forest trembles: Mystery walks the woods once more, We hear a flute. It moves on earth, it is the god who plays With the flute to his lips and music in his breath: The god is Krishna in his lovely youth. 

Louis MacNeice in _Ten Burnt Offerings_ describes a much-loved cat, Fluid as Krishna chasing the milkmaids. 

And the same Krishna, flute player and lover of milkmaids, is familiar toBritish audiences from the dancing of Ram Gopal. Yet side by side withthis magnetic figure, a second, strangely different Krishna is also known. This second Krishna is the preacher of the _Bhagavad Gita_, the greatsermon delivered on the battle-field of Kurukshetra. It is a cardinaldocument of Indian ethics, and consoled Mahatma Gandhi during his work forIndian independence. It has for many years been known in the West but hasrecently attracted fresh attention through a modern translation byChristopher Isherwood and Swami Prabhavananda. This Krishna of the _Gita_is clearly quite different in character from the Krishna of the milkmaidsand, without some effort at reconciliation, the two must obviously presenta baffling enigma. Indeed so great is the contrast that many Englishmen, entranced by the lover, might be astonished to hear of a more didacticrole, while those who value the _Gita_ might easily be disturbed onfinding its author so daringly identified with the theory and practice ofromantic love. The truth, if we are to admit it, is that despiteconsiderable acquaintance with Krishna as a name, few educated people inthe West have intimate knowledge of his story. In fact, we have only toask some basic questions to realize how slender is general understanding. What, for example, were the circumstances in which Krishna was born andwhy did he enter the world? Of which Indian god is he an incarnation? Whowere his parents and how did he come to live among cowherds? Who wereRadha and Rukmini? In what ways did he love the milkmaids and why has thisaspect of his story assumed such big proportions in Indian religion? Why, in fact, is God a romantic lover? Just as few Indians, even highlyeducated Indians, could survive a friendly cross-examination on details ofthe New Testament, the majority of cultured Englishmen would find it hardto answer even a few of these simple questions. 

It is to remedy in part this situation that I have marshalled the materialgiven in this book. With certain types of issue I have made no attempt todeal. I have not, for example, discussed statements such as 'Krishna wasnot a god but a hero of a rough tribe of cowherds. ' 'The Gita is aninterpolation. ' 'There is general agreement on the historicity ofKrishna. ' 'Radha appears to be a late addition. ' Higher Criticism, whetherapplied to the Bible or to the classics of Indian religion mustnecessarily remain a small scholars' preserve--of vital importance to thefew but of little account to the main body of believers or to artistsillustrating adored themes. I have rather been concerned to presentinformation about Krishna in the form in which it has actually reachedIndian minds and has influenced belief and worship. During the last twothousand years, various texts have dealt with Krishna, emphasizing firstone and then another aspect of his character and in the process assemblingmore and more details. These texts are still revered by Indians andalthough they are the product of widely separated eras, all of them havestill an air of contemporary authority. By considering them in historicalsequence, we can understand not only the subject-matter of romantic Indianpainting but realize why Krishna, the adored lover, should still enchantreligious India. 

[Footnote 1: Note 1. ]

[Footnote 2: Note 2. ]

II

THE _MAHABHARATA_: KRISHNA THE HERO

The first reference to Krishna occurs in the _Chandogya Upanishad_ ofperhaps the sixth century B. C. _Upanishads_ were 'forest sittings' or'sessions with teachers. ' Sages and their disciples discussed the natureof life and strove to determine the soul's exact relationship to God. Thestarting-point was the theory of re-incarnation. Death, it was believed, did not end the soul. Death was merely a stepping-stone to another life, the soul moving from existence to existence in one long effort to escapere-birth. From this cycle, only one experience could bring release andthat was consciousness or actual knowledge of the supreme Spirit. Whenthat state was achieved, the soul blended with the Godhead and the cycleended. The problem of problems, therefore, was how to attain suchknowledge. The _Chandogya Upanishad_ does not offer any startling solutionto this matter. The teacher who conducts the session is a certain Ghora ofthe Angirasa family and it is the person of his disciple rather than hisactual message which concerns us. The disciple is called Krishna and hismother has the name Devaki. Devaki is the later Krishna's mother and thereis accordingly every reason to suppose that the two Krishnas are the same. Nothing, however, is stated of this early Krishna's career and althoughparts of the sage's teachings have been compared to passages in the_Gita_, [3] Krishna himself remains a vague and dim name. 

For the next few centuries, knowledge of Krishna remains in thisfragmentary state. Nothing further is recorded and not until the greatIndian epic, the _Mahabharata_, crystallizes out between the fourthcentury B. C. And the fourth century A. D. Does a more detailed Krishna makehis appearance. [4] By the end of this period, many vital changes had takenplace. The Indian world-view had become much clearer and it is possiblenot only to connect Krishna with a definite character but to see him inclear relation to cosmic events. The supreme Spirit was now envisaged as asingle all-powerful God, known according to his functions as Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. As Brahma, he brought into existence threeworlds--heaven, earth and the nether regions--and also created gods orlesser divinities, earth and nature spirits, demons, ogres and menthemselves. Siva, for his part, was God the final dissolver or destroyer, the source of reproductive energy and the inspirer of asceticism. He wasthought of in many forms--as a potent ascetic, a butcher wild for blood, aserene dancer--and in his character of regenerator was represented by hissymbol, the _lingam_ or phallus. The third aspect, Vishnu, was God in hischaracter of loving protector and preserver. This great Trinity wasultimately supreme but under it were a number of lesser powers. Those thatrepresented the forces of good were called _devas_ or gods. They were ledby their king, Indra, lord of clouds, and associated with him were godssuch as Agni (fire), Varuna (water), Surya the sun and Kama the god ofpassion. These gods lived in Indra's heaven, a region above the world butlower than Vaikuntha, the heaven of Vishnu. Dancing-girls and musicianslived with them and the whole heaven resembled a majestic court on earth. From this heaven the gods issued from time to time intervening in humanaffairs. Demons, on the other hand, were their exact opposites. Theyrepresented powers of evil, were constantly at war with the gods and tookvicious pleasure in vexing or annoying the good. Below gods and demonswere men themselves. 

In this three-tiered universe, transmigration of souls was still the basicfact but methods of obtaining release were now much clearer. A man wasborn, died and then was born again. If he acted well, did his duty andworked ceaselessly for good, he followed what was known as the path of_dharma_ or righteousness. This ensured that at each succeeding birth hewould start a stage more favourably off than in his previous existencetill, by sheer goodness of character, he qualified for admission toIndra's heaven and might even be accounted a god. The achievement of thisstatus, however, did not complete his cycle, for the ultimate goal stillremained. This was the same as in earlier centuries--release from livingby union with or absorption into the supreme Spirit; and only when theindividual soul had reached this stage was the cycle of birth and re-birthcompleted. The reverse of this process was illustrated by the fate ofdemons. If a man lapsed from right living, his second state was alwaysworse than his first. He might then be born in humble surroundings or ifhis crimes were sufficiently great, he became a demon. As such, hiscapacity for evil was greatly increased and his chances of ultimatesalvation correspondingly worsened. Yet even for demons, the ultimate goalwas the same--release from living and blissful identification with theSupreme. 

_Dharma_ alone, however, could not directly achieve this end. This couldbe done by the path of _yoga_ or self-discipline--a path which involvedpenances, meditation and asceticism. By ridding his mind of all desiresand attachments, by concentrating on pure abstractions, the ascetic'obtained insight which no words could express. Gradually plumbing thecosmic mystery, his soul entered realms far beyond the comparativelytawdry heavens where the great gods dwelt in light and splendour. Going"from darkness to darkness deeper yet, " he solved the mystery beyond allmysteries; he understood, fully and finally, the nature of the universeand of himself and he reached a realm of truth and bliss, beyond birth anddeath. And with this transcendent knowledge came another realization--hewas completely, utterly, free. He had found ultimate salvation, the finaltriumph of the soul. '[5] Such a complete identification with the supremeSpirit, however, was not easily come by and often many existences wererequired before the yogi could achieve this sublime end. 

There remained a third way--the path of _bhakti_ or devotion to God. If aman loved God not as an abstract spirit but as a loving Person, if heloved with intensity and singleness of heart, adoration itself mightobtain for him the same reward as a succession of good lives. Vishnu asprotector might reward love with love and confer immediately the blessingof salvation. 

The result, then, was that three courses were now open to a man andwhether he followed one or other depended on his own particular cast ofmind, the degree of his will-power, the strength of his passions andfinally, his capacity for renunciation, righteousness and love. On thesequalifications the upshot would largely depend. But they were not the onlyfactors. Since gods and demons were part of the world, a man could beaided or frustrated according as gods or demons chose to intervene. Lifecould, in fact, be viewed from two angles. On the one hand it was one longeffort to blend with the Godhead--an effort which only the individualcould make. On the other hand, it was a war between good and evil, godsand demons; and to such a contest, God as Vishnu could not remainindifferent. While the forces of evil might properly be allowed to test ortax the good, they could never be permitted completely to win the day. When, therefore, evil appeared to be in the ascendant, Vishnu intervenedand corrected the balance. He took flesh and entering the world, slewdemons, heartened the righteous and from time to time conferred salvationby directly exempting individuals from further re-births. 

It is these beliefs which govern the _Mahabharata_ epic and provide theclue to Krishna's role. Its prime subject is a feud between two families, a feud which racks and finally destroys them. At the same time, it is verymuch more. Prior to the events narrated in the text, Vishnu has alreadyundergone seven incarnations, taking the forms of a fish, tortoise, boarand man-lion and later those of Vamana the dwarf, Parasurama ('Rama withthe Axe'), and finally, the princely Rama. In each of these incarnationshe has intervened and, for the time being, rectified the balance. Duringthe period covered by the epic, he undergoes an eighth incarnation and itis in connection with this supremely vital intervention that Krishnaappears. 

To understand the character which now unfolds, we must briefly considerthe central story of the _Mahabharata_. This is narrated in the mostbaffling and stupendous detail. Cumbrous names confront us on every sidewhile digressions and sub-plots add to the general atmosphere of confusionand complexity. It is idle to hope that this vast panorama can arousegreat interest in the West and even in India it is unlikely that manywould now approach its gigantic recital with premonitions of delight. Itis rather as a necessary background that its main outlines must begrasped, for without them Krishna's character and career can hardly beexplained. 

The epic begins with two rival families each possessed of a commonancestor, Kuru, but standing in bitter rivalry to each other. Kuru issucceeded by his second son, Pandu, and later by Dhritarashtra, his firstson but blind. Pandu has five sons, who are called Pandavas after him, while Dhritarashtra has a hundred sons called Kauravas after Kuru, theircommon grandfather. As children the two families grow up at the samecourt, but almost immediately jealousies arise which are to have a deadlyoutcome. Hatred begins when in boyish contests the Pandavas outdo theKauravas. The latter resent their arrogance and presently their father, the blind king, is persuaded to approve a plot by which the five Pandavaswill be killed. They are to sleep in a house which during the night willbe burnt down. The plot, however, miscarries. The house is burnt, butunbeknown to the Kauravas, the five brothers escape and taking with themtheir mother, Kunti, go for safety to the forest. Here they wander for awhile disguised as Brahmans or priests but reach at last the kingdom ofPanchala. The King of Panchala has a daughter, Draupadi, whose husband isto be chosen by a public archery competition. Arjuna, one of the fivebrothers, wins the contest and gains her as bride. The Pandavas, however, are polyandrous and thus, on being married to one brother, Draupadi isalso married to the other four. At the wedding the Pandavas disclose theiridentities. The Kauravas learn that they are still alive and in due courseare reconciled. They reinstate the Pandavas and give them half thekingdom. Before Arjuna, however, can profit from the truce, he infringesby accident his elder brother's privacy by stumbling on him while he iswith their common wife. As a consequence he violates a standing agreementand has no alternative but to go into exile for twelve years. Arjunaleaves the court, visits other lands, acquires a new wife and makes a newalliance. In other respects, all is well and the two families look forwardto many years of peaceful co-existence. 

The fates, however, seem determined on their destruction. The leader ofthe Pandavas is their eldest brother, Yudhisthira. He conquers many otherlands and is encouraged to claim the title, 'ruler of the world. ' Theclaim is made at a great sacrifice accompanied by a feast. The claimincenses the Kauravas and once again the ancient feud revives. Themselvesexpert gamblers, they challenge Yudhisthira to a contest by dice. Yudhisthira stupidly agrees and wagering first his kingdom, then hisbrothers and finally his wife, loses all and goes again into exile. Withhim go the other Pandavas, including Arjuna who has since returned. Fortwelve years they roam the forests, brooding on their fate and planningrevenge. When their exile ends, they at once declare war. Both sides seekallies, efforts at peacemaking are foiled and the two clash on thebattle-field of Kurukshetra. For eighteen days the battle rages tillfinally the Pandavas are victorious. Their success, however, is at anappalling cost. During the contest all five Pandavas lose their sons. Thehundred sons of their rival, the blind king Dhritarashtra, are dead andwith a sense of tragic futility, the epic ends. 

It is as an actor in this tangled drama that Krishna appears. Alongsidethe Pandavas and the Kauravas in Northern India is a powerful people, theYadavas. They live by grazing cattle but possess towns including acapital, the city of Dwarka in Western India. At this capital residestheir ruler or king and with him is a powerful prince, Krishna. ThisKrishna is related to the rival families, for his father, Vasudeva, isbrother of Kunti, the Pandavas' mother. From the outset, therefore, he isplaced in intimate proximity to the chief protagonists. For the moment, however, he himself is not involved and it is only after the Pandavas havegone into exile and reached the kingdom of Panchala that he makes hisentrance. The occasion is the archery contest for the hand of Draupadi. Krishna is there as an honoured guest and when Arjuna makes the winningshot, he immediately recognizes the five Pandavas as his kinsmen althoughas refugees they are still disguised as Brahmans. When the assembledprinces angrily protest at Draupadi's union with a Brahman, and seem aboutto fight, Krishna intervenes and persuades them to accept the decision. Later he secretly meets the Pandavas and sends them wedding presents. Already, therefore, he is fulfilling a significant role. He is a powerfulleader, a relative of the central figures and if only because the feud isnot his own, he is above the conflict and to some extent capable ofinfluencing its outcome. 

His next appearance brings him closer still to the Pandavas. When Arjunais exiled for his breach of marriage etiquette, he visits Krishna in hiscity of Dwarka. A great festival is held and in the course of it Arjunafalls in love with Krishna's sister, Subhadra. Krishna favours themarriage but advises Arjuna to marry her by capture. Arjuna does so and bybecoming Krishna's brother-in-law cements still further theirrelationship. 

This friendship has one further consequence, for, after Arjuna hascompleted his exile and returned to the Pandava court, Krishna visits himand the two go into the country for a picnic. 'After a few days, Arjunasaid to Krishna, "The summer days have come. Let us go to the River Jumna, amuse ourselves with some friends and come back in the evening. " Krishnareplied, "I would like that very much. Let us go for a bathe. " So Arjunaand Krishna set out with their friends. Reaching a fine spot fit forpleasure and overgrown with trees, where several tall houses had beenbuilt, the party went inside. Food and wine, wreaths of flowers andfragrant perfumes were laid out and at once they began to frolic at theirwill. The girls in the party with delightful rounded haunches, largebreasts and handsome eyes began to flirt as Arjuna and Krishna commanded. Some played about in the woods, some in the water, some inside the houses. And Draupadi and Subhadra who were also in the party gave the girls andwomen costly dresses and garments. Then some of them began to dance, someto sing, some laughed and joked, some drank wine. And the houses andwoods, filled with the noise of flutes and drums, became the very seat ofpleasure. '[6]

A little later, Krishna is accorded special status. At the sacrificeperformed by Yudhisthira as 'ruler of the world, ' gifts of honour aredistributed. Krishna is among the assembled guests and is proposed asfirst recipient. Only one person objects, a certain king Sisupala, whonurses a standing grievance against him. A quarrel ensues and during itKrishna kills him. Krishna's priority is then acclaimed but the incidentserves also to demonstrate his ability as a fighter. 

One other aspect of Krishna's character remains to be noted. Besides beinga bold warrior, he is above all an astute and able ally. During thePandavas' final exile in the forest, he urges them to repudiate theirbanishment and make war. When the exile is over and war is near, he actsas peace-maker, urging the Kauravas to make concessions. When he is foiledby Duryodhana, the blind king's son, he attempts to have him kidnapped. Finally, once the great battle is joined, he offers both sides a choice. Each may have the help either of himself alone or of his immediatekinsmen, the Vrishnis. The Vrishnis will fight in the battle, whileKrishna himself will merely advise from a distance. The Kauravas choosethe fighters, the Pandavas Krishna. Krishna accordingly aids the Pandavaswith counsel. He accompanies Arjuna as his charioteer and during thebattle is a constant advocate of treachery. As Kama, a leading Kaurava, fights Arjuna, his chariot gets stuck and he dismounts to see to it. Therules of war demand that Arjuna should now break off but Krishna urges himto continue and Kama is killed unresisting. Similarly when Bhima, one ofthe five Pandava brothers, is fighting Duryodhana with his club, Krishnaeggs him on to deal a foul blow. Bhima does so and Duryodhana dies from abroken thigh. In all these encounters, Krishna shows himself completelyamoral, achieving his ends by the very audacity of his means. 

So far, Krishna's character is merely that of a feudal magnate, and thereis nothing in his views or conduct to suggest that he is Vishnu or God. Two incidents in the epic, however, suddenly reveal his true role. Thefirst is when Yudhisthira has gambled away Draupadi and the Kauravas areintent on her dishonour. They attempt to make her naked. As one of themtries to remove her clothes, Draupadi beseeches Krishna as Vishnu tointervene and save her. Krishna does so and by his help she remainsclothed; however many times her dress is removed. The second occasion ison the final battle-field of Kurukshetra. Arjuna, seeing so many brothers, uncles and cousins ranged on either side is moved to pity at the senselessnature of the strife and confides his anguished doubts in Krishna. Krishnaseems, at first, to be only his friend, his brother-in-law and adviser. Hepoints out that to a warrior nothing is nobler than a righteous war anddeclares, 'Do your duty always but without attachment. ' He then advocatesthe two paths of _yoga_(knowledge) and _dharma_ (righteousness). 'Even ifa man falls away from the practice of _yoga_, he will still win the heavenof the doers of good deeds and dwell there many long years. After that, hewill be reborn into the home of pure and prosperous parents. He will thenregain that spiritual discernment which he acquired in his former body;and so he will strive harder than ever for perfection. Because of hispractices in the previous life, he will be driven on toward union with theSpirit, even in spite of himself. For the man who has once asked the wayto the Spirit goes farther than any mere fulfiller of the Vedic rituals. By struggling hard, that yogi will move gradually towards perfectionthrough many births and reach the highest goal at last[7]. 

But it is the path of _bhakti_ or devotion to a personal God whichcommands Krishna's strongest approval and leads him to make his startlingrevelation. 'Have your mind in Me, be devoted to Me. To Me shall you come. What is true I promise. Dear are you to Me. They who make Me their supremeobject, they to Me are dear. Though I am the unborn, the changeless Self, I condition my nature and am born by my power. To save the good anddestroy evildoers, to establish the right, I am born from age to age. Hewho knows this when he comes to die is not reborn but comes to Me. ' Hespeaks, in fact, as Vishnu himself. 

This declaration is to prove the vital clue to Krishna's character. It isto be expanded in later texts and is to account for the fervour with whichhe is soon to be adored. For the present, however, his claim is in thenature of an aside. After the battle, he resumes his life as a prince andit is more for his shrewdness as a councillor than his teaching as Godthat he is honoured and revered. Yet special majesty surrounds him andwhen, thirty-six years after the conflict, a hunter mistakes him for adeer and kills him by shooting him in the right foot[8], the Pandavas areinconsolable. They retreat to the Himalayas, die one by one and aretranslated to Indra's heaven[9]. 

Such an account is obviously a great advance on the _Chandogya Upanishad_. Yet, as we ponder its intricate drama, we are faced with severalintractable issues. It is true that a detailed character has emerged, afigure who is identified with definite actions and certain clear-cutprinciples. It is true also that his character as Vishnu has beenasserted. But it is Krishna the feudal hero who throughout the storytakes, by far, the leading part. Between this hero and Krishna the God, there is no very clear connection. The circumstances in which Vishnu hastaken form as Krishna are nowhere made plain. Except on the two occasionsmentioned, Krishna is apparently not recognized as God by others and doesnot himself claim this status. Indeed it is virtually only as anafterthought that the epic is used to transmit his great sermon, andalmost by accident that he becomes the most significant figure in thestory. Even the sermon at first sight seems at variance with his actionsas a councillor--his repeated recourse to treachery ill consorting withthe paramountcy of duty. In point of fact, such a conflict can be easilyreconciled for if God is supreme, he is above and beyond morals. He canact in any way he pleases and yet, as God, can expect and receive thehighest reverence. God, in fact, is superior to ethics. And this viewpointis, in fact, to prove a basic assumption in later versions of the story. Here it is sufficient to note that while the _Mahabharata_ describes thesetwo contrasting modes of behaviour, no attempt is made to face the exactissue. Krishna as God has been introduced rather than explained and we areleft with the feeling that much more than has been recorded remains to besaid. 

This feeling may well have dogged the writers who put the _Mahabharata_into its present shape for, a little later, possibly during the sixthcentury A. D. , an appendix was added. This appendix was called the_Harivansa_ or Genealogy of Krishna[10] and in it were provided all thosedetails so manifestly wanting in the epic itself. The exact nature ofKrishna is explained--the circumstances of his birth, his youth andchildhood, the whole being welded into a coherent scheme. In this storyKrishna the feudal magnate takes a natural place but there is no longerany contradiction between his character as a prince and his character asGod. He is, above all, an incarnation of Vishnu and his immediate purposeis to vanquish a particular tyrant and hearten the righteous. Thisviewpoint is maintained in the _Vishnu Purana_, another text of about thesixth century and is developed and illustrated in the tenth and eleventhbooks of the _Bhagavata Purana_. It is this latter text--a vast compendiumof perhaps the ninth or tenth century--which affords the fullest accountin literature of Krishna's story. 

[Footnote 3: Note 3. ]

[Footnote 4: Note 4. ]

[Footnote 5: A. L. Basham, _The Wonder that was India_, 245. ]

[Footnote 6: _Mahabharata, Adi Parva_, Section 224 (Roy, I, 615-16). ]

[Footnote 7: C. Isherwood and S. Prabhavananda, _The Song of God, Bhagavad-Gita_, 86-7. ]

[Footnote 8: Plate 2. ]

[Footnote 9: Note 5. ]

[Footnote 10: Note 6. ]

III

THE _BHAGAVATA PURANA_: THE COWHERD

(i) Birth and Early Adventures

The _Bhagavata Purana_ is couched in the form of a dialogue between a sageand a king. The king is the successor of the Pandavas but is doomed to diewithin a week for having by accident insulted a holy ascetic. To ensurehis salvation, he spends the week listening to the _Bhagavata Purana_ andconcentrating his mind on Krishna whom he declares to be his helper. [11]

Book Ten begins by describing the particular situation which leads toKrishna's birth. The scene is Mathura, a town in northern India, adjoiningthe kingdom of the Kauravas. The surrounding country is known as Braj andits ruling families are the Yadavas. Just outside Mathura is the districtof Gokula which is inhabited by cowherds. These are on friendly terms withthe Yadavas, but are inferior to them in caste and status. The time issome fifty years or more before the battle of Kurukshetra and the rulingking is Ugrasena. Ugrasena's queen is Pavanarekha and a mishap to her setsin train a series of momentous events. 

One day she is taking the air in a park, when she misses her way and findsherself alone. A demon, Drumalika, is passing and, entranced by her grace, decides to ravish her. He takes the form of her husband, Ugrasena, anddespite Pavanarekha's protests proceeds to enjoy her. Afterwards heassumes his true shape. Pavanarekha is dismayed but the demon tells herthat he has given her a son who will 'vanquish the nine divisions of theearth, rule supreme and fight Krishna. ' Pavanarekha tells her maids that amonkey has been troubling her. Ten months later a son is born. He is namedKansa and the court rejoices. 

As Kansa grows up he reveals his demon's nature. He ignores his father'swords, murders children and defeats in battle King Jarasandha ofMagadha. [12] The latter gives him two daughters in marriage. He thendeposes his father, throws him into prison, assumes his powers and bansthe worship of Vishnu. As his crimes increase, he extends his conquests. At last Earth can bear the burden no longer and appeals to the gods toapproach the supreme Deity, Brahma, to rid her of the load. Brahma asCreator can hardly do this, but Vishnu as Preserver agrees to interveneand plans are laid. Among the Yadava nobility are two upright persons. Thefirst is Devaka, the younger brother of King Ugrasena and thus an uncle tothe tyrant. The second is a certain Vasudeva. Devaka has six daughters, all of whom he marries to Vasudeva. The seventh is called Devaki. Vishnuannounces that Devaki will also be married to Vasudeva, and plucking outtwo of his hairs--one black and one white--he declares that these will bethe means by which he will ease Earth's burden. The white hair is part ofSesha, the great serpent, which is itself a part of Vishnu and this willbe impersonated as Devaki's seventh child. The black hair is Vishnu's ownself which will be impersonated as Devaki's eighth child. The child fromthe white hair will be known as Balarama and the child from the black hairas Krishna. As Krishna, Vishnu will then kill Kansa. Earth is gratifiedand retires and the stage is set for Krishna's coming. 

Devaki, with Kansa's approval, is now married to Vasudeva. The wedding isbeing celebrated in the grandest manner when a voice from heaven is heardsaying, 'Kansa, the eighth son of her whom you are now escorting willcause your destruction. You shall die at his hand. ' Kansa is greatlyalarmed and is about to slay Devaki when Vasudeva agrees to yield him alltheir sons. Kansa accordingly spares her. Each of Devaki's first six sons, however, is delivered up at birth and each is slaughtered. 

As the time for fulfilling the prophecy approaches, Kansa grows fearful. He learns that gods and goddesses are being born as cowherds and cowgirlsand, interpreting this as a sign that Krishna's birth is near, he commandshis men to slaughter every cowherd in the city. A great round-up ensuesand many cowherds are killed. The leading cowherd is a wealthy herdsmannamed Nanda, who lives with his wife Yasoda in the country district ofGokula. Although of lower caste, he is Vasudeva's chief friend and in viewof the imminent dangers confronting his family, it is to Nanda thatVasudeva now sends one of his other wives, Rohini. Devaki has meanwhileconceived her seventh son, the white hair of Vishnu, and soon to berecognized as Krishna's brother. To avoid his murder by Kansa, Vishnu hasthe foetus transferred from Devaki's womb to that of Rohini, and thechild, named Balarama, is born to Rohini, Kansa being informed that Devakihas miscarried. The eighth pregnancy now occurs. Kansa increases hisprecautions. Devaki and Vasudeva are handcuffed and manacled. Guards aremounted and besides these, elephants, lions and dogs are placed outside. The unborn child, however, tells them not to fear and Devaki and Vasudevacompose their minds. 

Krishna is now born, dark as a cloud and with eyes like lotuses. He isclad in a yellow vest and wears a crown. He takes the form of Vishnu andcommands Vasudeva to bear him to Nanda's house in Gokula and substitutehim for the infant daughter who has just been born to Yasoda, Nanda'swife. Devaki and Vasudeva worship him. The vision then fades and theydiscover the new-born child crying at their side. They debate what todo--Devaki urging Vasudeva to take the baby to Nanda's house where Rohini, his other wife, is still living and where Yasoda will receive it. Vasudevais wondering how to escape when his handcuffs and chains fall off, thedoors open and the guards are seen to be asleep. Placing Krishna in abasket, he puts it on his head and sets out for Gokula. As he goes, lionsroar, the rain pours down and the river Jumna faces him. There is no helpbut to ford it and Vasudeva accordingly enters the stream. The water getshigher and higher until it reaches his nose. When he can go no farther, the infant Krishna stretches out a foot, calms the river and the watersubsides. Vasudeva now arrives at Nanda's house where he finds that Yasodahas borne a girl and is in a trance. Vasudeva puts Krishna beside her, takes up the baby girl, recrosses the river and joins Devaki in herprison. The doors shut, the handcuffs and fetters close on them again andas the baby starts to cry, the guards awake. A sentry then carries Kansathe news. Kansa hurries to the spot, seizes the child and tries to dash iton a stone. As he does so the child becomes the goddess Devi andexclaiming that Kansa's enemy is born elsewhere and nothing can save him, vanishes into heaven. [13] Kansa is greatly shaken and orders all malechildren to be killed, [14] but releases Vasudeva and Devaki. 

Meanwhile Nanda, the rich herdsman, is celebrating the birth. Pandits andastrologers are sent for, the child's horoscope is cast and his destinyforetold. He will be a second deity like Brahma himself. He will destroydemons, relieve the land of Braj of all its cares, be called the lord ofthe cowgirls and be praised the whole world over. Nanda promises todedicate cows, loads the Brahmans with presents, and summons all themusicians and singers of the city. Singing, dancing and music break forth, the courtyards throng with people, and the cowherds of Gokula come in withtheir wives. On their heads are pitchers full of curd and as a magicalmeans of ensuring prosperity, they proceed to throw it over thegathering. Nanda presents them with cloth and betel and they depart elatedat the news. 

Some days later Nanda learns of Kansa's order to seize all male childrenand, deeming it prudent to offer presents, he collects the cowherds in abody and goes to Mathura to pay tribute. Kansa receives him and on his wayback Vasudeva meets him at the river. He dare not disclose his secret thatKrishna is not Nanda's son but his own. At the same time he cannotsuppress his anxiety as a father. He contents himself by telling Nandathat demons and evil spirits are abroad seeking to destroy young childrenand urges him to return to Gokula as quickly as possible. 

The _Purana_ now concentrates on two main themes: on Krishna's infancy inGokula, dilating on his baby pranks, his capacity for mischief, the lovehe arouses in the hearts of his foster-mother, Yasoda, and of all themarried cowgirls and, secondly, on his supernatural powers and skill inridding the country of troublesome demons. These are at first shown ashostile to Krishna only, but as the story unfolds, his role graduallywidens and we see him acting as the cowherds' ally, protecting them fromharm, attacking the forces of evil and thus fulfilling the supreme purposefor which he has been born. From time to time the cowherds realize thatKrishna is Vishnu and adore him as God. Then amnesia intervenes. Theyretain no recollection of the vision and see him simply as a youthfulcowherd, charming in manner, whose skill in slaying demons arouses theirlove. In this way Krishna lives among them--in fact, God, but in the eyesof the people, a young boy. [15]

The first demon to threaten Krishna's life is a huge ogress named Putana. Her role is that of child-killer--any child who is suckled in the night byPutana instantly dying. Putana assumes the form of a sweet and charminggirl, dabs her breasts with poison and while Nanda is still at Mathura, comes gaily to his house. Entranced by her appearance, Yasoda allows herto hold the baby Krishna and then to suckle him. Krishna, however, isimpervious to the poison, and fastening his mouth to her breast, he beginsto suck her life out with the milk. Putana, feeling her life going, rusheswildly from the village, but to no avail. Krishna continues sucking andthe ogress dies. When Yasoda and Rohini catch up with her, they find herhuge carcass lying on the ground with Krishna still sucking her breast. 'Taking him up quickly and kissing him, they pressed him to their bosomsand hurried home. '

Nanda now arrives from Mathura and congratulates the cowherds on theirescape--so great was Putana's size that her body might have crushed andoverwhelmed the whole colony. He then arranges for her burning but as herflesh is being consumed, a strange perfume is noticed for Krishna, whenkilling her, had granted her salvation. 

A second demon now intervenes. It is twenty-seven days since Krishna'sbirth. Brahmans and cowherds have been summoned to a feast, the cowgirlsare singing songs and everyone is laughing and eating. Krishna for thetime being is out of their minds, having been put to sleep beneath a heavycart loaded with pitchers. A little later he wakes up, begins to cry forthe breast and finding no one there wriggles about and starts to suck atoe. At this moment the demon, Saktasura, is flying through the sky. Henotices the child and alights on the cart. His weight cracks it but beforethe cart can collapse, Krishna kicks out so sharply that the demon diesand the cart falls to pieces. Hearing a great crash, the cowgirls dash tothe spot, marvelling that although the cart is in splinters and all thepots broken, Krishna has survived. 

The third attack occurs when Krishna is five months old. Yasoda is sittingwith him in her lap when she notices that he has suddenly become veryheavy. At the same time, the whirlwind demon, Trinavarta, raises a greatstorm. The sky darkens, trees are uprooted and thatch dislodged. As Yasodasets Krishna down, Trinavarta seizes him and whirls him into the air. Yasoda finds him suddenly gone and calls out, 'Krishna, Krishna. ' Thecowgirls and cowherds join her in the search, peering for him in the gustygloom of the dark storm. Full of misery, they search the forest and canfind him nowhere. Krishna, riding through the air, however, can see theirdistress. He twists Trinavarta round, forces him down and dashes him todeath against a stone. As he does so, the storm lightens, the wind dropsand the cowherds and cowgirls regain their homes. There they discover ademon lying dead with Krishna playing on its chest. Filled with relief, Yasoda picks him up and hugs him to her breast. 

Vasudeva now instructs his family priest, Garga the sage, to go to Gokula, meet Nanda and give Krishna and Balarama proper names. Rohini, he pointsout, has had a son, Balarama, and Nanda has also had a son, Krishna. It istime that each should be formally named. The sage is delighted to receivethe commission and on arriving is warmly welcomed. He declines, however, to announce the children's names in public, fearing that his connectionwith Vasudeva will cause Raja Kansa to connect Krishna with the eighthchild--his fated enemy. Nanda accordingly takes him inside his house andthere the sage names the two children. Balarama is given seven names, butKrishna's names, he declares, are numberless. Since, however, Krishna wasonce born in Vasudeva's house, he is called Vasudeva. As to theirqualities, the sage goes on, both are gods. It is impossible to understandtheir state, but having killed Kansa, they will remove the burdens of theworld. He then goes silently away. This is the first time that Nanda andYasoda are told the true facts of Krishna's birth. They do not, however, make any comment and for the time being it is as if they are still quiteignorant of Krishna's destiny. They continue to treat him as their son andno hint escapes them of his true identity. 

Meanwhile Krishna, along with Rohini's son, Balarama, is growing up as ababy. He crawls about the courtyard, lisps his words, plays with toys andpulls the calves' tails, Yasoda and Rohini all the time showering upon himtheir doting love. When he can walk, Krishna starts to go about with otherchildren and there then ensues a series of naughty pranks. His favouritepastime is to raid the houses of the cowgirls, pilfer their cream andcurds, steal butter and upset milk pails. When, as sometimes happens, thebutter is hung from the roof, they pile up some of the householdfurniture. One of the boys then mounts upon it, another climbs on hisshoulders, and in this way gets the butter down. [16] As the pilferingincreases, the married cowgirls learn that Krishna is the ringleader andcontrive one day to catch him in the act. 'You little thief, ' they say, 'At last we've caught you. So it's you who took our butter and curds. Youwon't escape us now. ' And taking him by the hand they march him to Yasoda. Krishna, however, is not to be outwitted. Employing his supernaturalpowers, he substitutes the cowgirls' own sons for himself and while theygo to Yasoda, himself slips off and joins his playmates in the fields. When the cowgirls reach Yasoda, they complain of Krishna's thefts and tellher that at last they have caught him and here he is. Yasoda answers, 'Butthis is not Krishna. These are your own sons. ' The cowgirls look at thechildren, discover the trick, are covered in confusion and burst outlaughing. Yasoda then sends for Krishna and forbids him to steal fromother people's houses. Krishna pretends to be highly indignant. He callsthe cowgirls liars and accuses them of always making him do their work. Ifhe is not having to hold a milk pail or a calf, he says, he is doing ahousehold chore or even keeping watch for them while they neglect theirwork and gossip. The cowgirls listen in astonishment and go away. 

Another day Krishna is playing in a courtyard and takes it into his headto eat some dirt. Yasoda is told of it and in a fit of anger runs towardshim with a stick. 'Why are you eating mud?' she cries. 'What mud?' saysKrishna. 'The mud one of your friends has just told me you have eaten. Ifyou haven't eaten it, open your mouth. ' Krishna opens it and lookinginside, Yasoda sees the three worlds. In a moment of perception, sherealizes that Krishna is God. 'What am I doing in looking upon the Lord ofthe three worlds as my son?' she cries. Then the vision fades and shepicks up Krishna and kisses him. 

Another day, Yasoda asks the married cowgirls to assist her in churningmilk. They clean the house, set up a large vessel, prepare the churningstaff and string, and start to churn. Krishna is awakened by the noise andfinding no one about comes crying to Yasoda. 'I am hungry, mother, ' hesays. 'Why have you not given me anything to eat?' And in a fit ofpetulance he starts to throw the butter about and kick over the pitchers. Yasoda tells him not to be so naughty, sits him on her lap and gives himsome milk. While she is doing this, a cowgirl tells her that the milk hasboiled over and Yasoda jumps up leaving Krishna alone. While she is awayhe breaks the pots, scatters the curds, makes a mess of all the rooms and, taking a pot full of butter, runs away with it into the fields. There heseats himself on an upturned mortar, assembles the other boys and vastlypleased with himself, laughingly shares the butter out. When Yasodareturns and sees the mess, she seizes a stick and goes to look forKrishna. She cannot find it in her heart, however, to be angry for longand when Krishna says, 'Mother, let me go. I did not do it, ' she laughsand throws the stick away. Then pretending to be still very angry, shetakes him home and ties him to a mortar. A little later a great crash isheard. Two huge trees have fallen and when the cowherds hurry to the spot, they find that Krishna has dragged the mortar between the trunks, pulledthem down and is quietly sitting between them. [17] Two youths--by name Nalaand Kuvara--have been imprisoned in the trees and Krishna's action hasreleased them. When she sees that Krishna is safe, Yasoda unties him fromthe mortar and hugs him to her. 

This incident of the trees now forces Nanda to make a decision. Thevarious happenings have been profoundly unnerving and he feels that it isno longer safe to stay in Gokula. He decides therefore to move a day'smarch farther on, to cross the river and settle in the forests ofBrindaban. The cowherds accordingly load up their possessions on carts andthe move ensues. [18]

The story now enters its second phase. Krishna is no longer a mischievousbaby, indulging in tantrums yet wringing the heart with his childishantics. He is now five years old and of an age to make himself useful. Heasks to be allowed to graze the calves. At first Yasoda is unwilling. 'Wehave got so many servants, ' she says. 'It is their job to take the calvesout. Why go yourself? You are the protection of my eye-lids and dearer tome than my eyes. ' Krishna, however, insists and in the end she entrustshim and Balarama to the other young cowherds, telling them on no accountto leave them alone in the forest, but to bring them safely home. Herwords are, in fact, only too necessary, for Kansa, the tyrant king, isstill in quest of the child who is to kill him. His demon minions arestill on the alert, attacking any likely boy, and as Krishna plays withthe cowherds and tends the calves, he suffers a further series of attacks. 

A cow demon, Vatsasura, tries to mingle with the herd. The calves senseits presence and as it sidles up, Krishna seizes it by the hind leg, whirls it round his head and dashes it to death. A crane demon, Bakasura, then approaches. The cowherds recognize it, but while they are wonderinghow to escape, the crane opens its beak and engulfs Krishna. Krishna, however, becomes so hot that the crane cannot retain him. It lets him go. Krishna then tears its beak in two, rounds up the calves and taking thecowherd boys with him, returns home. 

Another day Krishna is out in the forest with the cowherds and the calves, when a snake demon, Ugrasura, sucks them into its mouth. Krishna expandshis body to such an extent that the snake bursts. The calves and cowherdchildren come tumbling out and all praise Krishna for saving them. On theway back, Krishna suggests that they should have a picnic and choosing agreat _kadam_ tree, they sweep the place clean, set out their food andproceed to enjoy it. As they eat, the gods look down, noting how handsomethe young Krishna has grown. Among the gods is Brahma, who decides totease Krishna by hiding the calves while the cowherd children areeating. [19] He takes them to a cave and when Krishna goes in search ofthem, hides the cowherd children as well. Krishna, however, is not to bedeterred. Creating duplicates of every calf and boy he brings them home. No one detects that anything is wrong and for a year they live as ifnothing has happened. Brahma has meanwhile sunk himself in meditation, butsuddenly recalls his prank and hurries out to set matters right. He isastonished to find the original calves and children still sleeping in thecave, while their counterparts roam the forest. He humbly worshipsKrishna, restores the original calves and children and returns to hisabode. When the cowherd children awake, Krishna shows them the calves. Noone realizes what has happened. The picnic continues and laughing andplaying they go home. 

We now enter the third phase of Krishna's childhood. He is eight years oldand is therefore competent to graze not merely the calves but the cows aswell. [20] Nanda accordingly performs the necessary ritual and Krishna goeswith the cowherds to the forest. 

An idyllic phase in Krishna's life now starts. 'At this time Krishna andBalarama, accompanied by the cow-boys, traversed the forests, that echoedwith the hum of bees and the peacock's cry. Sometimes they sang in chorusor danced together; sometimes they sought shelter from the cold beneaththe trees; sometimes they decorated themselves with flowery garlands, sometimes with peacocks' feathers; sometimes they stained themselves ofvarious hues with the minerals of the mountain; sometimes weary theyreposed on beds of leaves, and sometimes imitated in mirth the mutteringof the thundercloud; sometimes they excited their juvenile associates tosing, and sometimes they mimicked the cry of the peacock with their pipes. In this manner participating in various feelings and emotions, andaffectionately attached to each other, they wandered, sporting and happy, through the wood. At eveningtide came Krishna and Balarama, like tocowboys, along with the cows and the cowherds. At eveningtide the twoimmortals, having come to the cow-pens, joined heartily in whatever sportsamused the sons of the herdsmen. '[21]

One day as they are grazing the cows, they play a game. Krishna dividesthe cows and cowherds into two sides and collecting flowers and fruitspretends that they are weapons. They then stage a mock battle, peltingeach other with the fruits. A little later Balarama takes them to a groveof palm trees. The ass demon, Dhenuka, guards it. Balarama, however, seizes it by its hind legs, twists it round and hurls it into a high tree. From the tree the demon falls down dead. When Dhenuka's companion asseshasten to the spot, Krishna kills them also. The cowherds then pick thecoconuts to their hearts' content, fill a quantity of baskets and havinggrazed the cows, go strolling home. 

The next morning Krishna rises early, calls the cowherds and takes thecows to the forest. As they are grazing them by the Jumna, they reach adangerous whirlpool. In this whirlpool lives the giant snake, Kaliya, whose poison has befouled the water, curdling it into a great froth. Thecowherds and the cattle drink some of it, are taken ill, but revive atKrishna's glance. They then play ball. A solitary _kadam_ tree is on thebank. Krishna climbs it and a cowherd throws the ball up to him. The ballgoes into the water and Krishna, thinking this the moment for quelling thegreat snake, plunges in after it. Kaliya detects that an intruder hasentered the pool, begins to spout poison and fire and encircles Krishna inits coils. In their alarm the cowherds send word to Nanda and along withYasoda, Rohini and the other cowgirls, he hastens to the scene. Krishnacan no longer be seen and in her agitation Yasoda is about to throwherself in. Krishna, however, is merely playing with the snake. In amoment he expands his body, jumps from the coils and begins to dance onthe snake's heads. 'Having the weight of three worlds, ' the _Purana_ says, 'Krishna was very heavy. ' The snake fails to sustain this dancing burden, its heads droop and blood flows from its tongues. It is about to die whenthe snake-queens bow at Krishna's feet and implore his mercy. Krishnarelents, spares the snake's life but banishes it to a distant island. [22]He then leaves the river, but the exhaustion of the cowherds and cowgirlsis so great that they decide to stay in the forest for the night andreturn to Brindaban next morning. Their trials, however, are far fromover. At midnight there is a heavy storm and a huge conflagration. Scarletflames leap up, dense smoke engulfs the forest and many cattle are burntalive. Finding themselves in great danger, Nanda, Yasoda and the cowherdscall on Krishna to save them. Krishna quietly rises up, sucks the fireinto his mouth and ends the blaze. 

The hot weather now comes. Trees are heavy with blossom, peacocks strut inthe glades and a general lethargy seizes the cowherds. One day Krishna andhis friends are out with the cattle when Pralamba, a demon in human form, comes to join them. Krishna warns Balarama of the demon's presence andtells him to await an opportunity to kill him. He then divides thecowherds into two groups and starts them on the game of guessing fruitsand flowers. Krishna's side loses and as a penalty they have to run acertain distance carrying Balarama's side on their shoulders. Pralambacarries Balarama. He runs so fast that he quickly outstrips the others. Ashe reaches the forest, he changes size, becoming 'large as a black hill. 'He is about to kill Balarama when Balarama himself rains blows upon himand kills him instead. [23] While this is happening, the cows get lost, another forest fire ensues and Krishna has once again to intervene. Heextinguishes the fire, regains the cattle and escorts the cowherds totheir homes. [24] When the others hear what has happened, they are filledwith wonder 'but obtain no clue to the actions of Krishna. '

During all this time, Krishna as 'son' of the wealthiest and mostinfluential cowherd, Nanda, has been readily accepted by the cowherdchildren as their natural leader. His lack of fear, his bravery in copingwith demons, his resourcefulness in extricating the cowherds from awkwardsituations, his complete self-confidence and finally his princely bearinghave revealed him as someone altogether above the ordinary. From time totime he has disclosed his true nature as Vishnu but almost immediately hasexercised his 'illusory' power and prevented the cowherds from rememberingit. He has consequently lived among them as God but their love andadmiration are still for him as a boy. It is at this point that the_Purana_ now moves to what is perhaps its most significant phase--adescription of Krishna's effects on the cowgirls. 

[Footnote 11: Note 7. ]

[Footnote 12: Magadha--a region corresponding to present-day South Bihar. ]

[Footnote 13: Plate 3. ]

[Footnote 14: Note 8. ]

[Footnote 15: Note 9. ]

[Footnote 16: Plate 4. ]

[Footnote 17: Plate 5. ]

[Footnote 18: Plate 6. In the _Harivansa_, the cause of the migration isgiven as a dangerous influx of wolves. ]

[Footnote 19: Note 10. ]

[Footnote 20: Plate 7. ]

[Footnote 21: Note 7. ]

[Footnote 22: Plate 8. ]

[Footnote 23: Plate 9. ]

[Footnote 24: Plate 10. ]

(ii) The Loves of the Cowgirls

We have seen how during his infancy Krishna's pranks have already madehim the darling of the women. As he grows up, he acquires a more adultcharm. In years he is still a boy but we are suddenly confronted withwhat is to prove the very heart of the story--his romances with thecowgirls. Although all of them are married, the cowgirls find his presenceirresistible and despite the warnings of morality and the existence oftheir husbands, each falls utterly in love with him. As Krishna wanders inthe forest, the cowgirls can talk of nothing but his charms. They do theirwork but their thoughts are on him. They stay at home but all the timeeach is filled with desperate longing. One day Krishna plays on his flutein the forest. Playing the flute is the cowherds' special art and Krishnahas, therefore, learnt it in his childhood. But, as in everything else, his skill is quite exceptional and Krishna's playing has thus a beauty allits own. From where they are working the cowgirls hear it and at once areplunged in agitation. They gather on the road and say to each other, 'Krishna is dancing and singing in the forest and will not be home tillevening. Only then shall we see him and be happy. '

One cowgirl says, 'That happy flute to be played on by Krishna! Littlewonder that having drunk the nectar of his lips the flute should trilllike the clouds. Alas! Krishna's flute is dearer to him than we are forhe keeps it with him night and day. The flute is our rival. Never isKrishna parted from it. ' A second cowgirl speaks. 'It is because the flutecontinually thought of Krishna that it gained this bliss. ' And a thirdsays, 'Oh! why has Krishna not made us into flutes that we might stay withhim day and night?' The situation in fact has changed overnight for farfrom merely appealing to the cowgirls' maternal instincts, Krishna is nowthe darling object of their most intense passion. 

Faced with this situation, the cowgirls discuss how best to gain Krishnaas their lover. They recall that bathing in the early winter is believedto wipe out sin and fulfil the heart's desires. They accordingly go to theriver Jumna, bathe in its waters and after making clay images of Parvati, Siva's consort, pray to her to make Krishna theirs. They go on doing thisfor many days. 

One day they choose a part of the river where there is a steep bank. Taking off their clothes they leave them on the grass verge, enter thewater and swim around calling out their love for Krishna. Unknown to them, Krishna is in the vicinity and is grazing the cows. He steals quietly up, sees them in the river, makes their clothes into a bundle and then climbsup with it into a tree. When the cowgirls come out of the water, theycannot find their clothes until at last one of them spies Krishna sittingin the tree. The cowgirls hurriedly squat down in the water entreatingKrishna to return their clothes. Krishna, however, tells them to come upout of the water and ask him one by one. The cowgirls say, 'But this willmake us naked. You are making an end of our friendship. ' Krishna says, 'Then you shall not have your clothes back. ' The cowgirls answer, 'Why doyou treat us so? It is only for you that we have bathed all these days. 'Krishna answers, 'If that is really so, then do not be bashful or deceiveme. Come and take your clothes. ' Finding no alternative, the cowgirlsargue amongst themselves that since Krishna already knows the secrets oftheir minds and bodies, there is no point in being ashamed before him, and they come up out of the water shielding their nakedness with theirhands. [25] Krishna tells them to raise their hands and then he will returntheir clothes. The cowgirls do so begging him not to make fun of them andto give them at least something in return. Krishna now hands the clothesback giving as excuse for his conduct the following somewhat speciousreason. 'I was only giving you a lesson, ' he says. 'The god Varuna livesin water, so if anyone goes naked into it he loses his character. This wasa secret, but now you know it. ' Then he relents. 'I have told you thisbecause of your love. Go home now but come back in the early autumn and wewill dance together. ' Hearing this the cowgirls put on their clothes andwild with love return to their village. 

At this point the cowgirls' love for Krishna is clearly physical. Althoughprecocious in his handling of the situation, Krishna is still the richherdsman's handsome son and it is as this rather than as God that theyregard him. Yet the position is never wholly free from doubt for in lovingKrishna as a youth, it is as if they are from time to time aware ofadoring him as God. No precise identifications are made and yet so strongare their passions that seemingly only God himself could evoke them. Andalthough no definite explanation is offered, it is perhaps this same ideawhich underlies the following incident. 

One day Krishna is in the forest when his cowherd companions complainof feeling hungry. Krishna observes smoke rising from the direction ofMathura and infers that the Brahmans are cooking food preparatory tomaking sacrifice. He asks the cowherds to tell them that Krishna is hungryand would like some of this food. The Brahmans of Mathura angrily spurnthe request, saying 'Who but a low cowherd would ask for food in the midstof a sacrifice?' 'Go and ask their wives, ' Krishna says, 'for being kindand virtuous they will surely give you some. ' Krishna's power with womenis then demonstrated once more. His fame as a stealer of hearts haspreceded him and the cowherds have only to mention his name for the wivesof the Brahmans to run to serve him. They bring out gold dishes, load themwith food, brush their husbands aside and hurry to the forest. One husbandstops his wife, but rather than be left behind the woman leaves her bodyand reaches Krishna before the others. When the women arrive they marvelat Krishna's beauty. 'He is Nanda's son, ' they say. 'We heard his name andeverything else was driven from our minds. Let us gaze on this darlingobject of our lives. O Krishna, it is due to you that we have seen you andthus got rid of all our sins. Those stupid Brahmans, our husbands, mistookyou for a mere man. But you are God. As God they offer to you prayers, penance, sacrifice and love. How then can they deny you food?' Krishnareplies that they should not worship him for he is only the child of thecowherd, Nanda. He was hungry and they took pity on him, and he onlyregrets that being far from home he cannot return their hospitality. Theymust now go home as their presence is needed for the sacrifices and theirhusbands must still be waiting. So cool an answer dismays the women andthey say, 'Great king, we loved your lotus-like face. We came to youdespite our families. They tried to stop us but we ignored them. If theydo not take us back, where shall we go? And one of us, prevented by herhusband, gave her life rather than not see you. ' At this Krishna smiles, reveals the woman and says, 'Whoever loves God never dies. She was herebefore you. ' Krishna then eats the food and assuring them that theirhusbands will say nothing, sends them back to Mathura. When they arrive, they find the Brahmans chastened and contrite--cursing their folly inhaving failed to recognize Krishna as God and envious of their wives forhaving seen him and given him food. 

Having humbled the Brahmans, Krishna now turns to the gods, choosingIndra, their chief, for attack. The moment is his annual worship when thecowherds offer sweets, rice, saffron, sandal and incense. Seeing thembusy, Krishna asks Nanda what is the point of all their preparations. Whatgood can Indra really do? he asks. He is only a god, not God himself. Heis often worsted by demons and abjectly put to flight. In fact he has nopower at all. Men prosper because of their virtues or their fates, notbecause of Indra. As cowherds, their business is to carry on agricultureand trade and to tend cows and Brahmans. Their earliest books, the Vedas, require them not to abandon their family customs and Krishna then cites asan ancient practice the custom of placating the spirits of the forests andhills. This custom, he says, they have wrongly superseded in favour ofIndra and they must now revive it. Nanda sees the force of Krishna'sremarks and holds a meeting. 'Do not brush aside his words as those of amere boy, ' he says. 'If we face the facts, we have really nothing to dowith the ruler of the gods. It is on the forests, rivers and the greathill, Govardhana, that we really depend. ' The cowherds applaud thisadvice, resolve to abandon the gods and in their place to worship themountain, Govardhana. The worship of the hill is then performed. Krishnaadvises the cowherds to shut their eyes and the spirit of the hill willthen show itself. He then assumes the spirit's form himself, telling Nandaand the cowherds that in response to their worship the mountain spirit hasappeared. The cowherds' eyes are easily deceived. Beholding, as theythink, Govardhana himself, they make offerings and go rejoicing home. 

Such an act of defiance greatly enrages Indra and he assembles all thegods. He forgets that earlier in the story it was the gods themselves whobegged Vishnu to be born on earth and that many of their number have eventaken birth as cowherds and cowgirls in order to delight in Krishna ashis incarnation. Instead he sees Krishna as 'a great talker, a sillyunintelligent child and very proud. ' He scoffs at the cowherds forregarding Krishna as a god, and in order to reinstate himself he ordersthe clouds to rain down torrents. The cowherds, faced with floods on everyside, appeal to Krishna. Krishna, however, is fully alive to the position. He calms their fears and raising the hill Govardhana, supports it on hislittle finger. [26] The cowherds and cattle take shelter under it andalthough Indra himself comes and pours down rain for seven days, Braj andits inhabitants stay dry. Indra is compelled to admit that Vishnu hasindeed descended in the form of Krishna and retires to his abode. Krishnathen sets the hill down in its former place. Following this discomfiture, Indra comes down from the sky accompanied by his white elephant and bySurabhi, the cow of plenty. He offers his submission to Krishna, ispardoned and returns. 

All these events bring to a head the problem which has been exercisingthe cowherds for long--who and what is Krishna? Obviously no simple boycould lift the mountain on his finger. He must clearly be someone muchgreater and they conclude that Krishna can only be Vishnu himself. Theyaccordingly beseech him to show them the paradise of Vishnu. Krishnaagrees, creates a paradise and shows it to them. The cowherds see it andpraise his name. Yet it is part of the story that these flashes of insightshould be evanescent--that having realized one instant that Krishna isGod, the cowherds should regard him the next instant as one of themselves. Having revealed his true nature, therefore, Krishna becomes a cowherd onceagain and is accepted by the cowherds as being only that. 

One further incident must be recorded. In compliance with a vow, Nandaassembles the cowherds and cowgirls and goes to the shrine of Devi, theEarth Mother, to celebrate Krishna's twelfth birthday. There they makelavish offerings of milk, curds and butter and thank the goddess forprotecting Krishna for so long. Night comes on and they camp near theshrine. As Nanda is sleeping, a huge python begins to swallow his foot. [27]Nanda calls to Krishna, who hastens to his rescue. Logs are taken froma fire, but as soon as the snake is touched by Krishna, a handsome youngman emerges and stands before him with folded hands. He explains that hewas once the celestial dancer, Sudarsana who in excess of pride drove hischariot backwards and forwards a hundred times over the place where aholy man was meditating. As a consequence he was cursed and told tobecome a python until Krishna came and released him. To attract Krishna'sattention he has seized the foot of Nanda. Krishna bids him go and, ascending his chariot, Sudarsana returns to the gods. 

The _Purana_ now returns to Krishna's encounters with the cowgirls, theirpassionate longings and ardent desire to have him as their lover. Sincethe incident at the river, they have been waiting for him to keep hispromise. Krishna, however, has appeared blandly indifferent--going to theforest, playing with the cowherds but coldly ignoring the cowgirlsthemselves. When autumn comes, however, the beauty of the nights stirs hisfeelings. Belatedly he recalls his promise and decides to fulfil it. Thatnight his flute sounds in the forest, its notes reaching the ears of thecowgirls and thrilling them to the core. Like girls in tribal India today, they know it is a call to love. They put on new clothes, brush aside theirhusbands, ignore the other members of their families and hurry to theforest. As they arrive, Krishna stands superbly before them. He wears acrown of peacocks' feathers and a yellow dhoti and his blue-black skinshines in the moonlight. As the cowgirls throng to see him, he twits themon their conduct. Are they not frightened at coming into the dark forest?What are they doing abandoning their families? Is not such wild behaviourquite unbefitting married girls? Should not a married girl obey herhusband in all things and never for a moment leave him? Having enjoyed thedeep forest and the moonlight, let them return at once and soothe theirinjured spouses. The cowgirls are stunned to hear such words, hang theirheads, sigh and dig their toes into the ground. They begin to weep and atlast turn on Krishna, saying 'Oh! why have you deceived us so? It was yourflute that made us come. We have left our husbands for you. We live foryour love. Where are we to go?' 'If you really love me, ' Krishna answers'Dance and sing with me. ' His words fill the cowgirls with delight andsurrounding Krishna 'like golden creepers growing on a dark-colouredhill, ' they go with him to the banks of the Jumna. Here Krishna hasconjured up a golden circular terrace ornamented with pearls and diamondsand cooled by sprouting plantains. The moon pours down, saturating theforest. The cowgirls' joy increases. They beautify their bodies and then, wild with love, join with Krishna in singing and dancing. Modesty desertsthem and they do whatever pleases them, regarding Krishna as their lover. As the night goes on, Krishna 'appears as beautiful as the moon amidst thestars. '

As the cowgirls' ecstasies proceed, Krishna feels that they are fastexceeding themselves. They think that he is in their power and are alreadyswelling with pride. He decides therefore to leave them suddenly, andtaking a single girl with him vanishes from the dance. [28] When they findhim gone, the cowgirls are at a loss to know what to do. 'Only a momentago, ' one of them says, 'Krishna's arms were about my neck, and now he hasgone. ' They begin to comb the forest, anxiously asking the trees, birdsand animals, for news. As they go, they recall Krishna's many winningways, his sweetnesses of character, his heart-provoking charms and beginto mimic his acts--the slaying of Putana, the quelling of Kaliya, thelifting of the hill Govardhana. One girl imitates Krishna dancing andanother Krishna playing. In all these ways they strive to evoke hispassionately-desired presence. At length they discover Krishna'sfootprints and a little farther on those of a woman beside them. Theyfollow the trail which leads them to a bed of leaves and on the leavesthey find a looking-glass. 'What was Krishna doing with this?' they ask. 'He must have taken it with him, ' a cowgirl answers, 'so that while hebraided his darling's hair, she could still perceive his lovely form. ' Andburning with love, they continue looking. 

While they are searching, the particular cowgirl who has gone with Krishnais tempted to take liberties. Thinking Krishna is her slave, she complainsof feeling tired and asks him to carry her on his shoulders. Krishnasmiles, sits down and asks her to mount. But as she puts out her hands, hevanishes and she remains standing with hands outstretched. [29] Tears streamfrom her eyes. She is filled with bitter grief and cries 'O Krishna! bestof lovers, where have you gone? Take pity. '

As she is bemoaning her fate, her companions arrive. [30] They put theirarms around her, comfort her as best they can, and then, taking her withthem, continue through the moonlight their vain and anguished search. Krishna still evades them and they return to the terrace where the night'sdancing had begun. There they once again implore Krishna to have pity, declaring that there is none like him in charm, that he is endlesslyfascinating and that in all of them he has aroused extremities ofpassionate love. But the night is empty, their cries go unanswered, andmoaning for the Krishna they adore, they toss and writhe on the ground. 

At last, Krishna relents. He stands among them and seeing him, their caresvanish 'as creepers revive when sprinkled with the water of life. ' Someof the cowgirls hardly dare to be angry but others upbraid him for sobrusquely deserting them. To all, Krishna gives the same answer. He is notto be judged by ordinary standards. He is a constant fulfiller of desire. It was to test the strength of their love that he left them in the forest. They have survived this stringent test and convinced him of their love. The girls are in no mood to query his explanation and 'uniting with him'they overwhelm him with frantic caresses. 

Krishna now uses his 'delusive power' in order to provide each girl witha semblance of himself. He asks them to dance and then projects a wholeseries of Krishnas. 'The cowgirls in pairs joined hands and Krishna wasin their midst. Each thought he was at her side and did not recognize himnear anyone else. They put their fingers in his fingers and whirled aboutwith rapturous delight. Krishna in their midst was like a lovely cloudsurrounded by lightning. Singing, dancing, embracing and loving, theypassed the hours in extremities of bliss. They took off their clothes, their ornaments and jewels and offered them to Krishna. The gods in heavengazed on the scene and all the goddesses longed to join. The singingmounted in the night air. The winds were stilled and the streams ceased toflow. The stars were entranced and the water of life poured down from thegreat moon. So the night went on--on and on--and only when six months wereover did the dancers end their joy. '

As, at last, the dance concludes, Krishna takes the cowgirls to the Jumna, bathes with them in the water, rids himself of fatigue and then after onceagain gratifying their passions, bids them go home. When they reach theirhouses, no one is aware that they have not been there all the time. 

[Footnote 25: Plate 11. ]

[Footnote 26: Plate 12. ]

[Footnote 27: Note 11. ]

[Footnote 28: Plate 13. ]

[Footnote 29: Plate 14. ]

[Footnote 30: Plate 15. ]

(iii) The Death of the Tyrant

This scene with its crescendos of excitement, its delight in physicalpassion and ecstatic exploration of sexual desire is, in many ways, theclimax of Krishna's pastoral career. It expresses the devotion felt forhim by the cowgirls. It stresses his loving delight in their company. Itsuggests the blissful character of the ultimate union. No furtherrevelation, in fact, is necessary for this is the crux of Krishna's life. None the less the ostensible reason for his birth remains--to rid theearth of the vicious tyrant Kansa--and to this the _Purana_ now returns. 

We have seen how in his anxious quest for the child who is to kill him, Kansa has dispatched his demon warriors on roving commissions, authorizingthem to attack and kill all likely children. Many children have in thisway been slaughtered but Kansa is still uncertain whether his primepurpose has been fulfilled. He has no certain knowledge that among thedead children is his dreaded enemy. He is still unaware that Krishna isdestined to be his foe and he therefore continues the hunt, his demonemissaries pouncing like commandos on youthful stragglers and houndingthem to their deaths. Among such youths Krishna is still an obvious targetand although unaware that this is the true object of their quest, demonscontinue to harry him. 

One night Krishna and Balarama are in the forest with the cowgirls when ayaksha demon, Sankhasura, a jewel flashing in his head, comes among them. He drives the cowgirls off but hearing their cries, Krishna follows after. Balarama stays with the girls while Krishna catches and beheads the demon. 

On another occasion, Krishna and Balarama are returning at evening withthe cows when a bull demon careers amongst them. He runs amok scatteringthe cattle in all directions. Krishna, however, is not at all daunted andafter wrestling with the bull, catches its horns and breaks its neck. 

To such blind attacks there is no immediate end. One day, however, a sagediscloses to Kansa the true identity of his enemy. He tells him in whatmanner Balarama and Krishna were born, how Balarama was transferredfrom Devaki's womb to that of Rohini, and how Krishna was transportedto Nanda's house in Gokula. Kansa is now confronted with the ghastlytruth--how Vasudeva's willingness to surrender his first six sons haslulled his suspicions, how his confidence in Vasudeva has been entirelymisplaced, and how completely he has been deceived. He sends for Vasudevaand is on the point of killing him when the sage interposes, advisingKansa to imprison Vasudeva for the present and meanwhile make an all-outattempt to kill or capture Balarama and Krishna. Kansa sees the force ofhis remarks, spares Vasudeva for the moment, throws him and Devaki intojail and dispatches a special demon, the horse Kesi, on a murderouserrand. 

As the horse speeds on its way, Kansa assembles his demon councillors, explains the situation to them and asks for their advice. If Krishnashould not be killed in the forest, the only alternative, the demonssuggest, is to decoy him to Mathura. Let a handsome theatre be built, asacrifice to Siva held and a special festival of arms proclaimed. All thecowherds will naturally come to see it. Nanda, the rich herdsman, willbring presents, Krishna and Balarama will come with other cowherds. Whenthey have arrived the wrestler Chanura can throw them down and kill them. Kansa is delighted at the suggestion, adding only that a savage elephantshould be stationed at the gate ready to tear Krishna and Balarama topieces immediately they enter. He then dismisses his demon advisers andsends for Akrura, the chief of the Yadavas and a leading member of hiscourt. Akrura, he judges, will be the best person to decoy Krishna toMathura. He accordingly briefs him as to his intentions and instructs himto await orders. Akrura deems it politic to express compliance butsecretly is overjoyed that he will thus obtain access to the Krishna headores. 

The first stage of Kansa's master plan is now brought into effect. Thehorse demon, Kesi, reaches Brindaban and begins to paw the ground and kickup its heels. The cowherds are frightened but Krishna dares it to attack. The horse tries to bite him but Krishna plunges his hand down its throatand expands it to a vast size until the demon bursts. Its remains litterthe ground but Krishna is so unmoved that he merely summons the cowherdchildren to play a game. Squatting with them under a fig tree, he namesone of them a general, another a minister, a third a councillor andhimself pretending to be a raja plays with them at being king. A littlelater they join him in a game of blind man's bluff. 

This unexpected _dénouement_ enrages Kansa but instead of desisting fromthe attempt and bringing into force the second part of his plan, hedecides to make one further effort to murder his hated foe. He accordinglysummons the wolf demon, Vyamasura, gives him detailed instructions anddispatches him to Brindaban. The demon hies to the forest, arriving whileKrishna and the children are still at blind man's buff. He has dressedhimself as a beggar and going humbly up to Krishna asks if he may join in. Krishna tells him to choose whatever game he likes and the demon says, 'What about the game of wolf and rams?' 'Very well, ' Krishna answers, 'Yoube the wolf and the cowherd boys the rams. ' They start to play and thedemon rounds up all the children and keeps them in a cave. Then, assumingtrue wolf's form he pounces on Krishna. Krishna, however, is quiteprepared and seizing the wolf by the throat, strangles it to death. 

Akrura is now sent for and instructed to go to Brindaban and return withKrishna to Mathura. He sets out and as he journeys allows his thoughts todwell on the approaching meeting. 'Now, ' he muses 'has my life bornefruit; my night is followed by the dawn of day; since I shall see thecountenance of Vishnu, whose eyes are like the expanded leaf of the lotus. I shall behold that lotus-eyed aspect of Vishnu, which, when seen only inimagination, takes away the sins of men. I shall today behold that gloryof glories, the mouth of Vishnu, whence proceeded the Vedas, and all theirdependent sciences. I shall see the sovereign of the world, by whom theworld is sustained; who is worshipped as the best of males, as the malesacrifice in sacrificial rites. I shall see Vishnu, who is withoutbeginning or end; by worshipping whom with a hundred sacrifices, Indraobtained the sovereignty over the gods. The soul of all, the knower ofall, he who is all and is present in all, he who is permanent, undecaying, all-pervading will converse with me. He, the unborn, who has preserved theworld in the various forms of a fish, tortoise, a boar, a horse, a lionwill this day speak to me. Now the lord of the earth, who assumes shapesat will, has taken upon him the condition of humanity, to accomplish someobject cherished in his heart. Glory to that being whose deceptiveadoption of father, son, brother, friend, mother, and relative, the worldis unable to penetrate. May he in whom cause and effect, and the worlditself, is comprehended, be propitious to me, through his truth; foralways do I put my trust in that unborn, eternal Vishnu; by meditation onwhom man becomes the repository of all good things. '[31]

He goes on to think of how he will kneel before Krishna with folded handsand afterwards put on his head the dust of Krishna's feet--the same feetwhich 'have come to destroy crime, which fell on the snake Kaliya's headand which have danced with the cowgirls in the forest. ' Krishna, hebelieves, will know at once that he is not Kansa's envoy and will receivehim with kindness. And this is what actually ensues. Meeting Krishnaoutside Brindaban, he falls at his feet, Krishna lifts him up, embraceshim and brings him into Nanda's house. Akrura tells Nanda and Krishnahow Kansa has oppressed the people of Mathura, imprisoned Vasudeva andDevaki and has now sent him to invite them to attend the festival ofarms. Krishna listens and at once agrees to go, while Nanda sends out atown-crier to announce by beat of drum that all the cowherds should getready to leave the next day. When morning comes, Krishna leaves in achariot, accompanied by the cowherds and their children. 

The news of his sudden departure devastates the cowgirls. Since thecircular dance in which their love was consummated, they have been meetingKrishna every evening and delighting in his company. And during thedaytime their passionate longings have centred solely on him. That heshould leave them so abruptly causes them complete dismay and they areonly comforted when Krishna assures them that he will return after a fewdays. 

On the way to Mathura Akrura bathes in the Jumna and is granted a visionof Krishna as Vishnu himself. 

Reaching Mathura, Nanda and the cowherds pitch their tents outside thecity walls[32] while Krishna with Balarama and the cowherd children goinside the city for a walk. As they wander through the streets, the newsof their arrival precedes them and women, excited by Krishna's name, throng the rooftops, balconies and windows. 'Some ran off in the middle oftheir dinner: others while bathing and others while engaged in plaitingtheir hair. They forgot all dalliance with their husbands and went to lookat Krishna. ' As Krishna proceeds, he meets some of Kansa's washermencarrying with them bundles of clothes. He asks them to give him some andwhen they refuse, he attacks one of them and strikes off his head. Theothers drop their bundles and run for their lives. The cowherd childrentry to dress themselves up but not knowing how to wear the clothes, someof them put their arms into trousers and their legs into coats. Krishnalaughs at their mistakes until a tailor, a servant of Kansa, repudiateshis master, glorifies Krishna and sets the clothes right. A little later, a gardener takes them to his house and places garlands round their necks. As they are leaving, they meet a young woman, a hunchback, carrying a potof scented ointment. Krishna cannot resist flirting with her and asks herfor whom she is carrying the ointment. The girl, Kubja, sees the amorouslook in his eyes and being greatly taken by his beauty answers 'Dear one, do you not know that I am a servant of Raja Kansa and though a hunchbackam entrusted with making his perfumes?' 'Lovely one, ' Krishna answers, 'Give us a little of this ointment, just enough to rub on our bodies. ''Take some, ' says Kubja, and giving it to Krishna and Balarama, she allowsthem to rub it on their bodies. When they have finished, Krishna takes herunder the chin, lifts her head and at the same time, presses her feet downwith his toes. In this way he straightens her back, thereby changing herinto the loveliest of girls. Filled with love and gratitude, Kubja catchesKrishna by the dress and begs him to come and visit her. Krishna promisesto go later and smilingly dismisses her. 

Krishna now reaches the gate where the bow of Siva 'as long as three palmtrees' and very heavy, is being guarded by soldiers. He picks it up, bendsit to the full and breaks it in pieces. When the guards attack him, hekills them and presently slaughters all the reinforcements which Kansasends. When the battle is over, he strolls calmly back to the cowherds'tents. [33]

Next day, Krishna and the cowherds enter Mathura to attend the sports. Krishna is obstructed by a giant elephant, attacks it and after a greatfight kills it. He and Balarama then extract the tusks and parade withthem in the arena. It is now the turn of Kansa's wrestlers. Their leader, Chanura, dares Krishna to give Kansa a little amusement by wrestling withhim. Krishna takes him at his word and again after a fierce combat leavesthe wrestler dead on the ground. [34] At the same time, Balarama attacks andkills a second wrestler, Mustaka. When other wrestlers strive to killKrishna and Balarama, they also are dispatched. Seeing first one and thenanother plan go astray, Kansa orders his remaining demons to fetchVasudeva, Devaki and Ugrasena, declaring that after he has killed them hewill put the two young men to death. This declaration seals his fate. In aflash Krishna slays Kansa's demons and then, leaping on the dais whereKansa is sitting, he seizes him by the hair and hurls him to the ground. Kansa is killed and all Mathura rejoices. Kansa's eight demon brothers arethen slain and only when Krishna has dragged Kansa's body to the riverJumna and is sure that not a single demon is left do he and Balaramadesist from fighting. 

[Footnote 31: Note 7. ]

[Footnote 32: Plate 16. ]

[Footnote 33: Plate 16. ]

[Footnote 34: Plate 17. ]

IV

THE _BHAGAVATA PURANA_: THE PRINCE

(i) The Return to Court

The death of Kansa brings to a close the first phase of Krishna's career. His primary aim has now been accomplished. The tyrant whose excesses havefor so long vexed the righteous is dead. Earth's prayer has been granted. Krishna has reached, in fact, a turning-point in his life and on what henow decides the rest of his career depends. If he holds that his earthlymission is ended, he must quit his mortal body, resume his sublimecelestial state and once again become the Vishnu whose attributes havebeen praised by Akrura when journeying to Brindaban. If, on the otherhand, he regards his mission as still unfulfilled, is he to return toBrindaban or should he remain instead at Mathura? At Brindaban, his fosterparents, Nanda and Yasoda, his friends the cowherds and his loves thecowgirls long for his return. He has spent idyllic days in their company. He has saved them from the dangers inherent in forest life. He has kept ahost of demon marauders at bay. At the same time, his magnetic charms havearoused the most intense devotion. If he returns, it will be to dwell withpeople who have doted on him as a child, adored him as a youth and wholove him as a man. On the other hand, Mathura, it is clear, has alsostrong claims. Although reared and bred among the cowherds, Krishna is, infact, a child of Mathura. Although smuggled from the prison immediatelyafterwards, it was in Mathura that he left his mother's womb. His truefather is Vasudeva, a leader of the Yadava nobility and member of theMathura ruling caste. His true mother, Devaki, is related to the Mathuraroyal family. If his youth and infancy have been passed among thecowherds, this was due to special reasons. His father's substitution ofhim at birth for Yasoda's baby daughter was dictated by the dire perilswhich would have confronted him had he remained with his mother. It was, at most, a desperate expedient for saving his life and although thetyrant's unremitting search for the child who was to kill him prolongedhis stay in Brindaban, his transportation there was never intended as apermanent arrangement. A deception has been practised. Nanda and Yasodaregard and believe Krishna to be their son. None the less there has beenno formal adoption and it is Vasudeva and Devaki who are his parents. 

It is this which decides the issue. As one who by birth and blood belongsto Mathura, Krishna can hardly desert it now that the main obstacle to hisreturn--the tyrant Kansa--has been removed. His plain duty is to hisparents and his castemen. Painful therefore as the severance must be, hedecides to abandon the cowherds and see them no more. He is perhapsfortified in his decision by the knowledge that even in his relations withthe cowgirls a climax has been reached. A return would merely repeat theirnightly ecstasies, not achieve a fresh experience. Finally although Kansahimself has been killed, his demon allies are still at large. Mathura andKrishna's kinsmen, the Yadavas, are far from safe. He can hardly desertthem until their interests have been permanently safeguarded and by thenhe will have become a feudal princeling, the very reverse of the youngcowherd who night after night has thrilled the cowgirls with his flute. 

Following the tyrant's death, then, a train of complicated adjustments areset in motion. The first step is to re-establish Krishna with his trueparents who are still in jail where the tyrant has confined them. Krishnaaccordingly goes to visit them, frees them from their shackles and standsbefore them with folded hands. For an instant Vasudeva and Devaki knowthat Krishna is God and that in order to destroy demons he has come onearth. They are about to worship him when Krishna dispels this knowledgeand they look on him and Balarama as their sons. Then Krishna addressesthem. For all these long years Vasudeva and Devaki have known that Krishnaand Balarama were their children and have suffered accordingly. It was notKrishna's fault that he and Balarama were placed in Nanda's charge. Yetalthough parted from their mother, they have never forgotten her. It painsthem to think that they have done so little to make her happy, that theyhave never had her society and have wasted their time with strangers. Andhe reminds them that in the world only those who serve their fathers andmothers obtain power. Vasudeva and Devaki are greatly touched by Krishna'swords. Their former woe vanishes and they embrace Krishna and Balaramafondly. 

Having acknowledged Vasudeva and Devaki as his true parents, Krishna hasnow to adjust his social position. Since Nanda and the cowherds belong toa lower caste than that of Vasudeva and the other Yadavas, Krishna andBalarama, who have eaten and drunk with the cowherds and have been broughtup with them, are not true members of the Yadava community. The familypriest is accordingly consulted and it is decided that a ceremony foradmitting them into caste must be performed. This is done and Krishna andBalarama are given the customary sacred threads. They are now no longercowherds but true Yadavas. At the same time they are given a spiritualpreceptor who instructs them in the sacred texts and manuals of learning. When they have finished the course, they express their gratitude byrestoring to him his dead son who has been drowned in the sea. 

One further obligation springs from their new position. We have seen howin the epic, the _Mahabharata_, Krishna stands in a special relation tothe Pandavas, the faction which emerges victorious from the great feud. The mother of the Pandavas is called Kunti and it is Kunti who is thesister of Krishna's father, Vasudeva. Since he is now with his truefather, rumours concerning Kunti reach Krishna and he learns that alongwith her sons, the five Pandavas, she is being harassed by the Kauravaking, the blind Dhritarashtra, egged on by his son, the evil Duryodhana. Being now a part of his father's family, Krishna can hardly be indifferentto the fate of so intimate a relative. Akrura, the leading Yadavadiplomat, whom the tyrant had employed to bring Krishna to Mathura, isaccordingly despatched on yet another mission. He is to visit the Kauravasand Pandavas, ascertain the facts, console Krishna's aunt, Kunti, and thenreturn and report. Akrura reaches the Kauravas' capital and discovers thatthe rumours are only too correct. Relations between the two families arestrained to breaking point. The blind king is at the mercy of his son, Duryodhana, and it is the latter who is ceaselessly harrying Kunti and hersons. A little later, as we have already seen, a final attempt on theirlives will be made, they will be induced to sleep in a new house, thehouse will be fired and only by a fortunate chance will the Pandavasescape to the forest and dwell in safety. This, however, is in the futureand for the moment Kunti and her sons are still at court. Akrura assuresKunti of Krishna's abiding concern and returns to Mathura. Krishna andBalarama are perturbed to hear his news, deliberate on whether tointervene, but decide for the moment to do nothing. 

The second adjustment which Krishna has now to make is to reconcile thecowherds to his permanent departure from them and to wean them from theirpassionate adherence to his presence. This is much more difficult. We haveseen how on the journey to Mathura, Krishna has been accompanied by Nandaand the cowherds and how during the closing struggle with the tyrant theyalso have been present. When the fight is finally over, they prepare todepart, taking it for granted that Krishna and Balarama will come withthem. Krishna has therefore to disillusion Nanda. He breaks the news tohim that it is not he and Yasoda who are actually his parents but Vasudevaand Devaki. He loads Nanda with jewels and costly dresses and thanks himagain and again for all his loving care. He then explains that he has nowto stay in Mathura for a time to meet his castemen, the Yadavas. Nanda isgreatly saddened by the news. The cowherds strive to dissuade him butKrishna is adamant. He retains a few cowherds with him, but the restreturn to Brindaban, Krishna promising that after a time he will visitthem. On arrival Nanda strives in vain to console Yasoda and is forced totell her that Krishna has now acknowledged Vasudeva as his true father, that he has probably left Brindaban for good and that his own earlyintuition that Krishna was God is correct. Yasoda, as she thinks of herlost 'son, ' is overwhelmed with grief, but recovers when she realizes thatactually he is God. As to the cowgirls, their grief is endless as theyrecall Krishna's heart-ensnaring charms. 

Such a step is obviously only the first move in what must necessarily be along and arduous operation. Finding it impossible to say outright that hewill never see them again, Krishna has committed himself to paying thecowherds a visit. Yet he realizes that nothing can be gained by such astep since, if his future lies with the princely Yadavas, any minglingwith the cowherds will merely disrupt this final role. Yet clearly hecannot just abandon his former associates without any regard at all fortheir proper feelings. Weaning is necessary, and it must above all begradual. He decides, therefore, that since he himself cannot go, someonemust be sent on his behalf. Accordingly, he instructs a friend, Udho, togo to Brindaban, meet the cowherds and make excuses for his absence. Atthe same time, he must urge the cowgirls to give up regarding Krishna astheir lover but worship him as God. Udho is accordingly dressed inKrishna's clothes, thereby making him appear a real substitute and isdespatched in Krishna's chariot. 

When Udho arrives, he finds Nanda and Yasoda still lamenting Krishna'sabsence and the cowgirls still longing for him as their lover. He begsthem to regard Krishna as God--as someone who is constantly near those wholove him even if he cannot be seen. Krishna, he says, has forbidden themto hope for any further impassioned ecstasies and now requires them tooffer him their devotion only. If they do penance and meditate, Krishnawill never leave them. From the day they commenced thinking of him, nonehave been so much loved as they. 'As earth, wind, water, fire, rain dwellin the body, so Krishna dwells in you; but through the influence of hisdelusive power seems to be apart. ' Udho's pleading shocks and embittersthe cowgirls. 'How can he talk to us like that?' they ask. 'It isKrishna's body that we adore, not some invisible idea high up in the sky. How has Krishna suddenly become invisible and imperceptible, a beingwithout qualities and form, when all along he has delighted us with hisphysical charms. As to penance and meditation, these concern widows. Whatwoman does penance while her husband is alive? It is all the doing ofKubja, the girl of Mathura whose charms have captivated Krishna. Were itnot for Kubja and other beauties of Mathura, Krishna would now be with usin Brindaban. Had we known he would not return, we would never have lethim go. ' In such words they repudiate Udho's message, upbraid Krishna forhis fickle conduct and demonstrate with what intensity they still adorehim. 

Udho is reduced to silence and can only marvel at the cowgirls' bliss inabandoning everything to think only of Krishna. Finally they send Krishnathe message--that if he really desires them to abandon loving him withtheir bodies and resort to penance, he himself must come and show them howto do it. Unless he comes, they will die of neglect. 

A few days later, Udho returns to Mathura bringing with him milk andbutter as presents to Krishna from Nanda and Yasoda and escorting Rohini, Vasudeva's other wife and Balarama's mother. He gives Krishna thecowgirls' message and reports how all Brindaban longs for his return. 'Great King, ' he says, 'I cannot tell you how they love you. You are theirlife. Night and day they think of you. Their love for you is complete asperfect worship. I gave them your advice concerning penance, but I havelearnt from them perfect adoration. They will only be content when theysee and touch you again. ' Krishna listens and is silent. It is clear thatefforts at weaning the cowgirls from him have so far failed and somethingfurther must be attempted. 

Yet his resolve to sever all connections with his former life remains andit is perhaps symbolic of his purpose that he now recalls the hunch-backgirl, Kubja, takes Udho with him and in a single ecstatic visit becomesher lover. As he reaches her house, the girl greets him with delight, takes him inside and seats him on a couch of flowers. Udho stays outsideand then while Krishna waits, the girl quickly bathes, scents herself, combs her hair and changes her dress. Then 'with gaiety and endearment'she approaches Krishna. Krishna, however, takes her by the hand andplaces her near him. Their passions rise and the two achieve the utmostbliss. Krishna then leaves her, rejoins Udho and 'blushing and smiling'returns home. 

The third step which Krishna must take is to deal with the political andmilitary situation which has arisen from the slaying of the tyrant. Wehave seen how Kansa, although actually begotten by a demon was officiallya son of Ugrasena, the king of Mathura, and as one of his many demon acts, had dethroned his father and seized the kingdom for himself. Ugrasena isstill alive and the obvious course, therefore, is to reinstate him on thethrone. Ugrasena, however, is unwilling to assume power and he and theother Yadavas implore Krishna to accept the title for himself. Krishna, however, has no desire to become king. He therefore overcomes Ugrasena'shesitations and in due course the latter is enthroned. 

This settles the succession problem, but almost immediately a graver issuearises. During his reign of terror, Kansa had made war on Jarasandha, kingof Magadha. He had defeated him but as part of the peace terms had takentwo of his daughters as queens. These have now been widowed by his deathand repairing to their father's court, they rail bitterly against Krishnaand beg their father to avenge their husband's death. Jarasandha, althougha former rival of Kansa, is also a demon and can therefore summon to hisaid a number of demon allies. Great armies are accordingly mobilized. Mathura is surrounded and the Yadavas are in dire peril. Krishna andBalarama, however, are undismayed. They attack the foes single-handed andby dint of their supernatural powers, utterly rout them. Jarasandha iscaptured but released so that he may return to the attack and even moredemons may then be slaughtered. He returns in all seventeen times, isvanquished on each occasion but returns once more. This time he is aidedby another demon, Kalayavana, and seeing the constant strain of suchattacks, Krishna decides to evacuate the Yadavas and settle them at a newbase. He commissions the divine architect, Visvakarma, to build a new cityin the sea. This is done in one night, the city is called Dwarka[35] andthere the Yadavas with all their goods are transported. When this has beendone, Krishna and Balarama trick the demons. They pretend to be utterlydefeated, retreat from Mathura and in despair ascend a tall hill. Thedemon armies surround them and there appears to be no possible way ofescape. Jarasandha orders wood to be brought from the surrounding townsand villages, piled up round the hill, saturated with oil and then setfire to. A vast flame shoots up. The whole hill is ablaze but Krishna andBalarama slip out unseen, take the road to Mathura and finally reachDwarka. When the hill is reduced to ashes, Jarasandha concludes thatKrishna and Balarama have perished. He advances to Mathura, occupies theempty town, proclaims his authority and returns to Magadha. 

[Footnote 35: Dwarka is sited on the western seaboard, 300 miles north-westof Bombay. ]

(ii) Marriages and Offspring

The immediate position, then, is that Krishna has abandoned his life amongthe cowherds, has been accepted as a Yadava, has coped with the difficultand dangerous situation arising from the tyrant king's death and finallyhas saved the Yadavas from extinction by demons. This, however, has meantthe abandonment of Mathura and the movement of the Yadavas to a new city, Dwarka. The same problem, therefore, which faced him earlier, confrontshim once again. Having obtained immunity for the Yadavas and brought themto a new land, can Krishna now regard his mission as accomplished? Or musthe linger on earth still longer? The answer can hardly be in doubt; foralthough the Yadavas appear to be installed in good surroundings, demonhordes still range the world. The tyrant Kansa was only the worst and mostpowerful member of the demon hosts. The war with Jarasandha has rid theworld of many demons, but vast numbers remain and until their ranks havebeen appreciably reduced, Krishna's mission will be unfulfilled. Only onecourse of action, therefore, is possible. He must accept a permanentposition in Yadava society, live as an honoured noble, a prince of theblood royal and as occasion warrants continue to intervene in the strugglebetween the good and the bad. 

Such a decision is taken and Krishna installs himself at Dwarka. Before hecan fulfil his duties as an adult member of the race, however, certainpreliminaries are necessary and among them is the important issue of hismarriage. Both he and Balarama require wives and the question is how arethey to get them. Balarama's problem is easily settled by a marriage toRevati, a princess. Krishna's, on the other hand, is less straightforwardand he is still undecided when news is brought that the Raja of Kundulpurhas a daughter of matchless loveliness, her name Rukmini. Her eyes, it wassaid, were like a doe's, her complexion like a flower, her face dazzlingas the moon. Rukmini in turn has overheard some beggars reciting Krishna'sexploits, has fallen in love with his image and is at once delighted anddisturbed. In this way each is fascinated by the other. Almostimmediately, however, a crisis occurs. Rukmini's brother, Rukma, urges herfather to marry her to a rival, Sisupala. Krishna's claims as Vishnuincarnate are advanced in vain and he is ridiculed as being just acowherd. Against his better judgment her father acquiesces andarrangements for a wedding with Sisupala go forward. Rukmini now takes thedaring step of sending a message to Krishna, declaring her love and askinghim to save her. Krishna reads it with delight. He at once leaves forKundulpur, finding it gay with flags and banners, golden spires andwreaths of flowers. Sisupala has arrived, but in addition, there isKrishna's old enemy, Jarasandha, encamped with an army of demons. Rukminiis in despair until she learns that Krishna also has arrived. A littlelater Balarama reaches the scene, bringing with him an army. Sisupala isdismayed at his arrival and both sides watch each other's movements. Thewedding day now dawns and Rukmini, guarded by Sisupala's soldiers, goesoutside the city to worship at a shrine to Devi. [36] As she nears theshrine, Krishna suddenly appears. Rukmini gazes with adoration at him. Hesprings among the soldiers, lifts her into his chariot and rushes heraway. 

This summary abduction is more than Sisupala can bear. Troops career afterKrishna. Armies engage. A vast battle ensues. As they fight, Rukmini lookstimorously on. At last, Balarama vanquishes the demon hosts, 'as a whiteelephant scatters lotuses. ' Sisupala and Jarasandha flee, but Rukmini'sevil brother, Rukma, returns to the fray, strives feverishly to killKrishna, fails and is taken captive. His life is spared at Rukmini'sbehest, but he is led away, his hands tied behind his back and hismoustaches shaven off. Balarama intercedes and effects his release andRukma goes away to brood on his discomfiture and plot revenge. Krishna nowreturns to Dwarka in triumph, is given a rapturous welcome and a littlelater celebrates his marriage with full ritual. 'Priests recited theVedas, Krishna circled round with Rukmini. Drums resounded. The delightedgods rained down flowers; demi-gods, saints, bards and celestial musicianswere all spectators from the sky. '

Having married Rukmini, Krishna has now the full status of a grown prince. But he is nothing if not supernormal; and just as earlier in his career hehas showered his affection on a host of cowgirls, he now acquires a wholesuccession of further wives. The first is Jambhavati, the secondSatyabhama. Satyabhama's father is a certain Sattrajit who has obtainedfrom the sun the boon of a jewel. The jewel flashes with light and Krishnaadvises him to surrender it to King Ugrasena. The man refuses; whereuponhis brother seizes it and goes away to the forest. Here a lion pouncesupon him, devours the man and his horse and hides the jewel. The lion isthen killed by a bear who centuries earlier had served with Vishnu'searlier incarnation, Rama, during his campaign against the demon king ofLanka. [37] The bear carries away the jewel and gives it to its mate. WhenSattrajit hears that his brother is missing, he concludes that Krishna hascaused his death and starts a whispering campaign, accusing Krishna ofmaking away with the jewel. Krishna hears of the slander and at oncedecides to search for the missing man, recover the jewel and thus silencehis accuser for ever. As he goes through the forest, Krishna finds a cavewhere the dead lion is lying. He enters it, grapples with the bear but isquickly recognized by the bear as Krishna himself. The bear bows beforehim and begs him to accept his daughter Jambhavati in marriage. Heincludes the jewel as part of the dowry. Krishna marries the girl andreturns. Back at the court he upbraids Sattrajit for falsely accusing him. 'I did not take the jewel, ' he says. 'The bear took it. Now he has giventhe jewel to me and also his daughter. Take back your jewel and besilent. ' Sattrajit is overwhelmed with shame and by way of amends givesKrishna his own daughter, Satyabhama. Krishna marries her and Sattrajitbegs him to take the jewel also. Krishna refuses and the jewel remainswith its owner. A little later, Sattrajit is murdered and the jewel onceagain stolen. The murderer thief is tracked down by Krishna and killed, but only after many delays is the jewel at last recovered from Akrura--theleading Yadava who earlier in the story has acted first as Raja Kansa'senvoy to Krishna and later as Krishna's envoy to Kunti. Krishna orders himto return it to its owner, Sattrajit's grandson. Akrura places it atKrishna's feet and Krishna gives it to Satyabhama. The upshot, then, isthat the slander is ended, the jewel is regained and in the processKrishna acquires two further wives. 

These extra marriages, however, by no means end the tally of his consorts, for during a visit to his relatives, the Pandavas, now returned from exileand for the moment safely reinstalled in their kingdom, he sees a lovelygirl, Kalindi, wandering in the forest. She is the daughter of the sun andhas been sent to dwell by a river until her appointed bridegroom, Krishna, arrives to claim her. Krishna is delighted with her youth, places her inhis chariot and on his return to Dwarka, celebrates their wedding. Alittle later other girls are married to him, in many cases only after afierce struggle with demons. In this way, he obtains eight queens, at thesame time advancing his prime purpose of ridding the world of demons. 

At this point, the _Purana_ embarks on an episode which, at first sight, appears to have very little to do with its main subject. In fact, however, its relevance is great for, as a consequence, Krishna the prince acquiresas many female companions as he had enjoyed as a youth. The episode beginswith Earth again appearing in heaven. Having successfully engineeredKrishna's birth, she does special penance and again beseeches the supremeTrinity to grant her a boon. This boon is a son who will never be equalledand who will never die. Brahma, Vishnu and Siva agree to give her a son, Naraka, but on the following conditions: he will conquer all the kings ofthe earth, rout the gods in the sky, carry off the earrings of Aditi (themother of the gods), wear them himself, take the canopy of Indra and placeit over his own head and finally, collect together but not marry sixteenthousand one hundred virgin daughters of different kings. Krishna willthen attack him and at Earth's own behest, will kill Naraka and take toDwarka all the imprisoned girls. Earth says, 'Why should I ever tellanyone to kill my own son?' and is silent. None the less the boon isgranted, the conditions are in due course fulfilled and after a furiousencounter with Naraka at his city of Pragjyotisha, [38] Krishna is onceagain victorious. During the battle, Muru or Mura, the arch demon, aidedby seven sons, strenuously defends the city. Krishna kills him by cuttingoff his five heads but has then to resist whole armies of demons assembledby the sons. When these also have been destroyed, Krishna meets Naraka andafter a vicious contest finally kills him, recovering in consequence theearrings of Aditi and the canopy of Indra. Naraka's palace is then openedand reveals the bevy of imprisoned girls. As they gaze on Krishna, theirreactions are reminiscent of the cowgirls'. They implore Krishna to takethem away and allow them to lavish on him their impassioned love. Krishnaagrees, chariots are sent for and the vast concourse of passion-strickengirls is transported to Dwarka. Here Krishna marries them, showeringaffection on each of the sixteen thousand and one hundred 'and displayingunceasing love for his eight queens. '

Such an incident revives an aspect of Krishna's early character which upto the present has been somewhat obscured by other events. Besides slayingdemons he has all along been sensitive to feminine needs, arousing inwomen passionate adoration and at the same time fulfilling the mostintense of their physical desires. It is these qualities whichcharacterize his later career. 

Having on one occasion given Rukmini, his first consort, a flower of theheavenly wishing tree, [39] Krishna finds that he has aroused the jealousyof his third consort, Satyabhama. To please her, he accordingly undertakesto get for her not merely a flower or branch but the tree itself. Hetherefore goes to Vaikuntha, the paradise of Vishnu, and takes theopportunity to return the earrings of Aditi and place the canopy over thelord of the gods. He then sends a message to Indra asking for the tree. Indra as the tree's custodian recalls his former discomfiture in Brindabanwhen Krishna had abolished his worship and venerated the hill Govardhanain his place. Despite his subsequent surrender to Krishna, and abjectworship of him, Indra is still incensed and bluntly refuses. Krishna thengoes to the tree, wounds its guardians and bears the tree away. Indra istempted to do battle but realizing Krishna's superior power calls off hishosts. Back in Dwarka, Krishna instals the tree in Satyabhama's palace butreturns it to Indra a year later. 

On another occasion, Krishna and Rukmini are making love on a golden bedin a palace bedecked with gems. The sheets are white as foam and aredecorated with flowers. Pictures have been painted on the walls and everyaid to pleasure has been provided. Rukmini is lovelier than ever, whileKrishna, 'the root of joy, ' dazzles her with a face lovely as the moon, askin the colour of clouds, a peacock crown, a long garland of flowers anda scarf of yellow silk. As he lies, he is 'the sea of beauty, the light ofthe three worlds. ' After making love, Krishna suddenly asks Rukmini whyshe preferred him to Sisupala. He points out that he is not a king and istherefore quite unworthy of her, that since he has rescued her fromSisupala, her wish has been accomplished and it is best that she shouldnow leave him and marry a prince of the royal blood who will be worthy ofher name. Rukmini is stunned at the suggestion. She collapses on thefloor, her hair obscuring her lovely face. Krishna raises her up, sits heron his knees, and strokes her cheeks. When at length Rukmini revives, Krishna hastens to explain that he was only jesting and that in view ofher deep love he will never abandon her. Rukmini assures him that nowherein the world is there Krishna's equal. The beggars who recited his praisesand from whom she first heard his name, were in fact Brahma and Siva. Allthe gods revere him. To adore him is the only joy. Those who love Krishnaalone are happy. If blinded by pride a man forgets him, Krishna abaseshim. It was because Rukmini besought his compassion that Krishna has lovedher. Hearing her simple sincerity, Krishna is greatly moved and says, 'Love of my heart, you know me through and through. You have givenyourself to me, adored me and known my love. I shall love you always. 'Rukmini hears him with deep contentment and the two make love. 

Such a declaration however is not intended to imply a cold neglect of hisother wives for it is part of Krishna's role that he should please andsatisfy all. Accordingly, when Narada, the sage, makes one of hisrecurring appearances--this time in order to investigate how Krishnacontrives to keep happy so vast a concourse of women--he finds Krishnaeverywhere. With Rukmini he reclines at ease, with Jambhavati he playsdice, at Satyabhama's house, he is having his body rubbed with oil, atKalindi's, he is asleep. In this way, wherever Narada goes, he findsKrishna with one or other of his queens. In fact, the same 'delusive'powers which he had earlier employed when dancing with thecowgirls--making each believe he was dancing with her and her alone--arenow being used to satisfy his wives. 

In this way Krishna continues to live. Sometimes his wives caress hisbody, ply him with delicacies or swathe him in perfumed garments. Sometimes to ease their passion they make little figures of him or letthemselves be dressed by him. One night they go with him to a tank andthere make love in the water. Everything in the scene reminds them oftheir love and they address first a _chakai_ bird. 'O _chakai_ bird, whenyou are parted from your mate, you spend the whole night sadly calling andnever sleeping. Speak to us of your beloved. We are Krishna'sslave-girls. ' They speak to the sea. 'O sea, you lie awake night and day, heaving sighs. Do you grieve for a loved one who is far away?' Then theysee the moon. 'O moon, why do you grow thin? Are you also filled withlonging? Are you fascinated by Krishna?' In this way they address birds, hills and rivers, seeking from each some consolation for their frenziedlove. 

In due course, each of the sixteen thousand one hundred and eight bearsKrishna ten sons and one daughter and each is beautiful as himself. 

[Footnote 36: Plate 18. ]

[Footnote 37: Lanka--modern Ceylon. ]

[Footnote 38: Note 12. ]

[Footnote 39: A sight of the heavenly wishing-tree, the _kalpa_ or_parijata_, which grew in Indra's heaven, was believed to make the oldyoung. ]

(iii) Last Phases

This gradual expansion of his marital state takes Krishna even fartherfrom the adoring loves of his youth, the cowgirls of Brindaban. Indeed formonths on end it is as if he has dismissed them from his mind. One day heand Balarama are sitting together when Balarama reminds him of theirpromise that after staying for a time in Mathura they will assuredly visitthem. Krishna, it is clear, cannot go himself, but Balarama is lessimpeded and with Krishna's approval, he takes a ploughshare and pestle, mounts a chariot and speeds on his way. 

As he nears Brindaban, the familiar scenes greet him. The cowherds andcowgirls come into view, but instead of joy there is general despair. Thecows low and pant, rejecting the grass. The cowherds are still discussingKrishna's deeds and the cowgirls cannot expel him from their minds. AsBalarama enters their house, Nanda and Yasoda weep with joy. Balarama isplied with questions about Krishna's welfare and when he answers that allis well, Yasoda describes the darkness that has descended on them sincethe joy of their hearts left. Balarama now meets the cowgirls. Their hairis disordered, they are no longer neat and smart. Their minds are not intheir work and despite Krishna's absence, they are filled with passionatelongings and frenzied desires. Some of them marvel at Krishna's love andcount it good even to have known him. Others bitterly upbraid Krishna fordeserting them. Balarama explains that his visit is to show them thatKrishna has not entirely forgotten them and as proof he offers to re-enactthe circular dance and himself engage with them as lover. 

In this way the circular dance is once again performed. The full moonpours down, the cowgirls deck themselves and songs rise in the air. Flutesand drums play and in the midst of the throng Balarama sings and dances, clasping the cowgirls to him, making love and rousing them to ecstasy. Night after night the dance is performed, while each day Balarama comfortsNanda and Yasoda with news of Krishna. One night as his visit is ending, he feels exhausted and commands the river Jumna to change its course andbathe him with its water. The Jumna fails to comply, so Balarama draws theriver towards him with his plough and bathes in its stream. From that timeon, the Jumna's course is changed. His exhaustion now leaves him and hegratifies the cowgirls with fresh passion. With this incident his visitends. He bids farewell to Nanda, Yasoda and the cowgirls and leaving theforest returns to Dwarka. 

Krishna's relations with the cowgirls are now completely ended, but on onelast occasion he happens to meet them. News has come that the sun willsoon be eclipsed and accordingly, Krishna and Balarama take the Yadavas onpilgrimage. They choose a certain holy place, Kurukshetra, and assemblingall their queens and wives, make the slow journey to it. When theyarrive, a festival is in progress. They bathe and make offerings. Whilethey are still encamped, other kings come in, including the Pandavas andKauravas. With them are their wives and families and Kunti, the mother ofthe Pandavas, is thus enabled to meet once more her brother, Vasudeva, thefather of Krishna. A little later, Nanda and Yasoda along with thecowherds and cowgirls also arrive. They have come on the same pilgrimageand finding Krishna there, at once throng to see him. Vasudeva greets hisold friend, Nanda, and recalls the now long-distant days when Krishna hadlived with him in his house. Krishna and Balarama greet Nanda and Yasodawith loving respect, while the cowgirls are excited beyond description. Krishna however refuses to regard them and faced with their ardent looksand impassioned adoration, addresses to them the following sermon. 'Whoever believes in me shall be fearlessly carried across the sea oflife. You gave me your bodies, minds and wealth. You loved me with a lovethat knew no limit. No one has been so fortunate as you--neither Brahmanor Indra, neither any other god nor any man. For all along I have beenliving in you, loving you with a love that has never faltered. I live ineveryone. What I say to you cannot easily be understood, but as light, water, fire, earth and air abide in the body, so does my glory. ' To thecowgirls such words strike chill. But there is nothing they can say andwhen the festival is over, Krishna and the Yadavas return to Dwarka, whileNanda with the cowherds and cowgirls go back to Brindaban. This is thelast time Krishna sees them. 

This dismissal reveals how final is Krishna's severance from his formerlife, yet provided the cowherds are not involved, he is quick to honourearlier relationships. One day in Dwarka his mother, Devaki, tells himthat she has a private grief--grief at the loss of the six elder brothersof Krishna slain by the tyrant Kansa. Krishna tells her not to mourn, descends to the third of the three worlds, interviews its ruler, RajaBali, and effects the release of the six brothers. Returning with them, hegives them to his mother and her joy is great. 

On another occasion he is visited by Sudama, a Brahman who had lived withhim, when, after slaying the tyrant, he and Balarama had gone forinstruction to their spiritual preceptor. Since then Sudama has grown thinand poor. The thatch on his hut has tumbled down. He has nothing to eat. His wife is alarmed at their abject state and advises him to seek outKrishna, his chief friend. 'If you go to him, ' she says, 'our poverty willend because it is he who grants wealth and virtue, fulfils desires andbestows final happiness. ' Sudama replies that even Krishna does not giveanyone anything without that person giving him something first. As he hasnot given, how can he hope to receive? His wife then ties up a little ricein an old white cloth and gives it to Sudama as a present to Krishna. Sudama sets out. On reaching Dwarka, he is admitted to Krishna's presence, is immediately recognized and is treated with the utmost kindness andrespect. Krishna himself washes his feet and reveres him as a Brahman. [40]'Brother, ' he says, 'from the time you quitted our preceptor's house, Ihave heard nothing of you. Your coming has purified my house and made mehappy. ' Krishna then notices the rice and laughingly asks Sudama whatpresent his wife has sent him and why it is hidden under his arm. Sudamais greatly abashed but allows Krishna to take the bundle. On taking it, Krishna eats the rice. He then conducts Sudama within, feasts him ondelicacies and puts him to bed. During the night he sends Visvakarma, thedivine architect, to Sudama's home, with instructions to turn it into apalace. The next morning Sudama takes leave of Krishna, congratulatinghimself on not having asked Krishna for anything. As he nears home, he isdismayed to find no trace of his hut, but instead a golden palace. Heapproaches the gate-keeper and is told it belongs to Sudama, the friend ofKrishna. His wife comes out and he finds her dressed in fine clothes andjewels and attended by maid-servants. She takes him in and at first he isabashed at so much wealth. Krishna, he reflects, can only have given it tohim because he doubted his affection. He did not ask Krishna for wealthand cannot fathom why he has been given it. His wife assures him thatKrishna knows the thoughts of everyone. Sudama did not ask for wealth, butshe herself desired it and that is why Krishna has given it to them. Sudama is convinced and says no more. 

All these incidents provide a clue to Krishna's nature. They illustratehis attitudes, confirm him in his role as protector and preserver and showhim in a new light--that of a guardian and upholder of morality. He isstill a fervent lover, but his love is sanctioned and formalized by legalmarriage. Moreover, a new respect characterizes his dealings with Brahmansand his approach to festivals. Instead of the young revolutionary, we nowmeet a sage conservative. These changes colour his final career. 

As life at Dwarka runs its course, Krishna's activities centre more andmore on wars with demons and his relations with the Pandavas. Despite hisprowess and renown, demons trouble the Yadavas from time to time, but allare killed either by Krishna wielding a magic quoit or by Balarama plyinghis plough or pestle. On one occasion, a monkey demon runs amok, harassingthe people and ravaging the country. He surprises Balarama bathing in atank with his wives, despoils their clothes and defiles their pitchers. Agreat combat then ensues, the monkey hurling trees and hills whileBalarama counters with his plough and pestle. But the outcome is hardly indoubt and at last the monkey is killed. 

On another occasion, Krishna is compelled to intervene in force. Followinghis marriage with his first queen, Rukmini, a son, Pradyumna has beenborn. He is no less a person than Kama, the god of love, whom Siva hasburnt for disturbing his meditations. When grown up, Pradyumna is marriedto a cousin, the daughter of his uncle, Rukma. Rukma has never forgivenKrishna for abducting and marrying his sister, Rukmini, and despite theirintimate alliance is sworn to kill him. His plot is discovered and in afinal contest, Balarama kills him. Meanwhile, Pradyumna has had a son, Aniruddha, who grows up into a charming youth, while at the same timeVanasura, a demon with a thousand arms, has a lovely daughter, Usa. WhenUsa is twelve years old, she longs for a husband and in a dream sees andembraces Aniruddha. She does not know who he is, but describes him to aconfidante. The latter draws pictures of all the leading royalty, andamong the Yadavas, Usa recognizes her love, Aniruddha. The confidanteagrees to bring him to her and going through the air to Dwarka, finds himsleeping, dreaming of Usa. She transports him to Usa's palace and onwaking. Aniruddha finds himself alone with his love. Usa conceals him, butthe news reaches her father and he surrounds the palace with his demonarmy. Aniruddha routs the army but is caught by Vanasura, who thenimprisons the two young lovers. News now reaches Krishna who rushes anarmy to the scene. A battle ensues during which Vanasura loses all hisarms save four. He then worships Krishna, and Aniruddha and Usa aremarried. 

Meanwhile Krishna is carefully maintaining relations with the Pandavas. Wehave seen how immediately after the slaying of the tyrant he sends anenvoy to inquire after his aunt Kunti, the sister of his father, andmother of the five Pandavas. We have also noticed how during a visit tothe Pandava court, he has acquired a new queen, Kalindi. He now embarks onseveral courses of action, each of which is designed to cement theirrelations. During a visit to his court, Arjuna, the brother whose luckyshot won Draupadi for the Pandavas, falls in love with Subhadra, Krishna'ssister. Krishna is delighted to have him as a brother-in-law and asalready narrated in the epic, he advises Arjuna to marry her by capture. Alittle later Krishna learns that Yudhisthira will shortly proclaim himselfa 'ruler of the world' and decides to visit the Pandava court to assist atthe sacrifice. He takes a vast army with him and advances on the courtwith massive splendour. As he arrives, he learns that Jarasandha whosefeud is unabated has now imprisoned twenty thousand rajas, all of whom cryto be released. Krishna decides that Jarasandha's demon activities must beended once for all and taking two of the Pandavas with him, Bhima andArjuna, he sets out to destroy him. Jarasandha elects to engage Bhima insingle-handed combat and for twenty-seven days the fight proceeds, eachwielding a club and neither securing the advantage. Krishna now learnsthat Jarasandha can only be killed if he is split in two. He directsBhima, therefore, to throw him down, place a foot on one of his thighs andcatching the other leg with his hand, tear him asunder. Bhima does so andin this way Jarasandha is destroyed. The captive rajas are now releasedand after returning home they foregather at the Pandavas' court to assistat the sacrifice. 

As arrangements proceed an incident occurs which illustrates yet again thecomplex situation arising from Krishna's dual character. Krishna is God, yet he is also man. Being a man, it is normally as a man that he isregarded. Yet from time to time particular individuals sense his Godheadand then he is no longer man but God himself. Even those, however, whoview him as God do so only for brief periods of time and hence thesituation is constantly arising in which Krishna is one moment honoured asGod and then a moment later is treated as a man. And it is this situationwhich now recurs. 

As we have already seen in the epic, part of the custom at imperialsacrifices was to offer presents to distinguished guests, and according tothe epic the person chosen to receive the first present was Krishnahimself. The _Purana_ changes this by substituting gods for guests. Yudhisthira is uncertain who should be worshipped first. 'Who is the greatlord of the gods, ' he asks, 'to whom we should bow our heads?' To this aPandava gives a clear answer. Krishna, he says, is god of gods. 'No oneunderstands his nature. He is lord of Brahma, Siva and Indra. It is he whocreates, preserves and destroys. His work is endless. He is the unseen andimperishable. He descends upon the earth continually for the sake of hisworshippers and assuming mortal form appears and acts like a mortal. Hesits in our houses and calls us 'brothers. ' We are deluded by his powerand consider him a brother. Yet never have we seen one as great as him. 'He speaks in fact as one who, knowing Krishna, has seen, for the moment, the god beyond the man. His vision is shared by the others present. Krishna is therefore placed on a throne and before the vast concourse ofrajas, Yudhisthira worships him. 

Among the guests, however, is one raja to whom the vision is denied. He isSisupala, Krishna's rival for the hand of Rukmini, and since Rukmini'sabduction, his deadly enemy. Krishna's elevation as a god is more than hecan stomach and he utters an angry protest. Krishna, he says, is not godat all. He is a mere cowherd's son of low caste who has debased himself byeating the leavings of the cowherds' children and has even been the loverof the cowgirls. As a child he was an arrant pilferer, stealing milk andbutter from every house, while as a youth he has trifled with other men'swives. He has also slighted Indra. Krishna quietly listens to thisoutburst. Then, deeming Sisupala's enmity to have reached its furthestlimit, he allows his patience to be exhausted. He reaches for his quoitand hurling it through the air, slays Sisupala on the spot. The ceremoniesare then completed and Krishna leaves for Dwarka. As he nears the city, hediscovers the Yadavas hard pressed by an army of demons. He and Balaramaintervene. The demons are either killed or put to flight and the Yadavasare rescued. When a little later Sisupala's two brothers bring an armyagainst him, they too are vanquished. 

Twelve years now intervene. Yudhisthira in the moment of triumph hasgambled away his kingdom. The Pandavas have once again been driven intoexile and the old feud has broken out afresh. As the exile ends, bothsides prepare for war and Krishna also leaves for the battle. Balarama isloath to intervene so goes away on pilgrimage. After various adventures, however, he also arrives on the scene. As he comes, a series ofsingle-handed combats is in progress with Krishna and other Rajas lookingon. Duryodhana, the son of blind Dhritarashtra, the king of the Kauravasis fighting Bhima, the powerful Pandava and just as Balarama arrives he isdealt a foul blow and wounded in the thigh. Balarama is shocked to see somany uncles and cousins involved in strife and begs them to desist. Duryodhana replies that it is Krishna who has willed the war and that theyare as puppets in his hands. It is Krishna who is actively aiding thePandavas and the war is only being carried on because of his advice. It isKrishna also who has sponsored foul play. Balarama is pained at suchaccusations and strongly criticizes Krishna. Krishna, however, is readywith an answer. The Kauravas, he says, cheated the Pandavas of theirkingdom by the game of dice. Duryodhana had told Draupadi to sit on histhigh and so he deserved to have it broken. So unjust and tyrannical arethe Kauravas that any methods used against them are fair. Balarama keepssilent and a little later returns to Dwarka. 

This incident concludes the _Purana's_ references to the war. Nothing issaid of Krishna's sermon--the _Bhagavad Gita_. No mention is made ofKrishna's role as charioteer to Arjuna. Nothing further is said of itsdeadly outcome. Krishna's career as a warrior, in fact, is ended and withthis episode the _Purana_ enters its final phase. 

As Krishna lives at Dwarka, surrounded by his wives and huge progeny, hewearies of his earthly career. By now his mission has been accomplished. Hordes of demons have been slain, cruel monarchs killed and much ofEarth's burden lifted. There is no longer any pressing need for him tostay and he decides to quit his body and 're-enter with all his emanationsthe sphere of Vishnu. ' To do this, however, the whole of the Yadava racemust first be ended. [41] One, day some Yadava boys make fun of certainBrahmans. They dress up one of their company as a pregnant girl, take himto the Brahmans and innocently inquire what kind of child the woman willbring forth. The Brahmans immediately penetrate the disguise and angeredat the youth's impertinence, they reply, 'A club that will crush the wholeYadava race. ' The boys run to King Ugrasena, relate what has happened andare even more alarmed when an iron club is brought forth from the boy'sbelly. Ugrasena has the club ground to dust and thrown into the sea, whereits particles become rushes. One part of the club, however, is like alance and does not break. When thrown into the sea, it is swallowed by afish. A hunter catches it and taking the iron spike from its stomach laysit aside for future use. It is an arrow made from this particular spikewhich a little later will bring about Krishna's death. Similarly it is theiron rushes which will cause the death of the Yadavas. Already, therefore, a chain of sinister happenings has been started and from now onwards theaction moves relentlessly to its grim and tragic close. 

As the final scene unfolds, the gods, headed by Brahma and Siva, approachKrishna begging him to return. Krishna tells them that everything is nowin train and within seven nights he will complete the destruction of theYadavas and return to his everlasting home. 

Signs portending the destruction of Dwarka now appear. 'A dreadful figure, death personified, haunts every house, coming and going no one knows howand being invulnerable to weapons by which he is assailed. Stronghurricanes blow; large rats multiply and infest the roads and houses andattack persons in their sleep; starlings scream in their cages, storksimitate the hooting of owls and goats the howling of jackals; cows bringforth foals and camels mules; food in the moment of being eaten is filledwith worms; fire burns with discoloured flames and at sunset and sunrisethe air is traversed by headless and hideous spirits. '[42] Krishna drawsthe Yadavas' attention to these omens and advises them to leave Dwarka andmove to Prabhasa, a site farther inland. 

Udho, who earlier in the story has acted as Krishna's envoy to thecowgirls quickly realizes that the end is near and approaches Krishna foradvice. 'Tell me, O Lord, what it is proper I should do. For it is clearthat shortly you will destroy the Yadavas. ' Krishna then tells him to goto a shrine high up in the mountains and by meditating on Krishna obtainrelease. He adds minute instructions on the technique of penance and endswith some definitions of the yoga of devotion. He concludes by tellingUdho that when all the Yadavas have perished, he himself will go to heavenand Dwarka will be swallowed by the ocean. Udho bows low and leaves forthe mountains. 

Krishna now assembles the leading Yadavas and leaving behind only theelders, the women and children, escorts them to Prabhasa, a town inland, assuring them that by proper worship they may yet avert their fate. AtPrabhasa the Yadavas bathe and purify themselves, anoint the gods' statuesand make offerings. They appease the Brahmans with costly gifts--'therebycountering evil omens, gaining the road to happiness and ensuring rebirthat a higher level. '

Their worship however, is of no avail for almost immediately they fall todrinking. 'As they drank, the destructive flame of dissension was kindledamongst them by mutual collision, and fed with the fuel of abuse. Infuriated by the divine influence, they fell upon one another withmissile weapons and when these were expended, they had recourse to therushes growing high. The rushes in their hands became like thunderboltsand they struck one another with them fatal blows. Krishna interposed toprevent them but they thought that he was taking part with each severally, and continued the conflict. Krishna then, enraged, took up a handful ofrushes to destroy them, and the rushes became a club of iron and with thishe slew many of the murderous Yadavas; whilst others, fighting fiercely, put an end to one another. In a short time, there was not a single Yadavaleft alive, except the mighty Krishna and Daruka, his charioteer. '[43]

With the slaughter thus completed, Krishna feels free to leave the earth. Such Yadavas who have been left behind in Dwarka have been spared, but thegreater part of the race is dead. He therefore makes ready for his owndeparture. Balarama, who has helped Krishna in the brawl, goes to thesea-shore, performs yoga and, leaving his body, joins the Supreme Spirit. Sesha, the white serpent of eternity, issues from his mouth and hymned bysnakes and other serpents proceeds to the ocean. 'Bringing an offering ofrespect, Ocean came to meet him; and then the majestic being, adored byattendant snakes entered into the waters of the deep. '[44]

Krishna then seats himself by a fig tree, lays his left leg across hisright thigh, turns the sole of his foot outwards and assumes one of thepostures in which abstraction is practised. As he meditates he appearslovelier than ever. His eyes flash. The four arms of Vishnu spring fromhis body. He wears his crown, his sacred thread and garland of flowers. Ashe sits, glorious and beautiful, the same hunter, who earlier had salvagedthe iron spike from the fish, chances to pass by. His arrow is tipped witha piece of the iron and mistaking Krishna's foot for part of a deer, heshoots his arrow and hits it. Approaching the mark, he sees Krishna's fourarms and is horrified to discover whom he has wounded. As he begsforgiveness, Krishna grants him liberation and dispatches him to heaven. 

Daruka, Krishna's charioteer, now comes in search of his master. Findinghim wounded, he is overwhelmed with grief. Krishna tells him to go toDwarka and inform the surviving Yadavas what has happened. On receivingthe news they must leave Dwarka immediately, for the sea will shortlyengulf it. They must also place themselves under Arjuna's protection andgo to Indraprastha. 'Then the illustrious Krishna having united himselfwith his own pure, spiritual, inexhaustible and universal spirit abandonedhis mortal body. '[45]

Daruka goes mournfully to Dwarka where he breaks the news. Vasudeva withhis two wives, Devaki and Rohini, die of grief. Arjuna recovers the bodiesof Krishna and Balarama and places them on a funeral pyre. Rukmini alongwith Krishna's seven other queens throw themselves on the flames. Balarama's wives, as well as King Ugrasena, also die. Arjuna then appointsKrishna's great grandson, Parikshit, to rule over the survivors and, afterassembling the remaining women and children, removes them from Dwarka andtravels slowly away. As they leave, the ocean comes up, swallowing thecity and engulfing everything except the temple. 

[Footnote 40: Plate 19. ]

[Footnote 41: Note 13. ]

[Footnote 42: Note 14. ]

[Footnote 43: Note 7. ]

[Footnote 44: Plate 1 and Note 7. ]

[Footnote 45: Plate 2 and Note 7. ]

(iv) The _Purana_ Re-considered

Such an account gives us what the _Mahabharata_ epic did not give--adetailed description of Krishna's career. It confirms the epic's view ofKrishna as a hero and fills in many gaps concerning his life at Dwarka, his relations with the Pandavas, his life as a feudal prince and finally, his death. It makes clear that throughout the story Krishna is anincarnation of Vishnu and that his main reason for being born is to aidthe good and kill demons. At the same time, it shows him in two importantnew lights--firstly, as one whose youth was spent among cowherds, incircumstances altogether different from those of a prince and secondly, asa delightful lover of women, who explores to the full the joys of sexuallove. The second role characterizes him both as cowherd and prince butwith important differences of attitude and behaviour. As a prince, Krishnais wedded first to Rukmini and then to seven other wives, observing oneach occasion the requisite formalities. Even the sixteen thousand onehundred girls whom he rescues from imprisonment receive this formalstatus. With all of them Krishna enjoys a variety of sexual pleasures andtheir love is moral, respectable and approved. Krishna the prince, infact, is Krishna the husband. Krishna the cowherd, on the other hand, isessentially a lover. The cowgirls whose impassioned love he inspires areall married and in consorting with them he is breaking one of the mostsolemn requirements of the moral code. The first relationship has thesecure basis of conjugal duty, the second the daring adventurousness ofromantic passion. 

The same abrupt contrast appears between his character as a cowherd andhis character as a prince. As a youth he mixes freely with the cowherds, behaving with an easy naturalness of manner and obtaining from them anintense devotion. This devotion is excited by everything he does andwhether as a baby crying for the breast, a little boy pilfering butter ora young man teasing the married girls, he exerts a magnetic charm. At notime does he neglect his prime duty of killing demons but this issubordinated to his innocent delight in living. He is shown as impatientwith old and stereotyped forms of worship, as scorning ordinary moralityand treating love as paramount. Although he acts continually with princelydignity and is always aware of his true character as Vishnu, his impact onothers is based more on the understanding of their needs than on theirrecognition of him as God. When, at times, Krishna the cowherd is adoredas God, he has already been loved as a boy and a young man. In the laterstory, this early charm is missing. Krishna is frequently recognized tobe God and is continually revered and respected as a man. His conduct isinvariably resolute but there is a kind of statesmanlike formality abouthis actions. He is respectful towards ritual, formal observances andBrahmans while in comparison with his encounters with the cowgirls hisrelations with women have an air of slightly stagnant luxury. His wivesand consorts lavish on him their devotion but the very fact that they aremarried removes the romantic element from their relationship. 

Such vital differences are only partially resolved in the _BhagavataPurana_. Representing as they do two different conceptions of Krishna'scharacter, it is inevitable that the resulting account should be slightlybiased in one direction or the other. The _Bhagavata Purana_ records bothphases in careful detail blending them into a single organic whole. Butthere can be little doubt that its Brahman authors were in the main morefavourably inclined towards the hero prince than towards the cowherdlover. There is a tendency for the older Krishna to disparage the younger. Krishna the prince's subsequent meetings with the cowgirls are shown asvery different from his rapturous encounters with them in the forest andthe fact that his later career involves so sharp a separation from themindicates that the whole episode was somewhat frowned upon. This isespecially evident from the manner in which Krishna addresses the cowgirlswhen they meet him during the eclipse of the sun. By this time he hasbecome an ardent husband constantly satisfying his many wives. He is veryfar from having abjured the delights of the flesh. Yet for all his formerloves who long for him so passionately he has only one message. They mustmeditate upon him in their minds. No dismissal could be colder, notreatment more calculatingly callous. And even the accounts of Krishna'slove-making reflects this bias. The physical charms of the cowgirls areminimized and it is only the beauty of Rukmini which is stressed. It isclear, in fact, that however much the one tradition involved a break withmorals, the second tradition shrank from countenancing adultery and it wasthis latter tradition which commanded the authors' approval. Finally, onone important issue, the _Purana_ as a whole is in no doubt. Krishna'strue consort is Rukmini. That Krishna's nature should be complemented by acowgirl is not so much as even considered. The cowgirls are shown asrisking all for Krishna, as loving him above all else but none is singledout for mention and none emerges as a rival. In this long account ofKrishna's life what is overwhelmingly significant is that the name of hissupreme cowgirl love is altogether omitted. 

V

THE KRISHNA OF POETRY

(i) The Triumph of Radha

During the next two hundred years, from the tenth to the twelfth century, the Krishna story completely alters. It is not that the facts as given inthe _Bhagavata Purana_ are disputed. It is rather that the emphasis andview-point are changed. Krishna the prince and his consort Rukmini arerelegated to the background and Krishna the cowherd lover brought sharplyto the fore. Krishna is no longer regarded as having been born solely tokill a tyrant and rid the world of demons. His chief function now is tovindicate passion as the symbol of final union with God. We have alreadyseen that to Indians this final union was the sole purpose of life andonly one experience was at all comparable to it. It was the mutual ecstasyof impassioned lovers. 'In the embrace of his beloved, a man forgets thewhole world--everything both within and without; in the same way, he whoembraces the Self knows neither within nor without. '[46] The function ofthe new Krishna was to defend these two premises--that romantic love wasthe most exalted experience in life and secondly, that of all the roads tosalvation, the impassioned adoration of God was the one most valid. Godmust be adored. Krishna himself was God and since he had shown divine lovein passionately possessing the cowgirls, he was best adored by recallingthese very encounters. As a result, Krishna's relations with the cowgirlswere now enormously magnified and as part of this fresh appraisal, aparticular married cowgirl, Radha, enters the story as the enchantingobject of his passions. We have seen how on one occasion in the _BhagavataPurana_, Krishna disappears taking with him a single girl, how they thenmake love together in a forest bower and how when the girl tires and begsKrishna to carry her, he abruptly leaves her. The girl's name is notmentioned but enough is said to suggest that she is Krishna's favourite. This hint is now developed. Radha, for this is the girl's name, isrecognized as the loveliest of all the cowgirls. She is the daughter ofthe cowherd Vrishabhanu and his wife, Kamalavati, and is married to Ayana, a brother of Yasoda. Like other cowgirls, her love for Krishna isall-consuming and compels her to ignore her family honour and disregardher husband. Krishna, for his part, regards her as his first love. Inplace, therefore, of courtly adventures and battles with demons, Krishna'sadulterous romance is now presented as all in all. [47] It is the moods, feelings and emotions of a great love-affair which are the essence of thestory and this, in turn, is to serve as a sublime allegory expressing andaffirming the love of God for the soul. With this dramatic revolution inthe story, we begin to approach the Krishna of Indian painting. 

Such a change can hardly have come about without historical reasons andalthough the exact circumstances must perhaps remain obscure, we can seein this sharp reversal of roles a clear response to certain Indian needs. From early times, romantic love had been keenly valued, Sanskrit poetssuch as Kalidasa, Amaru and Bhartrihari celebrating the charms of womanlyphysique and the raptures of sex. What, in fact, in other cultures hadbeen viewed with suspicion or disquiet was here invested with nobility andgrandeur. Although fidelity had been demanded in marriage, romanticliaisons had not been entirely excluded and thus there was a sense inwhich the love-poetry of the early Indian middle ages had been partlyparalleled by actual courtly or village practice. From the tenth centuryonwards, however, a tightening of domestic morals had set in, a tighteningwhich was further intensified by the Muslim invasions of the twelfth andthirteen centuries. Romance as an actual experience became more difficultof attainment and this was exacerbated by standard views of marriage. Inearly India, marriage had been regarded as a contract between familiesand romantic love between husband and wife as an accidental, even anunexpected product of what was basically a utilitarian agreement. With theseclusion of women and the laying of even greater stress on wifelychastity, romantic love was increasingly denied. Yet the need for romanceremained and we can see in the prevalence of love-poetry a substitute forwishes repressed in actual life. [48] It is precisely this role which thestory of Krishna the cowherd lover now came to perform. Krishna, beingGod, had been beyond morals and hence had practised conduct which, ifindulged in by men, might well have been wrong. He had given practicalexpression to romantic longings and had behaved with all the passionatefreedom normally stifled by social duty, conjugal ethics and familymorals. From this point of view, Krishna the prince was a mere pillar ofboring respectability. Nothing in his conduct could arouse delight foreverything he did was correct and proper. Krishna the cowherd on theother hand, was spontaneous, irresponsible and free. His love for thecowgirls had had a lively freedom. The love between them was nothing ifnot voluntary. His whole life among the cowherds was simple, natural andpleasing and as their rapturous lover nothing was more obvious than thatthe cowgirls should adore him. In dwelling, then, on Krishna, it wasnatural that the worshipper should tend to disregard the prince and shouldconcentrate instead on the cowherd. The prince had revered Brahmans andsupported established institutions. The cowherd had shamed the Brahmans ofMathura and discredited ceremonies and festivals. He had loved and beenloved and in his contemplation lay nothing but joy. The loves of Krishna, in fact, were an intimate fulfilment of Indian desires, an exactsublimation of intense romantic needs and while other factors mustcertainly have played their part, this is perhaps the chief reason why, at this juncture, they now enchanted village and courtly India. 

The results of this new approach are apparent in two distinct ways. The_Bhagavata Purana_ continues to be the chief chronicle of Krishna'sacts but the last half of Book Ten and all of Book Eleven fall intoneglect. [49] In their place, the story of Krishna's relations with thecowgirls is given new poignancy and precision. Radha is constantlymentioned and in all the incidents in the _Purana_ involving cowgirls, it is she who is given pride of place. At the river Jumna, when Krishnaremoves the cowgirls' clothes, Radha begs him to restore them. At thecircular dance in which he joins with all the cowgirls, Radha receives hisfirst attentions, dancing with him in the centre. When Krishna is about toleave for Mathura, it is Radha who heads the cowgirls and strives to detainhim. She serves, in fact, as a symbol of all the cowgirls' love. At thesame time, she is very far from being merely their spokesman or leader andwhile the later texts dwell constantly on her rapturous love-making withKrishna, they also describe her jealousy when Krishna makes love to othergirls. Indeed the essence of their romance is that it includes a temporaryestrangement and only after Krishna has neglected Radha, flirted withother cowgirls and then returned to her is their understanding complete. 

The second result is the allegorical interpretation which Krishna'sromances now received. In Christian literature, the longing of the soulfor God was occasionally expressed in terms of sexual imagery--the worksof the Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross, including 'songs of thesoul in rapture at having arrived at the height of perfection which isunion with God. '

 Oh night that was my guide! Oh darkness dearer than the morning's pride, Oh night that joined the lover To the beloved bride Transfiguring them each into the other. 

 Within my flowering breast Which only for himself entire I save He sank into his rest And all my gifts I gave Lulled by the airs with which the cedars wave. [50]

This same approach was now to clarify Radha's romance with Krishna. Radha, it was held, was the soul while Krishna was God. Radha's sexual passionfor Krishna symbolized the soul's intense longing and her willingness tocommit adultery expressed the utter priority which must be accorded tolove for God. If ultimate union was symbolized by romantic love, thenclearly nothing could approach such love in ultimate significance. Indeserting their husbands and homes and wilfully committing adultery, Radhaand the cowgirls were therefore illustrating a profound religious truth. Not only was their adultery proof of Krishna's charm, it was vital to thewhole story. By worldly standards, they were committing the gravest ofoffences but they were doing it for Krishna who was God himself. They weretherefore setting God above home and duty, they were leaving everythingfor love of God and in surrendering their honour, were providing the mostpotent symbol of what devotion meant. This approach explained otherdetails. Krishna's flute was the call of God which caused the souls ofmen, the cowgirls, to forsake their worldly attachments and rush to lovehim. In removing the clothes of the cowgirls and requiring them to comebefore him naked, he was demonstrating the innocent purity with which thesoul should wait on God. In himself neglecting Radha and toying with thecowgirls, he was proving, on one level, the power of worldly pleasures toseduce the soul but on another level, the power of God to love every soulirrespective of its character and status. From this point of view, thecowgirls were as much the souls of men as Radha herself and to demonstrateGod's all-pervasive love, Krishna must therefore love not only Radha butevery cowgirl. Equally, in the circular dance, by inducing every cowgirlto think that she and she alone was his partner, Krishna was proving howGod is available to all. Finally it was realized that even those portionsof the story which, at first sight, seemed cruel and callous were alsosusceptible of religious interpretation. When Radha has been loved in theforest and then is suddenly deserted, the reason is her pride--pride thatbecause Krishna has loved her, she can assert herself by asking to becarried. Such assertiveness is incompatible with the kind of humbleadoration necessary for communion with God. To prove this, therefore, Radha's pride must be destroyed and Krishna resorts to this seeminglybrusque desertion. Action, in fact, which by human standards would bereprehensible is once again a means for imparting spiritual wisdom. In asimilar way, Krishna's departure for Mathura and final abandonment of thecowgirls was accorded a religious interpretation. At one level, hisdeparture symbolized 'the dark night of the soul, ' the experience whichcomes to every devotee when, despite the most ardent longing, the visionfades. At another level, it illustrated how life must be lived when God orVishnu was no longer on earth. If Krishna's love-making was intended tosymbolize the ultimate rapture, his physical absence corresponded toconditions as they normally existed. In instructing the cowgirls tomeditate upon him in their minds, Krishna was only attuning them to lifeas it must necessarily appear after he has left the human stage. 

It was these conceptions which governed the cult of Krishna from thetwelfth century onwards and, as we shall shortly see, informed the poemswhich were now to celebrate his love for Radha. 

[Footnote 46: Note 15. ]

[Footnote 47: Note 16. ]

[Footnote 48: Note 17. ]

[Footnote 49: I. E. The whole of Krishna's career after his destruction ofthe tyrant. ]

[Footnote 50: Roy Campbell, _The Poems of St. John of the Cross_ (London, 1951), 11-12. ]

(ii) The Gita Govinda

The first poem to express this changed conception is the _GitaGovinda_--the Song of the Cowherd--a Sanskrit poem written by the Bengalipoet, Jayadeva, towards the close of the twelfth century. Its subject isthe estrangement of Radha and Krishna caused by Krishna's love for othercowgirls, Radha's anguish at Krishna's neglect and lastly the rapturewhich attends their final reunion. Jayadeva describes Radha's longing andKrishna's love-making with glowing sensuality yet the poem revertscontinually to praise of Krishna as God. 

 If in recalling Krishna to mind there is flavour Or if there is interest in love's art Then to this necklace of words--sweetness, tenderness, brightness-- The words of Jayadeva, listen. 

He aims, in fact, at inducing 'recollection of Krishna in the minds ofthe good' and adds a description of the forest in springtime solely, hesays, in order once again to recall Krishna. [51] When, at last, the poemhas come triumphantly to its close, Jayadeva again exhorts people to adoreKrishna and 'place him for ever in their hearts, Krishna the source of allmerit. '

The poem begins with a preface of four lines describing how Krishna'sromance with Radha first began. The sky, it says, was dark with clouds. All around lay the vast forest. Night was coming up and Nanda who hadtaken the youthful Krishna with him is alarmed lest in the gathering gloomthe boy should get lost. Radha, who is somewhat older, is with them, soNanda desires her to take Krishna home. Radha leads him away but as theywander by the river, passion mounts in their hearts. They forget thatNanda has told them to hurry home. Radha ignores the motherly character ofher mission and loitering in the trees, the two commence theirdalliance. [52] In this way the love of Radha and Krishna arises--the lovewhich is to dominate their hearts with ever-growing fervour. 

The poem then leaps a period of time and when the drama opens, a crisishas occurred. Radha, after long enjoying Krishna's passionate embraces, finds herself abruptly neglected. Charming but faithless, Krishna is nowpursuing other girls and the jilted Radha wanders alone. Meanwhile springhas come to the forest and the thought that others are enjoying Krishna'slove tortures her to the point of madness. As she broods on her lost joys, a friend describes to her what is happening. [53]

 Sandal and garment of yellow and lotus garlands upon his body of blue, In his dance the jewels of his ears in movement dangling over his smiling cheeks, Krishna here disports himself with charming women given to love. 

 He embraces one woman, he kisses another, and fondles another beautiful one. He looks at another one lovely with smiles, and starts in pursuit of another woman. Krishna here disports himself with charming women given to love. [54]

Suddenly Radha sees Krishna[55] and going into the midst of the cowgirls, she kisses him violently and clasps him to her; but Krishna is so inflamedby the other girls that he abandons her in a thicket. 

As Radha broods on his behaviour, she is filled with bitter sadness. [56]Yet her love is still so strong that she cannot bring herself to blamehim and instead calls to mind his charm. 

 I remember Krishna, the jests he made, who placed his sport in the pastoral dance, The sweet of whose nectar of lips kept flowing with notes of his luring melodious flute, With the play of whose eyes and the toss of whose head the earrings kept dangling upon his cheeks. 

 I remember Krishna, the jests he made, who placed his sport in the pastoral dance, Whose brow had a perfect sandal spot, as among dark clouds the disc of the moon, Whose door-like heart was without pity when crushing the bosoms of swelling breasts. 

 Desire even now in my foolish mind for Krishna, For Krishna--without me--lusting still for the herd-girls. Seeing only the good in his nature, what shall I do? Agitated I feel no anger. Pleased without cause, I acquit him. 

And she continues:

 O make him enjoy me, my friend, that Krishna so fickle, I who am shy like a girl on her way to the first of her trysts of love, He who is charming with flattering words, I who am tender In speech and smiling, he on whose hip the garment lies loosely worn. 

 O make him enjoy me, my friend, that Krishna so fickle, Me who sweated and moistened all over my body with love's exertion, That Krishna whose cheeks were lovely with down all standing on end as he thrilled, Whose half-closed eyes were languid, and restless with brimming desire. 

 O make him enjoy me, my friend, that Krishna so fickle, Me whose masses of curls were like loose-slipping flowers, whose amorous words Were vague as of doves, that Krishna whose bosom is marked With scratches, surpassing all in his love that the science of love could teach. 

 O make him enjoy me, my friend, that Krishna so fickle, To whose act of desire accomplished the anklets upon my feet bejewelled Vibrated sounding, who gave his kisses seizing the hair of the head, And to whom in his passionate love my girdle sounded in eloquence sweet. 

As Radha sits longing for him in lonely sadness, Krishna suddenlyrepents, is filled with remorse and abruptly goes in quest of her. He doesnot know, however, where to find her and as he wanders, he expresses hissorrow. 

 Radha so deeply wronged, troubled to see me surrounded by women, She went, and I, in fear of my guilt, made no attempt to stop her, Alas, alas, she is gone in anger, her love destroyed. 

 O my slender one, I imagine your heart is dejected, I cannot console you kneeling in homage, I know not where to find you. If you pardon me now I shall never repeat this neglect of you ever-- O beautiful, give me your pleasure again. I burn with desire. 

As Krishna searches unavailingly, Radha's friend lights upon him andconveys news of her love-tormented state. 

 Armour she makes of tender lotus garlands to hide her bosom from you, Large garlands, as if to protect you from heavy showers of shafts from the god of love. She fears an attack of Love upon you, and lies away hidden; She wastes away, Krishna, parted from you. 

As he hears this, Krishna is torn with longing. He does not, however, goimmediately to Radha but instead asks the friend to bring Radha to him. The girl departs, meets Radha and gives her Krishna's message. She thendescribes Krishna's love-lorn state:

 When he hears the noise of swarms of bees, he covers his ears from their humming; Pain he feels, night after night, of a heart in love that is parted. He droops, separated from you, O friend, the wearer of garlands. 

The girl assures Radha that Krishna is contrite and urges her to delay nolonger. 

 He has gone into the trysting place, full of all desired bliss, O you with lovely hips delay no more O go forth now and seek him out, him the master of your heart, him endowed with passion's lovely form. 

 On fallen feathers of the birds, on leaves about the forest floor, he lies excited making there his bed, And he gazes out upon the path, looks about with trembling eyes, anxious, looking out for your approach. 

 There on that bed of tender leaves, O lotus-eyed, embrace his hips, his naked hips from whence the girdle drops, Those hips from whence the garment falls, those loins which are a treasure heap, the fountain and the source of all delight. 

Radha would willingly go but she is now so sick with love that she can nolonger move. The girl has, therefore, to go once more to Krishna anddescribe Radha's state. 

 In secret on every side she sees you Drinking the honied sweet of her lips. Where Radha stays now she wilts away, She may live no longer without your skill, Again and again she keeps telling her friend, 'O why must Krishna delay to come?'

 Of her jewels abundant her limbs she adorns and spreads out her bed-- Imagining you on her fluttering couch of leaves-- And so to indulge, in a hundred ways, in the sport of love She is fully resolved, arranging her bed with every adornment; Not another night may that beautiful girl endure without you. Why so much apathy, Krishna, beside the fig tree? O brother, why not go to the pasture of eyes, the abode of bliss?

Despite this message, however, Krishna still delays and Radha, who hashalf expected him, endures still greater anguish. 

 My lover has failed to come to the trysting place, It is perhaps that his mind is dazed, or perhaps that he went to another woman Or lured perhaps by festive folk, that he delays, Or perhaps along the dark fringe of the forest he wanders lost. 

She imagines him toying with another cowgirl. 

 A certain girl, excelling in her charms unrivalled, dallies with the sportive Krishna Her face, a moon, is fondled by the fluttering petals in her hair, The exciting moisture of his lips induces langour in her limbs, Her earrings bruise her cheeks while dancing with the motion of her head, Her girdle by the tremor of her moving hips is made to tinkle, She utters senseless sounds, through fever of her love, He decorates with crimson flowers her curly tresses, curls which are upon her lively face a mass of clouds, Flowers with crimson flashings lovely in the forest of her tresses, haunt of that wild creature love's desire. 

And thinking of her own hapless state, Radha contrasts it bitterly withthat of the fortunate girl. 

 She who with the wearer of the garland lies in dalliance. With him whose lovely mouth is like a lotus that is opening, With him whose words are nectar in their sweetness and their tenderness, With him who wears a garment streaked with gold, all white and beautiful Not made to sigh is she, my friend, derided by her girls!

Next morning Radha is standing with her girls when Krishna tries toapproach her. Now, however, he has come too late. Radha has suffered toogreatly. Her patience is at an end and although Krishna implores her toforgive him, she rounds on him in anger, ordering him to return to theother girl whom he has just left. [57]

 Your mouth, O Krishna, darkened, enhances the crimson beauty of your lovely body, Enhances with a, darkness, a blackness that arises from the kissing of eyes coloured with black unguent. Go, Krishna, go. Desist from uttering these deceitful words. Follow her, you lotus-eyed, she who can dispel your trouble, go to her. 

 I who follow you devoted--how can you deceive me, so tortured by love's fever as I am? O Krishna, like the look of you, your body which appears so black, that heart of yours a blackness shall assume. Follow her, you lotus-eyed, she who can dispel your trouble, go to her. 

Faced with these reproaches, Krishna slinks away. Radha's friend knows, however, that despite her bitter anger, Radha desires nothing more thanhis love. She attempts, therefore, to instil in her a calmer frame ofmind, urging her to end her pride and take Krishna back. She goes to lookfor Krishna and while she is absent, Krishna returns. Standing beforeRadha, he implores her once again to end her anger. 

 If you speak but a little the moon-like gleam of your teeth will destroy the darkness frightful, so very terrible, come over me; Your moon of a face which glitters upon my eye, the moon-bird's eye, now makes me long for the sweet of your lips. O loved one, O beautiful, give up that baseless pride against me, My heart is burnt by the fire of longing; give me that drink so sweet of your lotus face. O you with beautiful teeth, if you are in anger against me, strike me then with your finger nails, sharp and like arrows, Bind me, entwining, with the cords of your arms, and bite me then with your teeth, and feel happy punishing. O loved one, O beautiful, give up that baseless pride against me. 

At these words, Radha's anger leaves her; and when Krishna withdraws, itis to go to the forest and await her coming. Radha's joy returns. Shedecks herself in the loveliest of her ornaments and then, accompanied byher maids, moves slowly to the tryst. [58] As they reach the bower whichKrishna has constructed, her friend urges her to enter. 

 O you who bear on your face the smile that comes of the ardour of passion Sport with him whose love-abode is the floor of the beautiful bower. 

Radha approaches and their love strains to its height. 

 She looked at Krishna who desired only her, on him who for long wanted dalliance, Whose face with his pleasure was overwhelmed and who was possessed with desire After embracing her long and ardently, Krishna with his necklace of pearls Krishna like the Jumna in a mighty flood with its necklace of specks of foam. [59]

The cowgirls go and Krishna speaks to Radha. 

 O woman with desire, place on this patch of flower-strewn floor your lotus foot, And let your foot through beauty win, To me who am the Lord of All, O be attached, now always yours. O follow me, my little Radha. 

 O lovely woman, give me now the nectar of your lips, infuse new life into this slave of yours, so dead, This slave, whose heart is placed in you, whose body burned in separation, this slave denied the pleasure of your love. 

Radha yields and as the night passes they achieve height upon height ofsexual bliss. 

 Their love play grown great was very delightful, the love play where thrills were a hindrance to firm embraces, Where their helpless closing of eyes was a hindrance to longing looks at each other, and their secret talk to their drinking of each the other's nectar of lips, and where the skill of their love was hindered by boundless delight. 

 She loved as never before throughout the course of the conflict of love, to win, lying over his beautiful body, to triumph over her lover; And so through taking the active part her thighs grew lifeless, and languid her vine-like arms, and her heart beat fast, and her eyes grew heavy and closed. 

 In the morning most wondrous, the heart of her lord was smitten with arrows of Love, arrows which went through his eyes, Arrows which were her nailed-scratched bosom, her reddened sleep-denied eyes, her crimson lips from a bath of kisses, her hair disarranged with the flowers awry, and her girdle all loose and slipping. With hair knot loosened and stray locks waving, her cheeks perspiring, her glitter of lips impaired, And the necklace of pearls not appearing fair because of her jar-shaped breast being denuded, And her belt, her glittering girdle, dimmed in beauty, The happy one drank of the face where the lips were washed with the juice of his mouth, His mouth half open uttering amorous noises, vague and delirious, the rows of teeth in the breath of an indrawn sigh delightedly chattering. Drank of the face of that deer-eyed woman whose body lay helpless, released of excessive delight, the thrilling delight of embraces. 

When their passion is at last ended, Radha begs Krishna to help her withher toilet. 

 She said to the joy of her heart, Adorn the curl on my brow which puts the lotus to shame, my spotless brow, Make a beautiful spot on my forehead, a spot with the paste of the sandal, O giver of pride, on my tresses, untidy now on account of desire, place flowers, Place on my hips the girdle, the clothes and the jewels, Cover my beautiful loins, luscious and firm, the cavern of Love to be feared. Make a pattern upon my breasts and a picture on my cheeks and fasten over my loins a girdle, Bind my masses of hair with a beautiful garland and place many bracelets upon my hands and jewelled anklets upon my feet. 

Krishna does so and with a final celebration of Krishna as God and of thesong itself--its words 'sweeter than sugar, like love's own gloriousflavour'--the poem ends. 

[Footnote 51: Note 18. ]

[Footnote 52: Plate 20. ]

[Footnote 53: Plates 21 and 22. ]

[Footnote 54: Note 19. ]

[Footnote 55: Plate 23. ]

[Footnote 56: Plate 24. ]

[Footnote 57: Plate 25. ]

[Footnote 58: Plate 26. ]

[Footnote 59: Plate 27. ]

(iii) Later Poetry

Jayadeva's poem quickly achieved renown in Northern and Western India andfrom the early thirteenth century became a leading model for all poets whowere enthralled by Krishna as God and lover. In Western India, Bilvamangala, a poet of Malabar, composed a whole galaxy of Krishna songs, his poem, the _Balagopala Stuti_ (The Childhood of Krishna) earning forhim the title 'the Jayadeva of the South. ' But it is during the fifteenthand sixteenth centuries that the most important developments occurred. InBengal, the poets Vidyapati and Chandi Das flourished in about the year1420, while in Western India, Mira Bai, a local princess, began awide-spread popular movement. Mira Bai was followed by Vallabhacharya(born 1478) who in turn inspired four poet disciples--Krishna Das, SurDas, Parmanand Das and Kumbhan Das. All these were at their height in themiddle of the sixteenth century, writing Hindi poems in which Radha'sadventures with Krishna and their rapturous love-making were devotedlydescribed. [60]

The work of Sur Das was of special importance for in one of hiscompositions he took each of the thirty-six traditional modes of Indianmusic-the _Ragas_ and _Raginis_--but instead of celebrating them asseparate 'musical characters, ' appended to each a love-poem about Krishna. Sur Das was followed by Keshav Das of Orchha (fl. 1580), Govind Das (fl. 1590), Bihari Lai (fl. 1650) and Kali Das (fl. 1700)--all poets in whomreligious ecstasy was blended with a feeling for passionate romance. Ofthese poets Bihari Lai is famous for the _Sat Sai_ in which he celebratedKrishna's romance in seven hundred verses. 

All this later poetry differed from the _Gita Govinda_ in one importantrespect. Instead of dwelling on the temporary rupture in Radha andKrishna's relationship, it roved freely over the many phases of theirlove-making, subjecting every incident to delighted analysis. A poetthought and felt himself into Radha's mind when as a young girl about tobecome a woman she discovered for the first time the exquisite sensationsof awakening love. Or he imagined he was Krishna stumbling on Radha byaccident and being stirred to ecstasy by his first glimpse of her glowingcharms. Sometimes he even became the unseen viewer of their rapturousexchanges, comforting Radha with sage remarks or egging her on to appeaseher hungry lover. In this way many incidents not recorded of any cowgirlin the _Bhagavata Purana_, though possibly preserved in oral tradition, came gradually into prominence, thereby confirming Radha as Krishna'sgreatest love. 

The following incidents will illustrate this process. Radha would bedescribed as one day taking her curds and milk to a village the fartherside of the river Jumma. Krishna hears of her expedition and along withother cowherd boys waylays Radha and her friends and claims a toll. Radharefuses to pay but at last offers to make a token gift provided he ferriesthem over. Meanwhile a cowherd boy has hidden the boat and night is comingon. It is now too late to return so the girls have no alternative but tostay with Krishna. They lie down by the bank but in the darkness giveKrishna not only the toll but also their souls and bodies. 

In another poem, Krishna is shown pestering the cowgirls for curds. Radhadecides to stand this no longer and partly in jest dresses herself up as aconstable. When Krishna next teases the girls, she descends upon him, catches him by the wrist and 'arrests' him as a thief. [61]

It is in the poems of Chandi Das, however, that Krishna's most daringruses are described. Having once gained admittance to Radha's house bydressing himself as a cowgirl, he is shown pretending to be aflower-seller. He strings some flowers into a bunch of garlands, danglesthem on his arm and strolls blandly down the village street. When hereaches Radha's house, he goes boldly in and is taken by Radha into acorner where she starts to bargain. Krishna asks her to let him firstadorn her with a garland and then she can pay him. Radha agrees and as heslips a garland over her head, Krishna kisses her. Radha suddenly sees whoit is and holds his hand. 

On another occasion, Radha is ill from love and is lying at home on herbed. Krishna thereupon becomes a doctor and goes from house to housecuring the sick. So successful are his cures that Radha also is tempted toconsult the new doctor and sends a maid to call him, Krishna comes butbefore entering adopts a wild disguise--putting his clothes on inside out, matting his hair with mud, and slinging a bag of roots and plants over hisshoulder. As he enters, he sits on Radha's bed, lifts her veil, gazesintently at her face and declares that certainly she is very ill indeed. He then takes her pulse and says, 'it is the water of love that is rottingher heart like a poison. ' Radha is elated at this diagnosis, rousesherself and stretches her limbs. 'You have understood my trouble, ' shesays. 'Now tell me what I am to do. ' 'I feel somewhat diffident atexplaining my remedy, ' replies the doctor, 'But if I had the time andplace, I could ease your fever and cure you utterly. ' As he says this, Radha knows that he is Krishna and this is only another of his recklesswiles designed to bring him near her. 

But it was less in the recording of new incidents than in lyricaldescriptions of Radha and Krishna, their physical charms and ecstaticmeetings, that the poets excelled. 

 i

 Krishna is dancing in a medley of moods and poses. His crown sways, his eye-brows move, Displaying the arts of a clever dancer. The swing of his waist makes his girdle sing And the anklets jingle. One fancies one is listening to the sweet voice of a pair of geese as they touch each other in dalliance. The bangles glitter and the rings and armlets shoot their rays. When with passion he moves his arms, what grace the movements bless! Now he dances after the gait of ladies and now in a manner of his own. The poet's lord is the jewel of the passionate And builds his dance in the depths of ecstasy. [62]

 (Sur Das)

 ii

 With Krishna in their midst the cowherds come to their homes. The calves and cows are ahead, frisking and playing as they go. All the pipes and horns go forth, each his own notes playing. The sound of the flute moves the cows to low as they raise a cloud of dust. The crown of peacocks' feathers glistens on the head like a young moon. The cowherd boys frolic on the path and Krishna in the centre sings his song. Ravished by the sight, the cowgirls pour out their minds and bodies, Gazing on Krishna, quenching their heart's desire. 

 (Sur Das)

 iii

 Radha's glances dart from side to side. Her restless body and clothes are heavy with dust. Her glistening smile shines again and again. Shy, she raises her skirt to her lips. Startled, she stirs and once again is calm, As now she enters the ways of love. Sometimes she gazes at her blossoming breasts Hiding them quickly, then forgetting they are there. Childhood and girlhood melt in one And young and old are both forgotten. Says Vidyapati: O Lord of life, Do you not know the signs of youth?[63]

 (Vidyapati)

 iv

 Each day the breasts of Radha swelled. Her hips grew shapely, her waist more slender. Love's secrets stole upon her eyes. Startled her childhood sought escape. Her plum-like breasts grew large, Harder and crisper, aching for love. Krishna soon saw her as she bathed Her filmy dress still clinging to her breasts, Her tangled tresses falling on her heart, A golden image swathed in yak's tail plumes. Says Vidyapati: O wonder of women, Only a handsome man can long for her. 

 (Vidyapati)

 v

 There was a shudder in her whispering voice. She was shy to frame her words. What has happened tonight to lovely Radha? Now she consents, now she is scared. When asked for love, she closes up her eyes, Eager to reach the ocean of desire. He begs her for a kiss. She turns her mouth away And then, like a night lily, the moon seized her. She felt his touch startling her girdle. She knew her love treasure was being robbed. With her dress she covered up her breasts. The treasure was left uncovered. Vidyapati wonders at the neglected bed. Lovers are busy in each other's arms. 

 (Vidyapati)

 vi

 Awake, Radha, awake Calls the parrot and its love For how long must you sleep, Clasped to the heart of your Dark-stone? Listen. The dawn has come And the red shafts of the sun Are making us shudder. 

 (Vidyapati)

 vii

 Startled, the parrot calls. See those young lovers are still asleep. On a bed of tender leaves His dark figure is lying still. She, the fair one, Looks like a piece of jewelled gold. They have emptied their quivers. All their flower-arrows are discharged, Drowning each other in the joy of love. O lovely Radha, awake. Your friends are going to the temple. Asks Govind Das: Whose business is it To interrupt the ways of love?

 (Govind Das)

In another kind of poem, Radha and Krishna are themselves made tospeak--Krishna, for example, describing his first glimpses of Radha andRadha struggling to evoke in words the ecstasies of their love. 

 viii

 Like stilled lightning her fair face. I saw her by the river, Her hair dressed with jasmine, Plaited like a coiled snake. O friend, I will tell you The secret of my heart. With her darting glances And gentle smiles She made me wild with love. Throwing and catching a ball of flowers, She showed me to the full Her youthful form. Uptilted breasts Peeped from her dress. Her face was bright With taunting smiles. With anklet bells Her feet shone red. Says Chandi Das: Will you see her again?

 (Chandi Das)

 ix

 Listen, O lovely darling, Cease your anger. I promise by the golden pitchers of your breasts And by your necklace-snake, Which now I gather in my hands, If ever I touch anyone but you May your necklace-snake bite me; And if my words do not ring true, Punish me as I deserve. Bind me in your arms, hit me with your thighs, Choke my heart with your milk-swollen breasts, Lock me day and night in the prison of your heart. 

 (Vidyapati)

 x

 Never have I seen such love nor heard of it. Even the eyelids' flutter Holds eternity. Clasped to my breasts, you are far from me. I would keep you as a veil close to my face. I shudder with fright when you turn your eyes away, As one body, we spend the night, Sinking in the deeps of delight. As dawn comes, we see with anxious hearts Life desert us. The very thought breaks my heart. Says Chandi Das: O sweet girl, how I understand. 

 (Chandi Das)

 xi

 O friend, I cannot tell you Whether he was near or far, real or a dream. Like a vine of lightning, As I chained the dark one, felt a river flooding in my heart. Like a shining moon, I devoured that liquid face. I felt stars shooting around me. The sky fell with my dress Leaving my ravished breasts. I was rocking like the earth. In my storming breath I could hear my ankle-bells, Sounding like bees. Drowned in the last-waters of dissolution I knew that this was not the end. Says Vidyapati: How can I possibly believe such nonsense?

 (Vidyapati)

[Footnote 60: Plate 29. ]

[Footnote 61: Plate 35. ]

[Footnote 62: Note 20. ]

[Footnote 63: Note 20. ]

(iv) The Rasika Priya

It is a third development, however, which reveals the insistentattractions of Krishna the divine lover. From about the seventh centuryonwards Indian thinkers had been fascinated by the great variety ofpossible romantic experiences. Writers had classified feminine beauty andcodified the different situations which might arise in the course of aromance. A woman, for example, would be catalogued according as she was'one's own, another's or anyone's' and whether she was young, adolescentor adult. Beauties with adult physiques were divided into unmarried andmarried, while cutting across such divisions was yet another based on theparticular circumstances in which a woman might find herself. Suchcircumstances were normally eight in number--when her husband or lover wason the point of coming and she was ready to receive him; when she wasparted from him and was filled with longing; when he was constant and shewas thus enjoying the calm happiness of stable love; when, for the timebeing, she was estranged due to some quarrel or tiff; when she had beendeceived; when she had gone to meet her lover but had waited in vain, thereby being jilted; when her husband or lover had gone abroad and shewas faced with days of lonely waiting; and finally, when she had left thehouse and gone to meet him. Ladies in situations such as these were knownas _nayikas_ and the text embodying the standard classification was theSanskrit treatise, the _Bharatiya Natya Sastra_. A similar analysis wasmade of men--lovers or _nayakas_ being sometimes divided into fourteendifferent types. 

Until the fourteenth century, such writings were studies in eroticsrather than in literature--the actual situations rather than theirliterary treatment being the authors' prime concern. During the fourteenthcentury, however, questions of literary taste began to be discussed andthere arose a new type of Sanskrit treatise, showing how different kindsof lover should be treated in poetry and illustrating the correctattitudes by carefully chosen verses. In all these writings the standardof reference was human passion. The lovers of poetry might bear only aslight relation to lovers in real life. Many of the situations envisagedmight rarely, if ever, occur. It was sufficient that granted somefavourable accident, some chance suspension of normal circumstances, lovers could be imagined as acting in these special ways. 

It is out of this critical literature that our new development springs. Asvernacular languages were used for poetry, problems of Hindi compositionbegan to dwarf those of Sanskrit. It was necessary to discuss how best totreat each _nayika_ and _nayaka_ not only in Sanskrit but in Hindi poetryalso, and to meet this situation Keshav Das, the poet of Orchha inBundelkhand, produced in 1591 his _Rasika Priya_. Here all the standardsituations were once again examined, _nayikas_ and _nayakas_ were newlydistinguished and verses illustrating their appropriate treatments weresystematically included. The book differed, however, in two important waysfrom any of its predecessors. It was written in Hindi, Keshav Das himselfsupplying both poems and commentary and what was even more significant, the _nayaka_ or lover was portrayed not as any ordinary well-bred youngman but as Krishna himself. [64] As a girl waits at the tryst it is not foran ordinary lover but for Krishna that Keshav Das depicts her as longing. 

'Is he detained by work? Is he loath to leave his friends? Has he had aquarrel? Is his body uneasy? Is he afraid when he sees the rainy dark? OKrishna, Giver of Bliss, why do you not come?'[65]

As a girl waits by her bed looking out through her door, it is theprospect of Krishna's arrival--not of an ordinary lover's--that makes herhappy. 

'As she runs, her blue dress hides her limbs. She hears the wind rufflingthe trees and the birds shifting in the night. She thinks it must be he. How she longs for love, watching for Krishna like a bird in a cage. '

When the lover arrives at dawn, having failed to come in the night, thegirl (another _nayika_, 'one who has been deceived') upbraids Krishna forwandering about like a crow, picking up worthless grains of rice, wastinghis hours in bad company and ruining houses by squatting in them like anowl. 

Similarly when a married girl sits longing for her husband's return, hercompanion comments not on an ordinary husband's conduct but on that ofKrishna. 'He said he would not be long. "I shall be back, " he said, "assoon as I have had my meal. " But now it is hours since he went. Why doeshe sit beside them and no one urge him to go? Does he know that her eyesare wet with tears, that she is crying her heart out because he does notcome?'

Krishna, in fact, is here regarded as resuming in himself all possibleromantic experiences. He is no longer merely the cowherd lover or the heroprince, the central figure of a sacred narrative. Neither is he merely oronly the lover of Radha. He is deemed to know love from every angle andthus to sanctify all modes of passionate behaviour. He is love itself. 

Such a development concludes the varied phases through which the characterof Krishna has passed. The cowherd lover supersedes the hero prince. Radhabecomes all in all, yet touches of Krishna's princely majesty remainthroughout. Even as a cowherd Krishna shows an elegance and poise whichbetrays his different origin. And in the _Rasika Priya_ it is once againhis courtly aura which determines his new role. A blend of prince andcowherd, Krishna ousts from poetry the courtly lovers who previously hadseemed the acme of romance. Adoration of God acquires the grace and charmof courtly loving, passionate sensuality all the refinement and nobilityof a spiritual religion. It is out of all these varied texts that theKrishna of Indian painting now emerges. 

[Footnote 64: Plate 28. ]

[Footnote 65: Note 21. ]

VI

THE KRISHNA OF PAINTING

Indian pictures of Krishna confront us with a series of difficultproblems. The most exalted expressions of the theme are mainly fromKangra, a large Hindu state within the Punjab Hills. [66] It was here thatKrishna, the cowherd lover, was most fully celebrated. Pictures wereproduced in large numbers and the Kangra style with its delicaterefinement exactly mirrored the enraptured poetry of the later cult. Thispainting was due entirely to a particular Kangra ruler, Raja Sansar Chand(1775-1823)--his delight in painting causing him to spare no cost inre-creating the Krishna idyll in exquisite terms. Elsewhere, however, conditions varied. At the end of the sixteenth century, it was not a Hindubut a Muslim ruler who commissioned the greatest illustrations of thestory. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Hindu patrons were therule but in certain states it was junior members of the ruling familyrather than the Raja himself who worshipped Krishna. Sometimes it was notthe ruling family but members of the merchant community who sponsored theartists and, occasionally, it was even a pious lady or devout princess whoserved as patron. Such differences of stimulus had vital effects and, as aconsequence, while the cult of Krishna came increasingly to enthrall thenorthern half of India, its expression in art was the reverse of neat andorderly. Where a patron was so imbued with love for Krishna that adorationof the cowherd lover preceded all, the intensity of his feeling itselfevoked a new style. There then resulted the Indian equivalent of picturesby El Greco, Grunewald or Altdorfer--paintings in which the artist's ownreligious emotions were the direct occasion of a new manner. In othercases, the patron might adhere to Krishna, pay him nominal respect or takea moderate pleasure in his story but not evince a burning enthusiasm. Insuch cases, paintings of Krishna would still be produced but the stylewould merely repeat existing conventions. The pictures which resultedwould then resemble German paintings of the Danube or Cologneschools--pictures in which the artist applied an already mature style to areligious theme but did not originate a fresh mode of expression. Whetherthe greatest art resulted from the first or second method wasproblematical for the outcome depended as much on the nature of the stylesas on the artist's powers. In considering Indian pictures of Krishna, then, we must be prepared for sudden fluctuations in expression and abruptdifferences of style and quality. Adoration of Krishna was to prove one ofthe most vital elements in village and courtly life. It was to capture theimagination of Rajput princes and to lead to some of the most intimaterevelations of the Indian mind. Yet in art its expression was to hoverbetween the crude and the sensitive, the savage and the exquisite. It wasto stimulate some of the most delicate Indian pictures ever painted and, at the same time, some of the most forceful. 

The first pictures of Krishna to be painted in India fall within thissecond category. In about 1450, one version of the _Gita Govinda_ and twoof the _Balagopala Stuti_ were produced in Western India. [67] They weredoubtless made for middle-class patrons and were executed in Western Indiafor one important reason. Dwarka, the scene of Krishna's life as a prince, and Prabhasa, the scene of the final slaughter, were both in WesternIndia. Both had already become centres of pilgrimage and although Jayadevahad written his great poem far to the East, on the other side of India, pilgrims had brought copies with them while journeying from Bengal onvisits to the sites. The _Gita Govinda_ of Jayadeva had become in fact asmuch a Western Indian text as the _Balagopala Stuti_ of Bilvamangala. Withmanuscript illustrations being already produced in Western India--but not, so far as we know, elsewhere--it was not unnatural that the firstillustrated versions of these poems should be painted here. And it isthese circumstances which determined their style. Until the fifteenthcentury the chief manuscripts illustrated in Western India were Jainscriptures commissioned by members of the merchant community. Jainism hadoriginated in the sixth century B. C. As a parallel movement to Buddhism. It had proved more accommodating to Hinduism, and when Buddhism hadcollapsed in Western India in the ninth century A. D. , Jainism hadcontinued as a local variant of Hinduism proper. Jain manuscripts had atfirst consisted of long rectangular strips made of palm-leaves on whichthe scriptures were written in heavy black letters. Each slip was roughlythree inches wide and ten long and into the text had been inserted leandiagrammatic paintings either portraying Mahavira, the founder of thecult, or illustrating episodes in his earthly career. 

About 1400, palm-leaf was superseded by paper and from then onwardsmanuscripts were given slightly larger pages. Owing partly to theirassociation with the same religious order and partly to their constantduplication, Jain manuscripts had early conformed to a certain rigid type. The painting was marked by lean and wiry outlines, brilliant red and blueand above all by an air of savage ferocity expressed through the idiom offaces shown three-quarter view with the farther eye detached andprojecting into space. This style was exercised almost exclusively on Jainsubjects and in the year 1400 it was the main style of painting in WesternIndia and Raj as than. 

During the fifteenth century, this exclusive character gradually weakened. There arose the idea that besides Jain scriptures, secular poetry mightalso be illustrated and along with the growing devotion to Krishna as Godcame the demand for illustrated versions of Krishna texts. The three textswe have just mentioned are due to this tendency. All three are illustratedin the prevailing Jain style with its spiky angular idioms and all threehave the same somewhat sinister air of barbarous frenzy. At the same time, all disclose a partial loosening of the rigid wiry convention, a moreboisterous rhythm and a slightly softer treatment of trees and animals;and, although no very close correlation is possible, the theme itself maywell have helped to precipitate these important changes. 

Between 1450 and 1575, Western Indian painting continued to focus on Jainthemes, adulterated to only a very slight extent by subjects drawn frompoetry. It is possible that the Krishna story was also illustrated, but noexamples have survived; and it is not until the very end of the sixteenthcentury that the Krishna theme again appears in painting and then in twodistinct forms. The first is represented by a group of threemanuscripts--two of them dated respectively 1598[68] and 1610[69] andconsisting of the tenth book of the _Bhagavata Purana_, the third beingyet another illustration of the _Gita Govinda[70]_. All three sets ofillustrations are in a closely similar style--a style which, whilepossessing roots in Jain painting is now considerably laxer and moresprawling. The faces are no longer shown three-quarter view, the detachedobtruding eye has gone and in place of the early sharpness there is now acertain slovenly crudity. We do not know for whom these manuscripts weremade nor even in what particular part of Western India or Rajasthan theywere executed. They were clearly not produced in any great centre ofpainting and can hardly have been commissioned by a prince or merchant ofmuch aesthetic sensibility. They prove, however, that a demand forillustrated versions of the Krishna story was persisting and suggest thateven prosperous traders may perhaps have acted as patrons. 

The second type is obviously the product of far more sophisticatedinfluences. It is once again a copy of the _Gita Govinda_ and was probablyexecuted in about 1590 in or near Jaunpur in Eastern India. As early as1465, a manuscript of the leading Jain scripture, the _Kalpasutra_, hadbeen executed at Jaunpur for a wealthy merchant. [71] Its style wasbasically Western Indian, yet being executed in an area so far to theeast, it also possessed certain novelties of manner. The heads were moresquarely shaped, the eyes larger in proportion to the face, the ladies'drapery fanning out in great angular swirls. The bodies' contours werealso delineated with exquisitely sharp precision. The court at the timewas that of Hussain Shah, a member of the marauding Muslim dynasties whichsince the twelfth century had enveloped Northern India; and it is possiblydue to persistent Muslim influence that painting revived in the last twodecades of the sixteenth century. Illustrated versions of passionate lovepoetry were executed[72] and as part of the same vogue for poetic romance, the _Gita Govinda_ may once again have been illustrated. [73] Between thestyle of these later pictures and that of the Jain text of 1465, there aresuch clear affinities that the same local tradition is obviouslyresponsible. Yet the new group of paintings has a distinctive elegance allits own. As in the previous group, the detached projecting eye has gone. Each situation is treated with a slashing boldness. There is no longer asense of cramping detail and the flat red backgrounds of Western Indianpainting infuse the settings with hot passion. But it is the treatment ofthe feminine form which charges the pictures with sophisticated charm. Thelarge breasts, the sweeping dip in the back, the proud curve of thehaunches, the agitated jutting-out of the skirts, all these convey an airof vivid sensual charm. That Radha and Krishna should be portrayed in socivilized a manner is evidence of the power which the Krishna story hadcome to exercise on courtly minds. Krishna is portrayed not as God but asthe most elegant of lovers, Radha and the cowgirls as the very embodimentof fashionable women. 

Jaunpur painting does not seem to have survived the sixteenth century andfor our next illustrations of the theme, we must turn to the school ofpainting fostered by the Mughals. During the sixteenth century at leastthree Muslim states other than Jaunpur itself had possessed schools ofpainting--Malwa in Central India and Bijapur and Ahmadnagar in the Deccan. Their styles can best be regarded as Indian offshoots of a Persian mode ofpainting which was current in the Persian province of Shiraz in about theyear 1500. In this style, known as Turkman, the flat figures of previousPersian painting were set in landscapes of rich and glowing herbage, plants and trees being rendered with wild and primitive vigour. In eachcase the style was probably brought to India by Persian artists whocommunicated it to Indian painters or themselves adjusted it to localconditions. And it is this process which was repeated but on an altogethergrander scale by the Muslim dynasty of the Mughals. Under the emperorAkbar (1556-1605), the Mughals absorbed the greater part of NorthernIndia, concentrating in one imperial court more power and wealth than hadprobably been amassed at any previous time in India. Among Akbar'scultural institutions was a great imperial library for which a colony ofartists was employed in illustrating manuscripts in Persian. The foundersof this colony were Persian and it is once again a local style of Persianpainting which forms the starting point. This style is no longer theTurkman style of Shiraz but a later style--a local version of Safavidpainting as current in Khurasan. With its lively and delicate naturalismit not only corresponded to certain predilections of the emperor Akbarhimself, but seems also to have appealed to Indian artists recruited tothe colony. Its representational finesse made it an ideal medium fortranscribing the Indian scene and the appearance at the court of Europeanminiatures, themselves highly naturalistic, stimulated this characterstill further. The result was the sudden rise in India, between 1570 and1605, of a huge new school of painting, exquisitely representational inmanner and committed to a new kind of Indian naturalism. Such a school, the creation of an alien Muslim dynasty, would at first sight seemunlikely to produce illustrations of Hindu religion. Its main function wasto illustrate works of literature, science and contemporary history--afunction which resulted in such grandiose productions as the _Akbarnama_or Annals of Akbar, now preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum. [74]None the less there are two ways in which Mughal painting, as developedunder Akbar, contributed to the Krishna story. Akbar, although a Muslim bybirth, was keenly interested in all religions and in his dealings with theRajputs had shown himself markedly tolerant. He desired to minimise thehatred of Muslims for Hindus and believing it to arise from mutualignorance, ordained that certain Hindu texts should be translated intoPersian and thus rendered more accessible. The texts chosen were the twoepics, the _Ramayana_ and the _Mahabharata_, and of these Persianabridgements were duly prepared. The abridgement of the _Mahabharata_, known as the _Razmnama_, was probably completed in 1588 but illustratedcopies, including the great folios now in the palace library at Jaipur, were probably not completed before 1595. As part of the project, itsappendix, the _Harivansa_ was also summarized and a separate volume withfourteen illustrations all concerned with Krishna is part of the greatversion now at Jaipur. [75] In these illustrations, it is Krishna theprince who is chiefly shown, all the pictures illustrating his careerafter he has left the cowherds. There is no attempt to stress his romanticqualities or to present him as a lover. He appears rather as the greatfighter, the slayer of demons. Such a portrayal is what we might perhapsexpect from a Mughal edition. None the less the paintings are remarkableinterpretations, investing Krishna with an air of effortless composure, and exalting his princely grace. The style is notable for its use ofsmoothly flowing outlines and gentle shading, and although there is nodirect connection, it is these characteristics which were later to beembodied in the Hindu art of the Punjab Hills. 

Such interest by the Emperor may well have spurred Hindu members of thecourt to have other texts illustrated for, ten to fifteen years later, inperhaps 1615, a manuscript of the _Gita Govinda_ was produced, itsillustrations possessing a certain fairy-like refinement. [76] Krishna in aflowing dhoti wanders in meadows gay with feathered trees while Radha andher confidante appear in Mughal garb. Romance is hardly evident for it isthe scene itself with its rustic prettiness which is chiefly stressed. Yetthe patron by whom this version was commissioned may well have felt thatit was sensitively rendered and within its minor compass expressed tosome extent the magical enchantment distilled by the verses. That theEmperor's stimulus survived his death is plain; for in about the year1620, two manuscripts of the _Bhagavata Purana_ appeared--both in a styleof awkward crudity in which the idioms of Akbar's school of artists wereconsciously aped. [77] The manuscripts in question are at Bikaner and it ispossible that one or two inferior Mughal artists, deprived of work at thecentral court, travelled out to this northerly Rajput state, daring thedesert, and there produced these vapid works. It is likely that in theearly years of the seventeenth century, many areas of India possessed noartists whatsoever and if a Hindu ruler was to copy Mughal fashion, theonly artists available to him might be those of an inferior rank. Andalthough exact data are wanting, such circumstances may well explainanother document of Krishna, the first illustrated version of Keshav Das's_Rasika Priya_. [78] As we have seen, this poem was composed at Orchha inBundelkhand in 1591, at a time when both poet and court were in closeassociation with Akbar. Yet the version in question shows the samepoverty-stricken manner with its crude aping of imperial idioms and utterlack of sensitive expression. There is no evidence that at this timeBundelkhand possessed its own school of painting and in consequence themost likely explanation is that yet another inferior artist trained in theearly Mughal manner, migrated to the court and there produced this crudeprosaic version. In none of these provincial Mughal pictures is there anyfeeling for Krishna as God or even as a character. The figures have awooden doll-like stiffness, parodying by their evident jerkiness theexquisite emotions intended by the poet and we can only assume thatimpressed by the imperial example minor rulers or nobles encouragedstruggling practitioners but in an atmosphere far removed from that of thegreat emperor. 

Such paintings in a broken-down Akbari manner characterize the period 1615to 1630. From then onwards Mughal painting, as it developed under theemperor Shah Jahan, concentrated on more courtly themes. The earlyinterest in dramatic action disappeared and the demand for costlymanuscripts, sumptuously illustrated, withered up. Under Aurangzeb, tolerant understanding gave way to a vicious proselytism and it was onlyin remote centres such as Bikaner that later Mughal artists exercisedtheir style on Krishna themes. It is significant that at Bikaner theirleader was a Muslim, Ruknuddin, and that his chief work was a series ofpictures illustrating the _Rasika Priya_. [79] His figures have a shallowprettiness of manner, stamping them once again as products of a stylewhich, in its earliest phases, was admirably suited to recording dramaticaction but which had little relevance to either religion or romance. Forthese a more poetic and symbolic manner was necessary and such a styleappeared in the city of Udaipur in the Rajput State of Mewar. 

Painting at Udaipur is inseparably associated with the influence of twogreat rulers--Rana Jagat Singh (1628-1652) and Rana Raj Singh (1652-1681)As early as 1605 pictures had been produced at the State's former capital, Chawand--the artist being a Muhammadan named Nasiruddin. His style wasobviously quite independent of any Mughal influence and it is rather tothe separate tradition of painting which had grown up in Malwa that wemust look for its salient qualities--a tensely rhythmical line, aflamboyant use of strong emphatic colours, vigorous simplifications andboldly primitive idioms for plants and trees. It is this style whichthirty or forty years later comes to luxuriant maturity in a series ofillustrations executed at Udaipur. [80] Although the artists responsibleincluded a Muslim, Shahabaddin, and a Hindu, Manohar, it is the Krishnatheme itself which seems to have evoked this marvellous efflorescence. Rana Jagat Singh was clearly a devout worshipper whose faithful adhesionto Rajput standards found exhilarating compensations in Krishna's role aslover. Keshav Das's _Rasika Priya_ achieved the greatest popularity at hiscourt--its blend of reverent devotion and ecstatic passion fulfilling someof the deepest Rajput needs. Between the years 1645 and 1660 thereaccordingly occurred a systematic production not only of picturesillustrating this great poetic text but of the various books in the_Bhagavata Purana_ most closely connected with Krishna's career. Krishnais shown as a Rajput princeling dressed in fashionable garb, threading hisway among the cowgirls, pursuing his amorous inclinations and practisingwith artless guile the seductive graces of a courtly lover. Each picturehas a passionate intensity--its rich browns and reds, greens and bluesendowing its characters with glowing fervour, while Krishna and thecowgirls, with their sharp robust forms and great intent eyes, display abrusque vitality and an eager rapturous vigour. A certain simplificationof structure--each picture possessing one or more rectangularcompartments--enhances this effect while the addition of swirling treesstudded with flowers imbues each wild encounter with a surging vegetativerhythm. Krishna is no longer the tepid well-groomed youth of Mughaltradition, but a vigorous Rajput noble expressing with decorous vehemenceall the violent longings denied expression by the Rajput moral code. Suchpictures have a lyrical splendour, a certain wild elation quite distinctfrom previous Indian painting and we can only explain these new stylisticqualities by reference to the cult of Krishna himself. The realizationthat Krishna was adorable, that his practice of romantic love was asublime revelation of Godhead and that in his worship lay release is themotive force behind these pictures and the result is a new styletranscending in its rhythmical assurance and glowing ardour all previousachievements. 

Such an outburst of painting could hardly leave other areas unaffected andin the closing quarter of the seventeenth century, not only Bundi, theRajput State immediately adjoining Udaipur to the east, but Malwa, thewild hilly area farther south east, witnessed a renaissance of painting. At Bundi, the style was obviously a direct development from that ofUdaipur itself--the idioms for human figures and faces as well as theglowing colours being clearly based on Udaipur originals. At the sametime, a kind of sumptuous luxuriance, a predilection for greens andoranges in brilliant juxtaposition, a delight in natural profusion and theuse of recessions, shading and round volumes give each picture adistinctive aura. [81] In Malwa, on the other hand, the earlier traditionseems to have undergone a new resuscitation. Following various wars inMiddle India, the former Muslim kingdom had been divided into fiefs--somebeing awarded to Rajput nobles of loyalty and valour. The result was yetanother style of painting--comparable in certain ways to that of Bundi andUdaipur yet markedly original in its total effect. In place of tightlygeometrical compositions, Malwa artists preferred a more fluid grouping, their straining luxuriant trees blending with swaying creepers to create asoft meandering rhythm and only the human figures, with their sharply cutveils and taut intense faces, expressing the prevailing cult of frenziedpassion. [82] Such schools of painting reflected the Rajput need forpassionate romance rather than any specially strong adhesion to Krishna, the divine lover. Although one copy of the _Rasika Priya_ and one of the_Bhagavata Purana_ were executed at both these centres, their chiefsubjects were the _ragas_ and _raginis_ (the thirty-six modes of Indianmusic) _nayakas_ and _nayikas_ (the ideal lovers) and _barahmasas_ (thetwelve months) while in the case of Malwa, there was the added theme ofSanskrit love-poetry. Krishna the god was rarely celebrated and it wasrather as 'the best of lovers' that he was sometimes introduced intopictures. In a Bundi series depicting the twelve months, courtly loversare shown sitting in a balcony watching a series of rustic incidentsproceeding below. The lover, however, is not an ordinary prince butKrishna himself, his blue skin and royal halo leaving no possible doubt asto his real identity. [83] Similarly in paintings illustrating thecharacter and personality of musical modes, Krishna was often introducedas the perfect embodiment of passionate loving. None of the poemsaccompanying the modes make any allusion to him. Indeed, their primepurpose is to woo the presiding genius of the melody and suggest thevisual scene most likely to evoke its spirit. The musical mode, _BhairavaRaga_, for example, was actually associated with Siva, yet because thecharacter of the music suggested furious passion the central figure of thelover dallying with a lady was depicted as Krishna. [84] In _Hindola Raga_, a mode connected with swinging, a similar result ensued. Swinging inIndian sentiment was normally associated with the rains and these in turnevoked 'memory and desire. ' The character of the music was thereforevisualized as that of a young prince swinging in the rain--his verymovements symbolizing the act of love. Since Krishna, however, was theperfect lover, nothing was easier than to portray _Hindola Raga_ asKrishna himself. _Hindola_ might be invoked in the poem, but it wasKrishna who appeared seated on the swing. [85] An exactly similar processoccurred in the case of _Megh Mallar Raga_. This was connected with therainy season, yet because rain and storm were symbolic of sex, _MeghMallar_ was portrayed not as a separate figure, but as Krishna once againdancing in the rain with ladies accompanying him. Even feminine modes ofmusic suffered the same kind of transformation. _Vasanta Ragini_, 'themusic of springtime, ' was normally apostrophized as a lovely lady, yetbecause springtime suggested lovers, she was shown in painting as if shewere Krishna dancing with a vase of flowers, holding a wand in his hand orcelebrating the spring fertility festival. The mode, _Pancham Ragini_, wasalso feminine in character and was conceived of as a beauty enjoying herlover's advances. The lady herself was portrayed, yet once again Krishnawas introduced, this time as her lover. In all these cases the celebrationof Krishna was incidental to the main theme and only in one instance--aMalwa _Rasika Priya_--is there a trace of undisguised adoration. In thislovely series, [86] Krishna's enchantment is perfectly suggested by theflowering trees which wave above him, the style acquiring an even moreintense lyricism on account of its divine subject. 

During the eighteenth century, painting in Rajasthan became increasinglysecular, even artists of Udaipur devoting themselves almost exclusively toscenes of court life. The Ranas and the Mewar nobility were depictedhunting in the local landscape, watching elephant fights or moving inprocession. Similar fashions prevailed in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Bundi and Kotah. Only, in fact, in two Rajasthan States and then for onlybrief periods was there any major celebration of the Krishna theme. AtKishangarh, a small State midway between Ajmer and Jaipur, a series ofintensely poetic paintings were produced between the years 1750 and1760--the prime stimulus being the delight of Raja Sawant Singh inKrishna's romance. [87] Born in 1699, Sawant Singh had ascended the thronein 1748 and given all his time to three activities, the rapturousre-living of Krishna's romance with Radha, the composition of ecstaticpoems and the daily worship of Krishna as lover god. So great was hisdevotion that in 1757 he abandoned the throne and taking with him hisfavourite maid of honour, the beautiful poetess, Bani Thani, retired toBrindaban where he died in 1764. Sawant Singh's delight seems to have beenshared by a local artist, Nihal Chand, for under the Raja's direction heproduced a number of pictures in which Radha and Krishna sustained theleading roles. The pictures were mainly illustrations of Sawant Singh'sown poems--the lovers being portrayed at moments of blissful wonder, drifting on a lake in a scarlet boat, watching fireworks cascading downthe sky or gently dallying in a marble pavilion. 

 Here is Love's enchanted zone Here Time and the Firmament stand still Here the Bride and Bridegroom Never can grow old. Here the fountains never cease to play And the night is ever young. [88]

Nihal Chand's style was eminently fitted to express this mood of sensitiveadoration. Originally trained in the later Mughal style, he was able torender appearances with exquisite delicacy but was also acutely aware ofrhythmical elegance. And it is this which constantly characterized hiswork, his greatest achievement being the creation of a local manner forportraying Radha and Krishna. [89] Radha was endowed with great archedeyebrows and long eyes--the end of the eye being tilted so as to join thedownward sweeping line of the eyebrow while Krishna was given a slenderreceding forehead and narrow waist. Each was made to seem the acme ofelegance and the result was a conception of Krishna and his love as thevery embodiment of aristocratic breeding. 

The same sense of aristocratic loveliness is conveyed by a scene ofdancing figures almost life size in the palace library at Jaipur. [90]Painted under Raja Pratap Singh (1779-1803) the picture shows ladies ofthe palace impersonating Radha and Krishna dancing together attended bygirl musicians. [91] Against a pale green background, the figures, dressedin greenish yellow, pale greyish blue and the purest white, posture withcalm assured grace, while the pure tones and exquisite line-work investthe scene with gay and luminous clarity. We do not know the circumstancesin which this great picture was painted but the existence of anotherlarge-scale picture portraying the circular dance--the lines of cowgirlsrevolving like flowers, with Radha and Krishna swaying in theirmidst--suggests that the Krishna theme had once again inflamed a Rajputruler's imagination. [92]

Such groups of paintings are, at most, exquisite exceptions and it israther in the Rajput states of the Punjab Hills--an area remote and quitedistinct from Rajasthan--that the theme of Krishna the divine loverreceived its most enraptured expression in the eighteenth century. Untilthe second half of the seventeenth century this stretch of countrybordering the Western Himalayas seems to have had no kind of paintingwhatsoever. In 1678, however, Raja Kirpal Pal inherited the tiny state ofBasohli and almost immediately a new artistic urge became apparent. Pictures were produced on a scale comparable to that of Udaipur thirtyyears earlier and at the same time a local style of great emotionalintensity makes its sudden appearance. [93] This new Basohli style, withits flat planes of brilliant green, brown, red, blue and orange, itssavage profiles and great intense eyes has obvious connections withUdaipur paintings of the 1650-60 period. And although exact historicalproof is still wanting, the most likely explanation is that under Rana RajSingh some Udaipur artists were persuaded to migrate to Basohli. We knowthat Rajput rulers in the Punjab Hills were often connected by marriagewith Rajput families in Rajasthan and it is therefore possible that duringa visit to Udaipur, Raja Kirpal Pal recruited his atelier. Udaipurpainting, however, can hardly have been the only source for even in itsearliest examples Basohli painting has a smooth polish, a savagesophistication and a command of shading which suggests the influence ofthe Mughal style of Delhi. We must assume, in fact, a series of influencesdetermined to a great extent by Raja Kirpal Pal's political contacts, hisprivate journeys and individual taste, but perhaps above all by an urge toexpress his feelings for Krishna in a novel and personal manner. Theresult is not only a new style but a special choice of subject-matter. The_Rasika Priya_ and the _Bhagavata Purana_, the texts so greatly favouredat Udaipur, were discarded and in their place Basohli artists produced aseries of isolated scenes from Krishna's life--the child Krishna stealingbutter, [94] Krishna the gallant robbing the cowgirls or exacting toll, Krishna extinguishing the forest-fire, [95] Krishna the violent loverdevouring Radha with hungry eyes. Their greatest achievements, however, were two versions of Bhanu Datta's _Rasamanjari_, one of them completed in1695, [96] shortly after Raja Kirpal Pal's death, the other almostcertainly fifteen years earlier. [97] The text in question is a treatise onpoetics illustrating how romantic situations should best be treated inSanskrit poetry--the conduct of mature mistresses, experienced lovers, slygo-betweens, clowns or jokers being all subjected to analysis. [98] Thesubject of the text is secular romantic poetry and Krishna himself isnever mentioned. None the less, in producing their illustrations, theartists made Krishna the central figure and we can only conclude thateschewing the obvious _Rasika Priya_, Raja Kirpal Pal had directed hisartists to do for Sanskrit what Keshav Das had done for Hindi poetry--tocelebrate Krishna as the most varied and skilled of lovers and as acorollary show him in a whole variety of romantic and poetic situations. As a result Krishna was portrayed in a number of highly conflictingroles--as husband, rake, seducer, paramour and gallant. 

In one picture he is 'a gallant whose word cannot be trusted' and we seehim in the act of delicately disengaging a lady's dress and gazing at herwith passion-haunted eyes. The poem on the reverse runs as follows:

 Showing her a beautiful girdle Drawing on a fair panel with red chalk Putting a bracelet on her wrists And laying a necklace on her breasts Winning the confidence of the fawn-eyed lady of fair brows He slyly loosens the knot of her skirt Below the girdle-stead, with naughty hand. [99]

In another picture, he appears as 'a gallant well versed in the ways ofcourtesans, ' the dreaded seducer of inexperienced girls. He is now shownapproaching a formal pavilion, set in a lonely field. Inside the pavilionis the lovely object of his attack, sitting with a companion, knowing thatwilly-nilly she must shortly yield yet timidly making show of maidenlyreserve. 

 His swollen heart Knows neither shame nor pity Nor any fear of anger How can such a tender bud as I Be cast into his hands today?[100]

In yet a third picture, he is portrayed standing outside a house while thelady, the subject of his passions, sits within. He is once again 'a falsegallant, ' his amorous intentions being shown by the orange, a conventionalsymbol for the breasts, poised lightly in his hand. As the lady turns togreet him, she puts a dot in the circle which she has just drawn on thewall--a gesture which once again contains a hint of sex. On the picture'sreverse the poem records a _conversation galante_. 

 'Beloved, what are you doing With a golden orange in your hand?' So said the moon-faced one Placing a dot On the bright circles Painted in the house. [101]

In other pictures, a clown or jester appears, introducing a witty jokingelement into the scene and thus presenting Krishna's attitude to love asall-inclusive. 

From 1693, the year of Raja Kirpal's death, painting at Basohliconcentrated mainly on portraying rulers and on illustrating _ragas_ and_raginis_--the poems which interpreted the moods and spirit of music. Thestyle maintained its fierce intensity but there was now a gradual roundingof faces and figures, leading to a slight softening of the former brusquevigour. Devotion to Krishna does not seem to have bulked quite so largelyin the minds of later Basohli rulers, although the cult itself may wellhave continued to exert a strong emotional appeal. In 1730, a Basohliprincess, the lady Manaku, commissioned a set of illustrations to the_Gita Govinda_ and Krishna's power to enchant not only the male but alsothe female mind was once again demonstrated. [102]

This series of illustrations is in some ways a turning point in Indianpainting for not only was it to serve as a model and inspiration to laterartists but its production brings to a close the most creative phase inBasohli art. After 1730, painting continued to be practised there but nolonger with the same fervour. Basohli artists seem to have carried thestyle to other states--to Guler, Jammu, Chamba, Kulu, Nurpur andBilaspur--but it is not until 1770 that the Krishna theme again comes intoprominence. In about this year, artists from Guler migrated to the distantGarhwal, a large and straggling state at the far south of the PunjabHills, taking with them a style of exquisite naturalism which hadgradually reached maturity under the Guler ruler, Raja GovardhanSingh. [103] During his reign, a family of Kashmiri Brahmans skilled in theMughal technique had joined his court and had there absorbed a newromantic outlook. On at least three occasions they had illustrated scenesfrom the _Bhagavata Purana_--Nanda celebrating Krishna's birth, [104]Krishna rescuing Nanda from the python which had started to devour hisfoot, [105] and finally the game of blind man's bluff[106]--but their chiefsubject had been the tender enchantments of courtly love. Ladies wereportrayed longing for their lovers. The greatest emphasis was placed onelegance of pose. Fierce distortions were gradually discarded and the wholepurpose of painting was to dwell on exquisite figures and to suggest a raptdevotion to the needs of love. 

It is this suavely delicate art which now appears in Garhwal. Among theGuler painters was a master-artist and although his first Garhwal picturesare concerned with passionate romance, devotion to Krishna quicklybecomes apparent. [107] The great Alaknanda River which roared throughSrinagar, the capital, had a special fascination for him and just asLeonardo da Vinci evinced at one time a passionate interest in springingcurls, the Guler artist found a special excitement in winding eddies anddashing water. The result was a sudden new interpretation of the Krishnatheme. In two pictures where Krishna is shown quelling the snakeKaliya, [108] all the Guler qualities of elegant naturalism are abundantlypresent. Each figure has a smooth suavity and in every face there appearsa look of calm adoration. It is the swirling, curling water, however, which gives the pictures their special Garhwal quality. The play of waterevokes a melody of line and the result is a sense of upsurging joy. Asimilar religious exaltation marks other pictures by this master. At sometime he appears to have been commissioned to illustrate the tale of Sudamathe poor Brahman whose tattered hovel is changed by Krishna into a goldenpalace. He was evidently assisted by a weaker painter but in the pictureswhich are clearly his own work, the same quality of lyrical incantationappears. As Sudama journeys to Dwarka Krishna's golden city, his heartswoons with adoration, the hills, trees and ocean appear to dance abouthim and once again, the linear music of the composition engenders afeeling of supreme ecstasy. [109] We do not know which member of the Garhwalcourt acted as his patron--it is even possible that it was not the rulerhimself but his consort, the Guler princess whom he had married in aboutthe year 1770. What, at any rate, is clear is that at least one livelyadorer of Krishna existed at the Garhwal court and that until the Gurkhainvasions of 1803, there were other painters, besides the master-artist, who were similarly encouraged to interpret the Krishna theme. [110] Theirstyle was clearly influenced by that of the master but in their use ofslender leafless branches and towering spikes of blossom, they developed aspecial Garhwal imagery designed to suggest the slender beauty oflove-enchanted girls. After the expulsion of the Gurkhas in 1816, a newRaja revived Garhwal painting. Krishna the lover was once again portrayedand until the middle of the nineteenth century, pictures continued to beproduced blending the delights of courtly passion with adoration of God. 

It was in the state of Kangra, however, that the greatest developmentsoccurred. In 1775, the young Sansar Chand became Raja, and despite hisextreme youth, quickly acquired mastery of the Kangra court. It isunlikely that artists were immediately summoned, but certainly by 1780 aflourishing school of painters had come into existence. [111] As at Garhwal, the artists of Kangra came originally from Guler and thus a similarphenomenon arises--the Guler manner providing the basis for yet a secondgreat style. Sansar Chand was obviously quite exceptional, for not onlywas he successful in politics and war, but from his early manhood wasdevoted to Krishna as lover god. And it is this all-absorbing interestwhich explains the vast expansion of painting which now occurred. UnderSansar Chand's stimulus artists began to portray every situation involvingKrishna, the cowherd. He was shown as a baby crying for the moon, beingwashed by his foster-mother, Yasoda, or mischievously breaking pitchersfull of curds. He would be painted strolling with the cowherds, playing onhis flute, or bringing the cattle home at evening. But the main theme towhich the artists constantly returned was his main cowgirl love. Radhawould be shown standing with Krishna in the forest, gazing trustfully intohis eyes, seeking shelter with him from the rain or sitting with him by astream. [112] Sometimes she and the cowgirls were shown celebrating thespring festival of Holi, Krishna syringing them with tinted water whilethey themselves strove to return his onslaughts by throwing redpowder. [113] Often the scene would shift from the forest to the village, and Krishna would then be shown gazing at Radha as she dried herself afterbathing or squatted in a courtyard cooking food. At other times heappeared assisting her at her toilet, helping her to dress her hair orapplying a beauty mark to her forehead. If the scene was night itself, Radha would be shown sitting in her chamber, while far away across thecourtyards and gardens would loom the small figure of Krishna waitinglonely on a bed. Occasionally the lovers would be portrayed expressingtheir rapture by means of simple gestures. Krishna's arm would be shownplaced lovingly around Radha's shoulders, or Radha herself would beportrayed hiding her head on Krishna's breast. [114] In all these pictures, the style had an innocent and exquisite clarity, suggesting by its simpleunaffected naturalism the artists' delight in Krishna's character, theirappreciation of the feminine mind, their sense of sex as inherently nobleand their association of romance with God himself. 

It is in a series of illustrations to certain texts, however, that Kangrapainting reaches its greatest heights. Among the many artists employed bySansar Chand, a certain Purkhu was notable for his 'remarkable clearnessof tone and delicacy of handling, '[115] and though none of his pictures aresigned it is these qualities which characterize one of the two most famoussets of illustrations executed in Kangra. The subject was the tenth bookof the _Bhagavata Purana_ and the scenes illustrated ranged from Krishna'sbirth and adventures with demons to his frolics with the cowgirls andfinal slaughter of Kansa. Purkhu's style--if Purkhu is indeed the masterresponsible--is remarkable for its luminous clarity, its faint suggestionsof modelling, and above all for its natural use of rhythm. In everyscene, [116] cowherds appear engaged in different tasks, yet throughoutthere is a sense of oneness with Krishna himself. Krishna is showndelighting all by his simple friendliness and dignified charm and thestyle itself endows each scene with gentle harmony. 

Purkhu was clearly one of the greatest artists ever to practise in thePunjab Hills, but it is a certain Kushala who is supposed to have beenSansar Chand's special favourite. We do not know which pictures are by hishand but there exist two series of illustrations of such distinctivequality that Kushala may well have been responsible. [117] One is a seriesof paintings illustrating part of Bihari's _Sat Sai_--the seven-hundredpoems in which he extolled Krishna's love-making. [118] The other is yetanother version of the _Gita Govinda_ where Krishna is shown consortingwith the cowgirls in blissful abandon. [119] In both these series, theinherent loveliness of Radha and the cowgirls is expressed by suppleflowing line, a flair for natural posture and the inclusion of poeticimages. The scarlet of a cowgirl's skirt is echoed by the redness of agathering storm, the insertion of Krishna into the background suggestingthe passionate nature of their imminent embraces. [120] In a similar way, the forest itself is 'threaded with phases of passion' and slender treesin flower parallel the slim romantic girls who long for Krishna's love. 

One other Kangra master remains to be mentioned. Besides the picturesalready noted, there exists a further series illustrating the tenth bookof the _Bhagavata Purana_. The artist's identity is once again uncertain, but just as the Garhwal master was fascinated by the swirl of curlingwater, the Kangra artist in question delighted in the blonde pallor ofthe Indian moon. [121] Each incident in the text is rendered as if inmoonlight--a full moon riding in the sky, its pale reflection shining inwater, the countryside itself bathed throughout in frosty whiteness. As aresult the figures of Radha and the cowgirls seem imbued with pallidglamour, their love for Krishna with an almost unearthly radiance. 

Kangra painting continued throughout the nineteenth century but it wasonly during Sansar Chand's own reign (1775-1823) that the style achievedgreat lyrical glory. Similarly it was only towards the end of theeighteenth century that other states in the Punjab Hills developed theirown interpretations of the great impassioned theme. At Nurpur, Chamba, Kulu and Bilaspur[122] pictures of Krishna had temporary vogues and at allthese places artists created new modes of expression. None of the localstyles, however, possessed the same prestige as that of Kangra and allwere subsequently obliterated by the general Kangra manner. By themid-nineteenth century, the Rajput order in the Punjab Hills founderedbefore the British and while lesser nobles and merchants continued topurchase pictures of Krishna the cult as a whole declined in princelyfavour. Only in Eastern India and then mainly in the villages did delightin Krishna continue to evoke new painting. From the twelfth centuryonwards Bengal had constantly celebrated the loves of Krishna--the poetsJayadeva, Chandi Das and Vidyapati being all natives of this part ofIndia. Hymns to Krishna were sung in the villages and as part of thisfervid adhesion, local manuscripts of the _Bhagavata Purana_ and the _GitaGovinda_ were often produced. Such manuscripts were normally notillustrated but were preserved between wooden covers, on which scenes ofKrishna dancing with the cowgirls or with male devotees were painted. [123]Book covers of this kind were produced in the seventeenth and eighteenthcenturies and the resulting pictures have something of the savage elationassociated with the Basohli style and its derivatives. During thenineteenth century, painted book-covers ceased to be produced but threeother kinds of painting continued to celebrate the Krishna theme. Frescoesof Hindu gods and goddesses including Krishna were often executed on themud walls of village houses in Mithila, the birthplace of the poetVidyapati, and the style of painting with its brilliant colours andbrusque distortions testified to the great excitement still engendered byKrishna's name. [124] At Kalighat near Calcutta, a special type ofwater-colour picture was mass-produced for sale to pilgrims and althoughthe stock subjects included almost every Hindu god, many incidents fromKrishna's life were boldly portrayed. [125] The style with its curvingsumptuous forms is more a clue to general Bengali interests than to anyspecial attitudes to Krishna, but the pictures, strangely parallel instyle to the work of the modern artist Fernand Léger, have a robust gaietyand bounding vigour, not inappropriate to the Krishna theme. The thirdtype of painting is the work of professional village minstrels known as_jadupatuas_. As a means of livelihood, _jadupatuas_ travel from villageto village in West Bengal, entertaining the people by singing ballads andillustrating their songs with long painted scrolls. As each balladproceeds, the scroll is slowly unwound, one scene leading to another untilthe whole is concluded. Among the ballads thus intoned, the romance ofKrishna is among the most common and the style of painting with its crudeexuberance suggests the strength of popular devotion. [126]

There remains one last form of painting. During the twentieth century, themodern movement in Indian art has produced at least four majorartists--Rabindranath Tagore, Amrita Sher-Gil, Jamini Roy and George Keyt. Of these four, the first two did not illustrate the Krishna theme. JaminiRoy, on the other hand, has often painted Krishna as flute-player anddancer. [127] It would be unrealistic to suggest that these pictures springfrom a lively sense of Krishna as God--Jamini Roy has, in fact, resortedto themes of Christ with equal, if not greater, frequency but has shown nosigns of becoming a Christian. It is rather that in painting thesepictures, he has treated Krishna as a symbol of rural vitality, a figurewhose boisterous career among the cowherds is an exact reflection of hisown attitudes and enthusiasms. To Jamini Roy, the Bengali village with itssense of rude health is infinitely to be preferred to a city such asCalcutta with its artificiality and disease and in a style of boldsimplifications, he has constantly celebrated the natural vigour andinherent dignity of simple unsophisticated men. 

Such pictures stress a comparatively unimportant side of Krishna'scharacter and it is rather in the paintings of George Keyt that Krishnathe lover is proudly portrayed. Born in Ceylon of mixed ancestry, Keythas, for many years, been acutely responsive to Indian poetry. In 1947, he published the translation of the _Gita Govinda, _ excerpts from whichhave been quoted in the text, and throughout his career his work has beendistinguished by a poet's delight in feminine form and sensuous rapture. To Keyt such a delight is a vital component of adult minds and in theromance of Radha and Krishna he found a subject subtly expressive of hisown most intimate beliefs. His paintings and line-drawings of Radha, Krishna and the cowgirls--at once modern yet vitally Indian inspirit--have the same qualities as those in the _Gita Govinda_. [128] Radhaand Krishna are shown luxuriating in each other's elegance, a certainineffable tenderness characterizing their gestures and movements. Theirlove is gentle rather than brusque, an air of glamorous wonder broodsabove them and we meet once more that blend of romantic sensuality andloving innocence which is perhaps the chief Indian contribution tocultured living. It is this quality which gives to Indian paintings ofKrishna and his loves their incomparable fervour, and makes them enduringexpressions of Indian religion. 

[Footnote 66: Plates 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13-17, 21 and 36. ]

[Footnote 67: M. R. Mazumdar, 'The Gujarati School of Painting, ' _Journal ofthe Indian Society of Oriental Art_, 1942, Vol. X, plates 3 and 4. ]

[Footnote 68: Collection Maharaja of Jaipur, Pothikhana, Jaipur. ]

[Footnote 69: Collection Maharaja of Jodhpur, Pustakaprakash, JodhpurFort. ]

[Footnote 70: Plate 22. Collection N. C. Mehta, Bombay. For reproductions of2 and 3, see Karl Khandalavala, 'Leaves from Rajasthan, ' _Marg_, Vol. IV, No. 3. Figs. 8 and 10. ]

[Footnote 71: Moti Chandra, _Jain Miniature Paintings from Western India_(Ahmedabad, 1949), Figs. 99-105. ]

[Footnote 72: Khandalavala, op. Cit. , Fig. 14; _The Art of India andPakistan_, Pls. 81 and 82. ]

[Footnote 73: Plates 23 and 24. ]

[Footnote 74: For reproductions, see E. Wellesz, _Akbar's Religious Thoughtreflected in Mogul Painting_ (London, 1952), Pls. 1-37. ]

[Footnote 75: Reproduced Hendley, _Memorials, The Razm Namah_; see alsoPlates 1 and 2 below. ]

[Footnote 76: _The Art of India and Pakistan_, Plate 88. ]

[Footnote 77: H. Goetz, _The Art and Architecture of Bikaner State_(Oxford, 1950), Fig. 91. ]

[Footnote 78: Coomaraswamy, _Boston Catalogue, VI, Mughal Painting_, Plates 8-19. ]

[Footnote 79: Goetz, op. Cit. , Figs. 78 and 93. ]

[Footnote 80: Plate 29. See also B. Gray, _Treasures of Indian Miniaturesfrom the Bikaner Palace Collection_ (Oxford, 1951), Plate 6. ]

[Footnote 81: Plates 28 and 32. See also Archer, _Indian Painting_, Plate7. ]

[Footnote 82: _The Art of India and Pakistan_, Plate 85. ]

[Footnote 83: Plate 32. ]

[Footnote 84: Plate 34. ]

[Footnote 85: Plate 33. ]

[Footnote 86: Bharat Kala Bhawan, Banaras. ]

[Footnote 87: Eric Dickinson, 'The Way of Pleasure: the KishangarhPaintings', 2 _Marg_, Vol. III, No. 4, 29-35. ]

[Footnote 88: Ibid. , 31. ]

[Footnote 89: Plate 39. ]

[Footnote 90: For cartoons of this picture, see A. K. Coomaraswamy, _IndianDrawings_ (London, 1912), Vol. II, Plate 2 and _Rajput Painting_, Vol. II, Plates 9 and 10. ]

[Footnote 91: Note 22. ]

[Footnote 92: Gangoly, _Masterpieces of Rajput Painting_, Plate 10. ]

[Footnote 93: Plates 4, 10, 26, 27, 30 and 31. _The Art of India andPakistan_, Plates 100-102. ]

[Footnote 94: Plate 4. ]

[Footnote 95: Plate 10. ]

[Footnote 96: Archer, _Indian Painting in the Punjab Hills_, Fig. 6. ]

[Footnote 97: Plate 30. Coomaraswamy, _Boston Catalogue, V, RajputPainting_, Plates 92-95. ]

[Footnote 98: Note 23. ]

[Footnote 99: Coomaraswamy, _Boston Catalogue, V, Rajput Painting, 171_. ]

[Footnote 100: Ibid. , 172. ]

[Footnote 101: Ibid. , 173. ]

[Footnote 102: Plates 26 and 27. _The Art of India and Pakistan_, Plate102. ]

[Footnote 103: Archer, _Garhwal Painting_, 1-4. ]

[Footnote 104: Gangoly, op. Cit. , Plate 35. ]

[Footnote 105: Archer, _Indian Painting in the Punjab Hills_, Fig. 23. ]

[Footnote 106: Mehta, _Studies in Indian Painting_, Plate 21. ]

[Footnote 107: Plates 19, 20 and 35. ]

[Footnote 108: Coomaraswamy, _Rajput Painting_, Plates 53 and 54. ]

[Footnote 109: Archer, _Garhwal Painting_, Plate 1. ]

[Footnote 110: Plates 7, 12 and 25. ]

[Footnote 111: Archer, _Kangra Painting_, 2-5. ]

[Footnote 112: Ibid. , Plate 2. ]

[Footnote 113: Ibid. , Plate 1. ]

[Footnote 114: Ibid. , Plate 2. ]

[Footnote 115: B. H. Baden Powell, _Handbook of the Manufactures and Artsof the Punjab_ (Lahore, 1872), 355. Purkhu must now, most probably, beconnected with the first of the two Kangra masters described in _KangraPainting_ (p. 4)--Plates 3 and 4 being examples of his work. ]

[Footnote 116: Plates 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 16. ]

[Footnote 117: Archer, _Kangra Painting_, Plates 1 and 2; also p. 4 wherethe second of the two Kangra masters is described. ]

[Footnote 118: Plate 36; Mehta, op. Cit. , Plates 25 and 26. ]

[Footnote 119: Plate 21. ]

[Footnote 120: Mehta, op. Cit. , Plate 22. ]

[Footnote 121: Plates 13-15. ]

[Footnote 122: Plate 18. ]

[Footnote 123: _The Art of India and Pakistan_, Plate 79]

[Footnote 124: W. G. Archer, 'Maithil Painting, ' _Marg_, Vol. III, No. 2. ]

[Footnote 125: W. G. Archer, _Bazaar Paintings of Calcutta_ (London, 1953), Plates 8, 9, 14, 19, 30, 31 and 41. ]

[Footnote 126: Ajit Mookerjee, _Art of India_, (Calcutta, 1952) Fig. 94. ]

[Footnote 127: B. Dey and J. Irwin, 'Jamini Roy, ' _Journal of the IndianSociety of Oriental Art_ (1944), Vol. XII, Plate 6. ]

[Footnote 128: For reproductions of Keyt's work, see Martin Russell, _George Keyt_ (Bombay, 1950), Plates 1-101. ]

NOTES

Note 1, p. 13. 

For a further discussion of these two main kinds of Indian expression, seemy _Indian Painting_ (Iris, Batsford, London, 1956). 

Note 2, p. 14. 

In Indian painting, Krishna is normally blue or mauve in colour, thoughcases occur in which he is black, green or dark brown. Black would seemto follow from Krishna's name--the word 'Krishna' meaning 'black'--and mayhave been applied either because he sprang from a black hair of Vishnuor because he was born at midnight, 'black as a thundercloud. ' It hasbeen suggested that his dark complexion proves a Dravidian or even anaboriginal origin since both the Dravidian races and the aboriginal tribesare dark brown in colour in contrast to the paler Aryans. None of thetexts, however, appears to corroborate this theory. So far as 'blue' and'mauve' are concerned, 'blue' is the colour of Vishnu and characterizesmost of his incarnations. As the colour of the sky, it is appropriate toa deity who was originally associated with the sun--the sun with itslife-giving rays according well with Vishnu's role as loving protector. 'Blue' is also supposed to be the colour of the ocean on which Vishnu issaid to recline at the commencement of each age. In view of the variationsin colour in the pictures, it is perhaps significant that 'blue, ' 'mauve'and 'green' are commonly regarded in village India as variants of'black'--many Indians making no distinction between them. In Indianpainting, the fact that Krishna is blue makes it easy to identify him, hisonly serious rival being another and earlier incarnation of Vishnu, theprincely Rama. The latter can usually be distinguished from Krishna by thefact that he carries a bow (never a cowherd's stick) and is oftenaccompanied by Hanuman, the monkey leader. 

Note 3, p. 17. 

For a comparison of Ghora Angirasa's teaching in the _Chandogya Upanishad_with Krishna's precepts in the _Gita_, see Mazumdar, _The Age of ImperialUnity_ (432-4) and Basham, _The Wonder that was India_ (242-7, 304-5)

Note 4, p. 17. 

Although the actual date of the _Mahabharata_ war has been variouslyassessed--'between 1400 and 1000 B. C. ' (M. A. Mehendale in _The Age ofImperial Unity_, 251) 'the beginning of the ninth century B. C. (Basham, op. Cit. , 39)--the epic itself is generally recognized as being a productof many centuries of compilation. The portions relating to Krishna thehero may well date from the third century B. C. The _Gita_, on the otherhand, was possibly composed in the second century B. C. 'but assumed theform in which it appears in the _Mahabharata_ today in the early centuriesA. D. ' (Mehendale, op. Cit. , 249). 

Note 5, p. 24. 

The implication is that the Pandavas have not been granted ultimatesalvation i. E. Final release from living but have reached the importanttransitional level of 'the heaven of the doers of good deeds. ' They havealso been granted the limited status of petty gods. 

Note 6, p. 25. 

_Harivansa_, 'the Genealogy of Krishna' but more literally, 'the Genealogyof Hari, ' a synonym for Vishnu. For the sake of clearness and to avoidburdening the text with too much periphrasis, I have throughout referredto Krishna as such. In the texts themselves, however, he is constantlyinvoked under other names--Hari (or Vishnu), Govinda (the cowherd), Keshava (the hairy or radiant one), Janarddana (the most worshipful), Damodara ('bound with a rope, ' referring to the incident (p. 32) whenhaving been tied by Yasoda to a mortar, Krishna uproots the two trees), Murari ('foe of Mura, the arch demon' p. 58) or in phrases such as'queller of Kaliya the snake, ' 'destroyer of Kesi, the demon horse, ''slayer of Madhu--the demon who sprang from the ear of Vishnu and waskilled by him. ' A similar use of periphrasis occurs in Anglo-Saxonkennings ('world-candle' for sun, 'battle-adders' for arrows). In the sameway, Abul Fazl's chronicle, the _Akbarnama_, never names the emperor Akbarbut refers to him in terms such as 'His Majesty, ' 'the holy soul, ' 'lordof the age, ' 'fountain of generosity, ' 'the sacred heart, ' 'theworld-adorning mind, ' 'the decorated mansion of sports. '

Note 7, p. 26, 34, 46, 68, 69. 

In Chapters 3 and 4 I have, in the main, strictly followed the _BhagavataPurana, _ incorporating, however, a few important details and passageseither not given in this text but included in the _Vishnu Purana_ or ifgiven, not so vividly expressed. The details and passages in question arepage 27 concerning the white and black hairs of Vishnu, page 34--thelyrical description of Krishna's life in the forest, page 46--Akrura'smeditation as he goes to visit Krishna, page 68--the drunken brawl andpage 69 the deaths of Balarama and Krishna. All extracts are from H. H. Wilson, _The Vishnu Purana_ (pages 498, 511, 541-2, 609-612). 

Note 8, p. 28. 

The resemblance between Kansa's order to kill all male infants and Herod'sslaughter of the innocents has often been remarked. 

Note 9, p. 29. 

Krishna's constant alterations of role, appearing sometimes as God butmore often as boy or man, have been commented on by Isherwood andPrabhavananda in connection with Arjuna's dilemma in the _Mahabharata_. 'Krishna is the divine incarnation of Vishnu, Arjuna's chosen deity. Arjuna knows this--yet, by a merciful ignorance, he sometimes forgets. Indeed, it is Krishna who makes him forget, since no ordinary man couldbear the strain of constant companionship with God. After the vision ofKrishna's divine aspect, Arjuna is appalled by the realization that he hasbeen treating the Lord of the universe as 'friend and fellow-mortal. ' Hehumbly begs Krishna's pardon, but his awe soon leaves him. Again, he hasforgotten. We may infer the same relationship between Jesus and hisdisciples after the vision of the transfiguration. ' _(The Song of God, Bhagavad-Gita, _ 29-30). 

Note 10, p. 33. 

Although part of the supreme Trinity, Brahma was often treated inliterature as an ordinary god who ambled gently about the world, was oftenrather absent-minded, sometimes behaved as if he were a priest, and wasprone, as on the present occasion, to act a trifle misguidedly. 

Note 12, p. 40. 

The scene is illustrated in two Kangra and Guler paintings (Archer, _Indian Painting in the Punjab Hills_, Figs. 10 and 23). 

Note 12, p. 58. 

Pragjyotisha--a city situated in the east, in Kamarupa on the borders ofAssam. According to the _Vishnu Purana_ (Wilson, 582), its environs weredefended by 'nooses, constructed by the demon Mura (Naraka's ally), theedges of which were as sharp as razors. ' Mura had seven thousand sons (notseven, as stated in the _Bhagavata_). All, however, were 'burnt like mothswith the flame of the edge of Krishna's discus. '

Note 13, p. 67. 

Basham (op. Cit. , 305) points out that elements in the Krishna story suchas the destruction of the Yadavas and the death of the god are 'quiteun-Indian in their tragic character. The themes of the drunken brawlleading to a general slaughter, of the hero slain by an arrow piercing hisone vulnerable spot, and of the great city engulfed by the sea, arewell-known in European epic literature, but do not occur elsewhere in thatof India and are not hinted at in the Vedas. The concept of the dying god, so widespread in the ancient Near East, is found nowhere else in Indianmythology. '

It is unfortunate that Krishna's reasons for destroying the Yadava raceare nowhere made very clear. The affront to the Brahmans is the immediateoccasion for the slaughter but hardly its actual cause; and, if it isargued that the Yadavas must first be destroyed in order to renderKrishna's withdrawal from the world complete, we must then assume that theYadavas are in some mysterious way essential parts of Krishna himself. Such a status, however, does not seem to be claimed for them and none ofthe texts suggest that this is so. The slaughter, therefore, remains anenigma. 

Note 14, p. 68. 

Wilson (op. Cit. , 608) summarizing the portents listed in the_Mahabharata_ but not included in the _Vishnu_ or _Bhagavata Puranas_. 

Note 15, p. 72. 

From the _Brihadaranyaka_, quoted A. Danielou, 'An Approach to HinduErotic Sculpture, ' _Marg_, Vol. II, No. I, 88. For a Western expression ofthis point of view, compare Eric Gill, 'Art and Love, ' _Rupam_ (Calcutta, 1925), No. 21, 5. 

'If the trees and rocks, the thunder and the sea, the frightful avidity ofanimal life and the loveliness of flowers are so many hints of the God whomade them, how much more obviously are the things of humanity analogues ofthe things of God? And among all such things, the union of man and womantakes the highest place and is the most potent symbol. Therefore it isthat outside the commercial civilizations of the western world, love andmarriage take their place as types of divine union and everywhere love andmarriage are the subject matter, the theme of religious writers, singers, painters and sculptors. It is true that love is the theme of westernwriters also but with them the idea of love is entirely free from divinesignification. (As a corollary), the more the divine backgrounddisappears, the more the prudishness of the police becomes the standard ofethics and aesthetics alike. Under such an aegis the arts are necessarilydegraded to the level of the merely sentimental or the merely sensual andwhile the sentimental is everywhere applauded, the sensual is a source ofpanic. '

Note 16, p. 73. 

In later poetry as well as in popular worship, Radha's position is alwaysthat of an adored mistress--never that of a beloved wife. And it isoutside or rather in the teeth of marriage that her romance with Krishnais prosecuted. Such a position clearly involved a sharp conflict withconventional morals and in the fourteenth century, an attempt was made, in the _Brahma Vaivarta Purana_, to re-write the _Bhagavata Purana_, magnifying Radha as leader of the cow-girls, disguising or rather denyingher adultery and finally presenting her as Krishna's eternal consort. Forthis purpose, three hypotheses were adopted. Radha was throughout assumedto be Krishna's spouse and it is only on account of a curse that she takeshuman form as a cowgirl and comes to live in Brindaban. Radha herself doesnot marry Ayana the cowherd--his wedding being only with her shadow. Thirdly, Krishna comes to Brindaban and goes through a secret marriagewith her. Their love-making is, therefore, no longer adulterous butstrictly conjugal. It is not perhaps surprising that the _Brahma VaivartaPurana_ failed to capture the Indian imagination and indeed is nowadayshardly ever heard of. It is of interest mainly on account of the prolificinformation given about Radha, the fact that it sets her firmly in thecentre, dethroning the hapless Rukmini, and its baroque descriptions ofsexual union. 

Note 17, p. 73. 

During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a parallel situation seems tohave arisen in feudal France and Germany where local love-poetry alsotreated adultery as a _sine qua non_ of romance. 

'Two things prevented the men of that age from connecting their ideal ofromantic and passionate love with marriage. The first is, of course, theactual practice of feudal society. Marriages had nothing to do with loveand no 'nonsense' about marriage was tolerated. All marriages were matchesof interest and, worse still, of an interest that was continuallychanging. When the alliance which had answered would answer no longer, thehusband's object was to get rid of the lady as quickly as possible. Marriages were frequently dissolved. The same woman who was the lady and'the dearest dread' of her vassals was often little better than a piece ofproperty to her husband. He was master in his own house. So far from beinga natural channel for the new kind of love, marriage was rather the drabbackground against which that love stood out in all the contrast of itsnew tenderness and delicacy. The situation is indeed a very simple one, and not peculiar to the Middle Ages. Any idealization of sexual love, in asociety where marriage is purely utilitarian, must begin by being anidealization of adultery. ' (C. S. Lewis, _The Allegory of Love_ (London, 1936), 13. )

Note 18, p. 77. 

Much of the _Gita Govinda's_ power arises from the endowment of Naturewith romantic ardour, the forest itself being presented as a highlysensitive and symbolic setting for the behaviour of lovers. The followingpassage from _Tess of the D'Urbervilles_ is perhaps the nearest approachin English to this kind of treatment. 

'Amid the oozing fatness and warm ferments of the Var Vale, at a seasonwhen the rush of juices could almost be heard below the hiss offertilization, it was impossible that the most fanciful love should notgrow passionate. The ready bosoms existing there were impregnated by theirsurroundings. July passed over their heads and the weather which came inits wake seemed an effort on the part of Nature to match the state ofhearts at Talbothays Dairy. The air of the place, so fresh in the springand early summer, was stagnant and enervating now. Its heavy scentsweighed upon them, and at mid-day the landscape seemed lying in a swoon. Ethiopic scorchings browned the upper slopes of the pastures, but therewas still bright herbage here where the water courses purled. And as Clarewas oppressed by the outward heats, so was he burdened inwardly by waxingfervour of passion for the soft and silent Tess. '

Note 19, p. 77. 

The _Gita Govinda_ was one of the first Sanskrit poems to be rendered intoEnglish--Sir William Jones publishing a mellifluous version in _AsiatickResearches_ in 1792. Later in the nineteenth century it was translatedinto Victorian verse by Sir Edwin Arnold. The present translation fromwhich all the extracts are taken is by George Keyt, the foremost modernartist of Ceylon. It is greatly to be hoped that the entire translation, hitherto available only in an Indian edition, will one day be published inEngland. 

Note 20, p. 86. 

Poems 1 and 2 are based on versions by O. C. Gangoly (_Masterpieces ofRajput Painting_, 29, 58); poems 3-11 are from new translations by DebenBhattacharya. 

Note 21, p. 91. 

For the originals of certain poems in the _Rasika Priya_ and their literaltranslation, see Coomaraswamy, 'The Eight Nayikas. '

Note 22, p. 104. 

The first scholar to draw attention to this fact, i. E. That the subjectsare not Radha and Krishna but palace ladies impersonating them, is Dr. Joan van Lohuizen de Leeuw, whose paper on this and kindred problems isunder preparation. 

Note 23, p. 105. 

For a detailed discussion of Bhanu Datta's _Rasamanjari_ and of similartreatises by other Sanskrit authors, see V. Raghavan, _Srngaramanjari ofSaint Akbar Shah_ (Hyderabad, 1951). 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

AGRAWALA, V. S. : 'The Romance of Himachal Paintings, ' _Roopa-Lekha_ XX, 2, (1948-9), 87-93. 

ARCHER, W. G. : _Indian Painting in the Punjab Hills_ (London, 1952). _Kangra Painting_ (London, 1952). _Garhwal Painting_ (London, 1954). _Indian Painting_ (London, 1956). 

BASHAM, A. L. : _The Wonder that was India_ (London, 1954). 

BURNOUF, E. (trans. ): _Le Bhagavata Purana_ (Paris, 1840-98). 

COOMARASWAMY, A. C. : 'The Eight Nayikas, ' _Journal of Indian Art andIndustry_, XVI (New Series), No. 128 (1914), 99-116. _Rajput Painting_(Oxford, 1916). _Catalogue of the Indian Collections in the Museum of FineArts, Boston: Part V, Rajput Painting; Part VI, Mughal Painting_(Cambridge, Mass. 1926, 1930). (trans. ) _The Taking of Toll_ (London, 1915). 

GANGOLY, O. C. : _Masterpieces of Rajput Painting_ (Calcutta, 1926). _Ragasand Raginis_ (Calcutta, 1934). 

GRAY, B. : _Rajput Painting_ (London, 1948). 'Painting, ' _The Art of Indiaand Pakistan_, ed. L. Ashton (London, 1950). 

GRIERSON, G. A. : _The Modern Vernacular Literature of Hindustan_ (Calcutta, 1889). 

HENDLEY, T. H. : _Memorials of the Jeypore Exhibition. IV, the Razm Namah_(London, 1883). 

HOLLINGS, W. (trans. ): _The Prem Sagar_ (Lucknow, 1880). 

ISHERWOOD, C. And PRABHAVANANDA, S. (trans. ): _The Song of God, Bhagavad-Gita_ (London, 1947). 

JONES, W. (trans. ): 'Gitagovinda or Songs of Jayadeva, ' _AsiatickResearches_ (Calcutta, 1792). 

KEYT, G. (trans. ): _Sri Jayadeva's Gita Govinda_ (Bombay, 1947). 

MATHERS, E. POWYS (trans. ): _Eastern Love_ (London, 1927-30). (trans. )_Love Songs of Asia_ (London, 1944). 

MAZUMDAR, R. C. (ed. ): _The History and Culture of the Indian People, I, TheVedic Age_ (London, 1951); II, _The Age of Imperial Unity_ (Bombay, 1951). 

MEHTA, N. C. : _Studies in Indian Painting_ (Bombay, 1926). _GujaratiPainting in the Fifteenth Century_ (London, 1931). 

RANDHAWA, M. S. : _Kangra Valley Painting_ (New Delhi, 1954). _The KrishnaLegend in Pahari Painting_ (New Delhi, 1956). 

ROY, P. C. (trans. ): _The Mahabharata_ (Calcutta, 1883). 

SEN, D. C. : _History of Bengali Language and Literature_ (Calcutta, 1911). 

SEN, R. N. (trans. ): _The Brahma Vaivarta Purana_ (Allahabad, 1920). 

STCHOUKINE, I. : _La Peinture Indienne_ (Paris, 1929). 

WINTERNITZ, M. : _A History of Indian Literature_ (Calcutta, I, 1927; II, 1933). 

WILSON, H. H. (trans. ): _The Vishnu Purana_ (London, 1840). 

INDEX

Abul Fazl, 116, pl. 1 (comment)Aditi, mother of the gods, 58, 59_Age of Imperial Unity, The_, 115, 121Agni, god of fire, 18Agrawala, V. S. , 121Ahmadnagar, Deccan, 97Ajmer, Rajasthan, 103Akbar, Mughal Emperor, 97-99, 116, pl. 1 (comment)_Akbarnama_, 98, 116Akrura, chief of the Yadavas, 45-47, 49, 51, 57, 116_Allegory of Love, The_, 119Altdorfer, 93Amaru, Sanskrit poet, 73Aniruddha, son of Pradyumna and grandson of Krishna, 64Archer, Mildred, 4, 9Archer, W. G. , 4, 101, 105, 107-112, 115, 117, 121Arjuna, leading Pandava, husband of Draupadi, husband of Krishna's sister, Subhadra, 20-22, 64, 65, 67, 69, 116, 117Arnold, Sir Edwin, 119_Art of India and Pakistan, The_, 96, 98, 101, 104, 107, 111, 121_Asiatick Researches_, 119Assam, 117Aurangzeb, Mughal Emperor, 99Ayana, husband of Radha, brother of Yasoda, 72, 118

Baden Powell, B. H. , 110Bakasura, crane demon, 33_Balagopala Stuti_, poem by Bilvamangala, 84, 94Balarama, brother of Krishna, 27, 30, 31, 34-36, 44-48, 50-56, 61-64, 66, 67, 69, 116, pls. 1, 5, 6, 9, 12, 16, 17Bali, ruler of the underworld, 62Bani Thani, poetess of Kishangarh, 103_Barahmasa_, poems of the twelve months, 102, pl. 32Basawan, Mughal artist, pls. 1, 2 (comment), 3 (comment)Basham, A. L. , 9, 19, 115, 117, 121Basohli, Punjab Hills, 104, 105, 107, 111, pls. 18 (comment), 26 (comment), 30 (comment)Beatty, Sir Chester, pls. 17, 19_Bhagavad Gita_, 15-17, 24, 67, 115, 117_Bhagavata Purana_, 11, 25-71, 72, 74, 85, 85, 99, 101, 105, 107, 110, 111, 116-18, 121, pls. 3-19_Bhakti_, devotion to God, 19, 24Bhanu Datta, author of _Rasamanjari_, 9, 105, 120, pls. 30, 31Bharat Kala Bhawan, Banaras, 103, pl. 37_Bharatiya Natya Sastra_, Sanskrit treatise, 90Bhartrihari, Sanskrit poet, 73Bhattacharya, Deben, 9, 87-90, 119Bhima, strongest of the five Pandavas, 24, 65, 66Bihari Lai, poet, 84, 110, pl. 36Bijapur, Deccan, 97Bikaner, Rajasthan, 99, 100, 103Bilaspur, Punjab Hills, 107, 111, pl. 18Bilvamangala, poet, 84, 94Blue, colour of Krishna, 14, 115Book covers, Bengali, 111Brahma, 17, 27, 28, 33, 34, 58, 59, 65, 67, 117, pl. 2_Brahma Vaivarta Purana_, 118, 121Brahmans, 22, 28, 30, 38, 39, 62, 63, 67, 68, 71, 74, 107, 108, 117 Wives of, 38, 39Braj, country around Mathura, 26, 28, 40_Brihadaranyaka_, 117Brindaban, forest near Gokula, 33, 35, 45, 46, 49, 52, 53, 59-62, 103, pl. 6British Museum, pl. 18Brough, J. , 9Buddhism, 94Bull demon, 44Bundelkhand, 91, 99Bundi, Rajasthan, 101-103Burnouf, E. , 121

Calcutta, 111, 112Campbell, Roy, 75Ceylon, 57, 112Chamba, Punjab Hills, 107, 111Chandi Das, Bengali poet, 84, 85, 89, 111Chandigarh Art Gallery, East Punjab, pl. 27_Chandogya Upanishad_, 17, 24, 115Chanura, wrestler, 45, 48Chawand, Mewar, 100Christ, 14, 112, 117Clothes, stealing of cowgirls', 37, 38, 74, 75, pl. 11Coomaraswamy, A. K. , 99, 104-6, 108, 120, 121, pl. 8 (comment)Cowgirls, loves of the, 29, 36-38, 41-44, 46, 49, 50, 52, 53, 58, 60-62, 66, 70-82, 85, 86, 109, 110, 113, pls. 11, 13-15, 20-23. Cowherds, abandonment of, by Krishna, Krishna's life with, 49-53, 61, 62

Damodara, pseudonym for Krishna, 116Dance, circular, 38, 41, 43, 46, 74, 75, p. 13 (comment)Danielou, A. , 117Daruka, charioteer to Krishna, 68, 69Demons, combats with, 29, 30, 33-36, 44, 45, 54, 55, 58, 64, 116, 117, pl. 9 role of, 18, 19Devaka, younger brother of King Ugrasena, 27Devaki, mother of Krishna, 17, 27, 28, 44, 46, 48-50, 52, 63, 69, pl. 3Devi, goddess, Earth Mother, 28, 40, 56, pls. 3, 18Dey, B. , 112_Dharma_, 18, 23Dhenuka, ass demon, 34Dhritarashtra, blind son of Kuru, father of Kauravas, 20, 21, 51, 66Dice, contest by, 21Dickinson, Eric, 103Draupadi, daughter of King of Panchal, common wife of the five Pandavas, 20-23, 64, 67Drumalika, demon, 26Duryodhana, leading Kaurava and son of Dhritarashtra, 23, 51, 66, 67Dwarka, Krishna's capital in Western India, 21, 22, 54-59, 61-64, 66-70, 94, 108, pls. 2 (comment), 19

Earth, 27, 49, 58, 67_Eastern Love_, 121El Greco, 93

Flute playing, 15, 36, 37, 41, 61, 78, 86, 109, 112, pl. 21Forest fires, 35, 36, pl. 10France, feudal, 118

Games with cowherds, Krishna's, 31-35, 45, pls. 4-9Gandhi, Mahatma, 15Gangoly, O. C. , 104, 119, 121Garga, sage, 30, 31Garhwal, Punjab Hills, 107-110, pl. 38_Garhwal Painting_, 107, 108, 121Germany, feudal, 118Ghora Angirasa, 17, 115Gill, Eric, 118_Gita Govinda_, Sanskrit poem by Jayadeva, 9, 11, 76-84, 94-96, 98, 110, 111, 113, 119, 121, pls. 20-27Gods, role of, 18, 19Goetz, H. , 99, 100Gokula, district near Mathura, 26, 30, 33, 44Govardhan Singh, Raja of Guler, 107Govardhana, greatest of the hills, 39, 40, 42, 59, pl. 12Govind Das, poet, 84, 88Govinda, pseudonym for Krishna, 116Gray, Basil, 100, 121Grierson, Sir G. A. , 121Grunewald, 93_Gujarati Painting in the Fifteenth Century_, 121Guler, Punjab Hills, 107-109, pl. 18 (comment)

Hari, pseudonym for Krishna, 116_Harivansa_, appendix to _Mahabharata_ epic, 25, 32, 98, 116Hendley, T. H. , 98, 121Herod, 116Holi festival, 109Hollings, W. , 121Hunter, slayer of Krishna, see Jara. Hussain Shah, ruler of Jaunpur, 96

India Office Library, London, pl. 34 (comment)Indian Museum, Calcutta, pl. 35_Indian Painting_, 115, 121_Indian Painting in the Punjab Hills_, 105, 107Indra, king of the gods, lord of the clouds, 18, 24, 39, 40, 46, 58, 59, 65, 66, pls. 2, 12Irwin, J. , 112Isherwood, Christopher, 15, 24, 116

Jadupatuas, minstrel artists of Bengal, 112Jaipur, Rajasthan, 95, 98, 103, 104, pls. 1 (comment), 2 (comment)Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, 103Jambhavati, a queen of Krishna, 56, 57, 60Jammu, Punjab Hills, 107Janarddana, pseudonym for Krishna, 116Japan, 13Jara, Bhil hunter, slayer of Krishna, 24, 67, 69, pl. 2Jarasandha, demon king of Magadha, 26, 54-56, 65Jaunpur, Eastern India, 96, 97Jayadeva, Sanskrit poet, 76, 77, 84, 94, 111, 121Jodhpur, Rajasthan, 95, 103Jones, Sir William, 119, 121Jumna, river, 22, 28, 35, 37, 41, 43, 47, 48, 61, 74, 82, 85, pls. 8, 13-15

Kalidasa, Sanskrit poet, 73Kalindi, a queen of Krishna, 57, 60, 64Kaliya, giant hydra-headed snake, 35, 42, 46, 108, 116, pls. 8, 10 (comment)Kaliyavana, 54_Kalpasutra_, Jain Scripture, 96Kama, god of passion, 18, 64Kamalavati, mother of Radha, 72Kangra, Punjab Hills, 93, 108-11, pl. 3 (comment)_Kangra Painting_, 109, 110, 121_Kangra Valley Painting_, 121Kanoria, Gopi Krishna, 9, pls. 7, 29, 39Kansa, tyrant king of Mathura, son of Pavanarekha by the demon Drumalika, 26-9, 31, 33, 43-50, 54, 55, 57, 62, 110, 116, pls. 3, 9 (comment), 16 (comment), 17, 35 (comment)Karna, leading Kaurava killed by Arjuna at Kurukshetra, 23Kauravas, the 100 sons of Dhritarashtra, rivals of the Pandavas (vide _Mahabharata_) 20, 21, 23, 26, 51, 62, 66, 67Kennings, Anglo-Saxon, 116Keshav Das, poet, 84, 91, 99, 100, 105, pls. 28, 30 (comment)Keshava, pseudonym for Krishna, 116Kesi, horse demon, 44, 45, 115Keyt, George, artist and translator of the _Gita Govinda_, 9, 76-83, 112, 113, 119, 121, pls. 21-27 (comments)Khandalawala, Karl, 95, 96, pls. 10, 23 (comment)Khurasan, 97, pl. 1 (comment)Kirpal Pal, Raja of Basohli, 104, 105, 107, pl. 10 (comment)Kishangarh, Rajasthan, 103, pl. 39Kotah, Rajasthan, 103Krishna Das, poet, 84Kubera, yaksha king, pl. 5 (comment)Kubja, hunchback girl, 47, 53, 54Kulu, Punjab Hills, 107, 111Kumbhan Das, poet, 84Kundulpur, 56 Raja of, father of Rukmini, 55Kunti, wife of Pandu, mother of the Pandavas, sister of Vasudeva (Krishna's father), 20, 21, 51, 57, 62, 64Kuru, common ancestor of the Pandavas and Kauravas, 20Kurukshetra, battle-field of, 15, 21, 26, 61Kushala, Kangra artist, 110, pls. 3, 21, 36Kuvara, brother of Nala, 32, pl. 5. 

Lahore, State Museum, pl. 26Lanka, modern Ceylon, 57Léger, F. , 112Lewis, C. S. , 119Lohuizen, Dr. Joan van, de Leeuw, 120_Love Songs of Asia_, 121Lucknow, State Museum, pl. 5

MacNeice, Louis, 15Madhu, demon, 116Magadha, 26, 54, 55_Mahabharata_, 11, 17, 19-25, 51, 70, 98, 115Mahavira, founder of Jainism, 94Malabar, 84Malwa, Central India, 97, 100-2Manaku, Basohli princess, patron of painting, 107, pl. 26 (comment)Manohar, Mewar artist, 100_Marg_, Indian art journal, 95, 103, 111, 117_Masterpieces of Rajput Painting_, 104, 119, 121Mathers, E. Powys, 121Mathura, town in Northern India, 26, 29, 30, 38, 39, 44-55, 61, 74, 76, pls. 16 (comment), 17 (comment)Mazumdar, M. R. , 94 R. C. , 115, 121Mehendale, M. A. , 115, 116Mehta, N. C. , 95, 107, 110, 121, pls. 4, 21, 22, 36Mewar, Rajasthan, 100, 103Mira Bai, poetess, 84Mithila, 111_Modern Vernacular Literature of Hindustan, The_, 121Mody, J. K. , pls. 3, 8, 11, 13, 15, 16Monkey demon, 64Mookerjee, A. , 112Moonlight, master of the, pls. 13-5Moti Chandra, 96Mukund, Mughal artist, pl. 2Murari, pseudonym for Krishna, 116Muru (or Mura), arch demon, 58, 117Muslim artists, 99, 100 invasions, 73 rulers, 93, 96, 98 states, 97, 101Mustaka, wrestler, 48

Nainsukh, Guler artist, pls. 3 (comment), 21 (comment)Nala, brother of Kuvara, 32, pl. 5Nanda, wealthy herdsman, foster-father of Krishna, 27-32, 35-41, 44-53, 61, 62, 77, 107, pls. 5, 10, 12, 20Narada, sage, 60Naraka, demon son of Earth, 58, 117Nasiruddin, Mewar artist, 100_Nayikas_ and _Nayakas_, 90, 91, 102, pl. 28New Delhi, National Museum, pls. 5, 9, 12, 14, 20, 28New Testament, 15Nihal Chand, Kishangarh artist, 103Nude, the, pl. 11Nurpur, Punjab Hills, 107, 111

Ocean, 69Orchha, Central India, 84, 91, 99

Painting, Basohli, 104-7, pls. 4, 10, 18 (comment), 26 (comment), 27, 30, 31 Bengali, 111, 112 Bikaner, 99, 100 Bilaspur, 107, 111, pl. 18 Bundi, 101, 102, pls. 28, 32 Deccani, 97, pl. 34 European, pl. 1 (comment) Flemish, 14 Garhwal, 107, 108, pls. 3 (comment), 7, 8 (comment), 12, 19, 20, 25, 35, 38 (comment)German, 93 Gujarati, 94, 121 Guler, 107, 108, 117, 121, pls. 3 (comment), 21 (comment), 37 Italian, 14 Jain, 94-96, pl. 22 (comment) Jaipur, 104, 120 Jaunpur, 96, pls. 23-24 Kalighat, 111, 112 Kangra, 93, 103-111, 117, 121, pls. 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13-17, 21, 36 Kishangarh, 103, 104, pl. 39 Maithil, 111 Malwa, 97, 101, 102, pl. 33 Mughal, 13, 97-99, 103, 105, 107, 121, pls. 1, 2, 3 (comment) Nahan, pl. 38 Persian, 97 Udaipur, Mewar, 100, 101, 103-105, pl. 28 (comment), 29 Western Indian, 94-96, pl. 22 (comment) Western Rajasthani, pl. 22Panchala, kingdom of, 20, 21Pandavas, five sons of Pandu, rivals of the Kauravas (vide _Mahabharata_), 20-26, 51, 57, 62-66, 70, 116Pandu, second son of Kuru, father of the Pandavas, 20Parasurama, 'Rama with the Axe, ' incarnation of Vishnu, 20Parikshit, great-grandson of Krishna, 69Parmanand Das, poet, 84Parvati, consort of Siva, 37Pavanarekha, wife of King Ugrasena, 26Prabhasa, town near Dwarka, 68, 94, pl. 1 (comment)Prabhavananda, Swami, 15, 24, 116, 121Pradyumna, Krishna's son by Rukmini, 64Pragjyotisha, city of the demon, Naraka, 58, 117Pralamba, demon in human form, 35, pls. 9, 10 (comment)Pratap Singh, Raja of Jaipur, 104Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay, pls. 23, 24, 32Punjab Hills, 4, 13, 93, 98, 104, 105, 107, 111Purkhu, Kangra artist, 109, 110, pls. 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 16Putana, ogress, 29, 42

Radha, Krishna's chief cowgirl love, 15, 16, 72-90, 96, 98, 103-105, 109-111, 113, 117, pls. 13 (comment). 20-29, 31-39_Ragas_ and _Raginis_, modes of Indian music, 84, 101, 102, 107, pls. 33, 34_Ragas and Raginis_, 121Raghavan, V. , 120Rajasthan, 13, 95, 96, 99-105_Rajput Painting_ (Coomaraswamy), 104, 108, 121, pl. 8 (comment) (Gray), 121Ram Gopal, 15Rama, incarnation of Vishnu, 20, 57, 115_Ramayana_, 98Rana Jagat Singh, ruler of Mewar, 100Rana Raj Singh, ruler of Mewar, 100, 105Randhawa, M. S. , 121_Rasamanjari_, Sanskrit treatise by Bhanu Datta, 9, 105, 106, 120, pls. 30, 31_Rasika Priya_, Hindi treatise by Keshav Das (comment), 11, 90-92, 99-102, 105, 120, pls. 28, 30 (comment)_Razmnama_, Persian abridgement of the _Mahabharata_, 98, Pls. 1, 2Re-birth, theory of, 17-19Revati, wife of Balarama, 55Rohini, a wife of Vasudeva, mother of Balarama, 27-31, 35, 44, 53, 99_Roopa-lekha_, Indian art journal, 121Roy, Jamini, 112Roy, P. C. , 121Rukma, brother of Rukmini, 56, 64Rukmini, Krishna's first queen, 15, 55, 56, 59, 60, 64, 66, 69-72, 118, pl. 18Ruknuddin, Bikaner artist, 99_Rupam_, Indian art journal, 118Russell, M. , 113

Saktasura, demon, 30Sankhasura, yaksha demon, 44Sansar Chand, Raja of Kangra, 13, 108-111_Sat Sat_, poems by Bihari Lal, 110, pl. 36Sattrajit, father of Satyabhama, 56, 57Satyabhama, a queen of Krishna, 56, 57, 59, 60Sawant Singh, Raja of Kishangarh, 103Scroll paintings, 112Sen, D. C. , 121Sen, R. N. , 121Sesha, serpent of eternity, a part of Vishnu, 27, 69, pl. 1Shah Jahan, Mughal emperor, 99Shahabaddin, Mewar artist, 100Sher-Gil, Amrita, 112Shiraz, 97Sirmur, Punjab Hills, pl. 38 (comment)Sisupala, claimant to Rukmini, rival of Krishna, 22, 56, 59, 66, pl. 18 (comment)Sitwell, Sacheverell, 14Siva, 17, 18, 37, 44, 58, 59, 64, 65, 67, pl. 2Srinagar, Garhwal, 108St. John of the Cross, 74, 75Stchoukine, I, 121_Studies in Indian Painting_, 121Subhadra, sister of Krishna, 22, 64, 65Sudama, brahman, early friend of Krishna, 62, 63, 108, pl. 19Sudarsana, Celestial dancer, 40, 41Sur Das, poet, 84, 86, pl. 29Surabhi, cow of plenty, 40Sursagar, Hindi poem, pl. 29Surya, sun god, 18

Tagore, Rabindranath, 112_Taking of Toll, The_, 121_Ten Burnt Offerings_, 15_Tess of the D'Urbervilles, _ 119Trinavarta, whirlwind demon, 30

Udaipur, chief city, Mewar, 100, 101, 103-105, pl. 29 (comment)Udho, friend of Krishna, 52-54, 68Ugrasena, king of Mathura, 26, 48, 54, 57, 67, 69Ugrasura, snake demon, 33_Upanishads_, 17Usa, daughter of demon Vanasura, 64

Vaikuntha, heaven of Vishnu, 18, 59Vallabhacharya, poet, 84Vamana, dwarf incarnation of Vishnu, 20Vanasura, demon with a thousand arms, 64Varuna, god of water, 18, 38, pl. 1Vasudeva, Yadava prince, father of Krishna, husband of Devaki, brother of Kunti, 21, 27-31, 44, 46, 48-53, 62, 69, pl. 3Vatsasura, cow demon, 33Vedas, 39, 46, 56, 117_Vedic Age, The_, 121Victoria and Albert Museum, 98, pls. 30, 33, 34Vidyapati, poet, 84, 87, 90, 111Vishnu, 17-20, 26-29, 36, 39, 40, 45-47, 49, 56-58, 67, 69, 70, 76, 115, 116, pl. 2 (comment)_Vishnu Purana_, 25, 116, 117, pl. 8 (comment)Visvakarma, divine architect, 54, 63Vrishabhanu, father of Radha, 72Vrishnis, kinsmen of Krishna, 23Vyamasura, wolf demon, 45

Wellesz, E. , 98Williams, R. H. B. , pl. 30 (comment)Wilson, H. H. , 116, 117Winternitz, M. , 121_Wonder that was India, The_, 19, 115, 117, 121Wrestlers, Krishna's conflict with, 44, 45, 48, pl. 17

Yadavas, pastoral caste, Krishna's castemen, 21, 26, 27, 45, 49-57, 61, 62, 54, 66-69, 117, pls. 1 (comment), 2 (comment)Yasoda, wife of Nanda, foster-mother of Krishna, 27-33, 35, 49, 51-53, 61, 62, 72, 109Yoga, 19, 23Yudhisthira, leader of the Pandavas, husband of Draupadi, 21-23, 65, 66

THE PLATES

[Illustration]

PLATE 1

_The Death of Balarama_

Illustration to the Persian abridgement of the_Mahabharata_, the _Razmnama_ (or Book of the Wars)By BasawanMughal (Akbar period), c. 1595Collection H. H. The Maharaja of Jaipur, Jaipur

Although illustrations of the Hindu epic, the _Mahabharata_, were rarelycommissioned by Hindu patrons, the gigantic text possessed a unique appealto Indian minds and for this reason the Mughal emperor, Akbar, chose itfor translation into Persian. 'Having observed the fanatical hatredprevailing between Hindus and Muslims, ' writes his biographer, Abul Fazl, 'and convinced that it arose only from their mutual ignorance, theenlightened monarch wished to dispel the same by rendering the books ofthe former accessible to the latter. ' The work of translation was begun in1582 and was probably concluded in 1588 when Abul Fazl wrote the preface. It is unlikely, however, that the illustrations were completed before1595. 

The present picture by one of Akbar's greatest Hindu artists illustratesthe sensitive naturalism which from antecedents in Khurasan came toelegant maturity in Mughal India between 1585 and 1600. Certaindetails--the drapery with its shaded folds, the steeples rising in thedistance--are modelled on the European Renaissance pictures which by 1580had already reached the court. Other details such as the lithe squirrelsgambolling in the tree, the rearing snakes and dense luxuriant foliage canonly have been painted by an artist devoted to the Indian scene. 

In subject, the picture represents what Krishna saw on his return fromdestroying the Yadavas at Prabhasa. Balarama, his half-brother, has gonedown to the sea and has there yielded up his spirit. Sesha, the greatserpent, who is part of Vishnu himself, is now issuing from the bodyBalarama having been his incarnation. Snakes come to greet him whileVaruna, the god of water, stands as 'an old man of the sea' ready toescort him to his long home. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 2

_The Death of Krishna_

Illustration to the Persian abridgement of the_Mahabharata_, the _Razmuama_ (or Book of the Wars)By MukundMughal (Akbar period), c. 1595Collection H. H. The Maharaja of Jaipur, Jaipur

Following the death of Balarama, Krishna prepares to leave the world. Hesits in meditation and is shot in the sole of his right foot by Jara, aBhil hunter--the arrow which kills him being tipped with part of the ironwhich has caused the destruction of the Yadavas. 

The picture shows Krishna reclining on a platform of the kind stillconstructed in India at the base of sacred trees. An arrow transfixes hisright foot while the hunter, dressed as a courtier in Mughal dress, isshown releasing the bow. In front of Krishna stand four awe-struckfigures, representing the celestial sages and devotees of Vishnu who havecome to attend his passing. In the sky four gods look down. To the rightis Siva. Then, a little to the left, is four-headed Brahma, below him, Indra, his body spotted with a thousand eyes and finally a fourth god ofuncertain identity. Around the platform surges the snarling sea as ifimpatiently awaiting Krishna's death before engulfing the doomed Dwarka. 

The painting is by a colleague of Basawan (Plate 1) and illustrates thesame great text. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 3

_The Slaughter of an Innocent_

Illustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_Kangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790J. K. Mody collection, Bombay

Following the expansion of Indian miniature painting in the earlyseventeenth century, illustrated versions of the tenth book of the_Bhagavata Purana_ began to be produced in parts of Hindu India. It was inthe Punjab Hills, at the end of the eighteenth century, however, thatromance and religion achieved their most delicate expression. The artistchiefly responsible was a certain Nainsukh who had arrived at the State ofGuler in about 1740. His way of painting had marked affinities with thatof Basawan (Plate 1) and represents a blend of early Mughal naturalismwith later Hindu sentiment. The style founded by him influenced members ofhis own family, including his nephew Kushala and ultimately spread toKangra and Garhwal where it reached its greatest heights. The presentpicture, together with Plates 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 16, is possibly by theKangra artist Purkhu and with others of the series illustrates perhaps thegreatest interpretation of the _Bhagavata Purana_ ever produced in Indianpainting. 

In the picture, the tyrant ruler Kansa is sleeping on a bed as a courtierprepares to break the fateful news of Krishna's birth. To the right, Devaki, Krishna's mother, nurses the baby girl whom her husband, Vasudeva, has substituted for the infant Krishna. Kansa is wresting the baby fromher in order to dash its head against a boulder. As he does so, she eludeshis grasp and ascends to heaven in a flash, being, in fact, theeight-armed goddess Devi. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 4

_Krishna stealing Butter_

Illustration to an incident from the _Bhagavata Purana_Basohli, Punjab Hills, c. 1700N. C. Mehta collection, Bombay

Besides illustrating the tenth book of the _Bhagavata Purana_ as a whole, Indian artists sometimes chose isolated episodes and composed theirpictures around them. The present picture is an instance of this practice, its subject being the baby Krishna pilfering butter. As Yasoda, Krishna'sfoster-mother, goes inside the house, Krishna and the cowherd childrenstage an impudent raid. A cowherd boy mounts a wooden mortar and then, balanced on his shoulders, the young Krishna helps himself to the butterwhich is kept stored in a pot suspended by strings from the roof. A secondcowherd boy reaches up to lift the butter down while edging in from theright, a monkey, emblematic of mischievous thieving, shares in the spoil. 

The picture illustrates the wild and vehemently expressive style ofpainting which suddenly appeared at Basohli, a tiny State in the PunjabHills, towards the end of the seventeenth century. The jagged form ofYasoda, cut in two by the lintel of the doorway, the stabbing lines of thechurning pole, grazing sticks and cords, as well as the sharp angles ofthe house and its furniture, all contribute to a state of taut excitement. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 5

_The Felling of the Trees_

Illustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_Kangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790State Museum, Lucknow

From the same great series as Plate 3, here attributed to the Kangraartist Purkhu. 

The young Krishna, tied to a mortar to keep him out of mischief, hasdragged it between two trees and thereby uprooted them. The cowherds, ledby the bearded Nanda, Krishna's foster-father, have hurried to the sceneand Balarama, Krishna's half-brother, is excitedly pointing out thatKrishna is safe. In the foreground, emerging from the earth are twocrowned figures--Nala and Kuvara, the sons of the yaksha king, Kubera, who, as a consequence of a curse had been turned into the two trees. Doomed to await Krishna's intervention, they have now been released. Reclining on the trunks, still tied to the mortar, the young Krishnasurveys the scene with pert satisfaction. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 6

_The Road to Brindaban_

Illustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_Kangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790National Museum, New Delhi

With Plates 3 and 5, part of the series attributed to Purkhu. 

Led by Nanda, the majestic figure in the front bullock-cart, the cowherdsare moving a day's march across the River Jumna to enjoy the largerfreedom of Brindaban. Their possessions--bundles of clothes, spinning-wheels, baskets of grain and pitchers--are being taken with themand mounted with Yasoda on a second cart go the children, Balarama andKrishna. With its great variety of stances, simple naturalism and air ofinnocent calm, the picture exactly expresses the terms of tenderfamiliarity on which the cowherds lived with Krishna. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 7

_Krishna milking_

Illustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_Garhwal, Punjab Hills, c. 1800G. K. Kanoria collection, Calcutta

Like Plate 4, an illustration of an isolated episode. Krishna, havinggraduated from tending the calves, is milking a cow, his mind filled withbrooding thoughts. A cowgirl restrains the calf by tugging at its stringwhile the cow licks its restive offspring with tender care. Otherdetails--the tree clasped by a flowering creeper, the peacock perched inits branches--suggest the cowgirls' growing love. The image of tree andcreeper was a common symbol in poetry for the lover embraced by hisbeloved and peacocks, thirsting for rain, were evocative of desire. 

In style, the picture represents the end of the first great phase ofGarhwal painting (c. 1770-1804) when romantic themes were treated withglowing ardour. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 8

_The Quelling of the Snake Kaliya_

Illustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_Kangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790J. K. Mody collection, Bombay

With Plates 3, 5 and 6, an example of Kangra painting in its most sereneform. 

Krishna, having defied the hydra-headed snake whose poison has befouledthe River Jumna, is dancing in triumph on its sagging heads. The snake'sconsorts plead for mercy--one of them holding out bunches of lotusflowers, the others folding their hands or stretching out their arms inmute entreaty. The river is once again depicted as a surging flood but itis the master-artist's command of sinuous line and power of suffusing ascene of turmoil with majestic calm which gives the picture greatness. 

Although the present study is true to the _Bhagavata Purana_ where thesnake is explicitly described as vacating the water and meeting its endon dry land, other pictures, notably those from Garhwal[129] follow the_Vishnu Purana_ and show the final struggle taking place in the riveritself. 

[Footnote 129: Reproduced A. K. Coomaraswamy, _Rajput Painting_ (Oxford, 1916), Vol. II, Plates 53 and 54. ]

[Illustration]

PLATE 9

_Balarama killing the Demon Pralamba_

Illustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_Kangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790National Museum, New Delhi

A further example from the Kangra series, here attributed to Purkhu. 

As part of his war on Krishna and young boys, the tyrant Kansa sendsvarious demons to harry and kill them, the present picture showing fourstages in one such attack. To the right, the cowherd children, dividedinto two parties, face each other by an ant-hill, Krishna with armscrossed heading the right-hand group and Balarama the left. Concealed as acowherd in Krishna's party, the demon Pralamba awaits an opportunity ofkilling Balarama. The second stage, in the right-hand bottom corner, showsBalarama's party giving the other side 'pick-a-backs, ' after having beenvanquished in a game of guessing flowers and fruit. The third stage isreached in the top left-hand corner. Here Pralamba has regained his demonform and is hurrying off with Balarama. Balarama's left hand is tightlyclutched but with his right he beats at the demon's head. The fourth andfinal stage is illustrated in the bottom left-hand corner where Balaramahas subdued the demon and is about to slay him. 

The picture departs from the normal version, as given in the _BhagavataPurana, _ by showing Balarama's side, instead of Krishna's, carrying outthe forfeits. According to the _Purana_, it was Krishna's side that lostand since Pralamba was among the defeated, he was in a position to takeBalarama for a ride. It is likely, however, that in view of the otherepisode in the _Purana_ in which Krishna humbles his favourite cowgirlwhen she asks to be carried (Plate 14), the artist shrank from showingKrishna in this servile posture so changed the two sides round. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 10

_The Forest Fire_

Illustration to an incident from the _Bhagavata Purana_Basohli, Punjab Hills, c. 1680Karl Khandalavala collection, Bombay

Under Raja Kirpal Pal (c. 1680-1693), painting at Basohli attained asavage intensity of expression--the present picture illustrating the stylein its earliest and greatest phase. Surrounded by a ring of fire and withcowherd boys and cattle stupefied by smoke, Krishna is putting out theblaze by sucking the flames into his cheeks. Deer and pig are bounding tosafety while birds and wild bees hover distractedly overhead. 

During his life among the cowherds, Krishna was on two occasionsconfronted with a forest fire--the first, on the night following hisstruggle with Kaliya the snake when Nanda, Yasoda and other cowherds andcowgirls were also present and the second, following Balarama's encounterwith the demon Pralamba (Plate 10), when only cowherd boys were with him. Since Nanda and the cowgirls are absent from the present picture, it isprobably the second of these two occasions which is illustrated. 

For a reproduction in colour of this passionately glowing picture, seeKarl Khandalavala, _Indian Sculpture and Painting_ (Bombay, 1938) (Plate10). 

[Illustration]

PLATE 11

_The Stealing of the Clothes_

Illustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_Kangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790J. K. Mody collection, Bombay

Despite the Indian delight in sensuous charm, the nude was only rarelydepicted in Indian painting--feelings of reverence and delicacy forbiddingtoo unabashed a portrayal of the feminine physique. The present picturewith its band of nude girls is therefore an exception--the facts of the_Purana_ rendering necessary their frank inclusion. 

The scene illustrated concerns the efforts of the cowgirls to winKrishna's love. Bathing naked in the river at dawn in order to ridthemselves of sin, they are surprised by Krishna who takes their clothesup into a tree. When they beg him to return them, he insists that eachshould freely expose herself before him, arguing that only in this way canthey convince him of their love. In the picture, the girls are shylyadvancing while Krishna looks down at them from the tree. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 12

_The Raising of Mount Govardhana_

Illustration to an incident from the _Bhagavata Purana_Garhwal, Punjab Hills, c. 1790National Museum, New Delhi

With Plate 7, an example of Garhwal painting and its use of smoothlycurving line. 

Krishna is lifting Mount Govardhana on his little finger and Nanda, thecowherds and cowgirls are sheltering underneath. The occasion is Krishna'sslight to Indra, king of the gods and lord of the clouds, whose worship hehas persuaded the cowherds to abandon. Incensed at Krishna's action, Indrahas retaliated by sending storms of rain. 

In the picture, Indra, a tiny figure mounted on a white elephant careersacross the sky, goading the clouds to fall in torrents. Lightning flickerswildly and on Govardhana itself, the torn and shattered trees bespeak thegale's havoc. Below all is calm as the cowherds acclaim Krishna's power. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 13

_Krishna with his Favourite after leaving the Dance_

Illustration to the _Bhagavala Purana_Kangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790J. K. Mody collection, Bombay

Besides Purkhu, at least two other master-artists worked at Kangra towardsthe end of the eighteenth century--one, responsible for the presentpicture and Plates 14 and 15, being still unknown. He is here referred toas 'the master of the moonlight' on account of his special preoccupationwith moonlight effects. 

The present picture shows Krishna and a girl standing by an inlet of theRiver Jumna. The girl is later to be identified as Radha but in the_Bhagavata Purana_ she is merely referred to as one who has beenparticularly favoured, her actual name being suppressed. The moment issome time after they have left the circular dance and before their suddenseparation. Krishna, whose hand rests on the girl's shoulder, is urgingher forward but the girl is weary and begs him to carry her. The incidentillustrates one of the vicissitudes in Radha and Krishna's romance and waslater to be endowed with deep religious meaning. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 14

_Krishna's Favourite deserted_

Illustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_Kangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790National Museum, New Delhi

From the same series as Plates 13 and 15 by 'the master of the moonlight. '

The girl's request (Plate 13) that Krishna should carry her brings to ahead the question of Krishna's proper status. To an adoring lover, therequest is not unreasonable. Made to God, it implies an excess of pride. Despite their impassioned love-making, therefore, the girl must be humbledand as she puts out her arms and prepares to mount, Krishna vanishes. 

In the picture, the great woods overhanging the rolling Jumna are tiltingforward as if to join the girl in her agonized advances while around herrise the bleak and empty slopes, their eerie loneliness intensified byfrigid moonlight. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 15

_The Quest for Krishna_

Illustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_Kangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790J. K. Mody collection, Bombay

By the same 'master of the moonlight' as Plates 13 and 14. 

Krishna's favourite, stunned by his brusque desertion, has now been met bya party of cowgirls. Their plight is similar to her own, for, afterenjoying his enchanting love, they also have been deserted when Krishnaleft the dance taking his favourite with him. In the picture, Radha holdsher head in anguish while to the right the cowgirls look at her in mutedistress. Drooping branches echo their stricken love while a tree in thebackground, its branches stretching wanly against the sky, suggests theirplaintive yearning. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 16

_The Eve of the final Encounter_

Illustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_Kangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790J. K. Mody collection, Bombay

From the same series as Plates 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 11, here attributed tothe Kangra artist Purkhu. 

Invited by Kansa, the tyrant king, to attend a festival of arms, Nanda andthe cowherds have arrived at Mathura and pitched their tents outside thewalls. Krishna and Balarama are eating their evening meal by candle-light, a cowherd, wearing a dark cloak to keep off the night air, is attending tothe bullocks while three cowherd boys, worn out by the day's march, reston string-beds under the night sky. In the background, Krishna andBalarama, having finished their meal, are peacefully sleeping, serenelyindifferent to the struggle which awaits them the next day. The moonwaning in the sky parallels the tyrant's declining fortunes. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 17

_The End of the Tyrant_

Illustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_Kangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790Chester Beatty Library, Dublin

In the same style as Plate 16, but perhaps from a different series. 

The festival of arms is now in progress but has already taken anunexpected turn. Set on by the savage elephant, Krishna and Balarama havekilled it and taken out the tusks. They have then engaged two giantwrestlers, Krishna killing his opponent outright. In the picture Balaramais about to kill the other wrestler and Krishna, holding an elephant tuskunder his arm, looks at the king with calm defiance. The king's end is nowin sight for a little later Krishna will spring on the platform and hurlhim to his death. Gathered in the wide arena, townspeople from Mathuraawait the outcome, while cowherd boys delightedly encourage the twoheroes. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 18

_The Rape of Rukmini_

Illustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_Bilaspur, Punjab Hills, c. 1745British Museum. London

Compared with Krishna's life among the cowherds, his adventures as aprince were only scantily illustrated in Indian painting--his consortRukmini being totally eclipsed in courtly favour by the adored cowgirl, Radha. The present picture--one of the very few to represent thetheme--shows Rukmini and her maids worshipping at the shrine to Devi, theearth mother, on the morning of her wedding. Her proposed husband isSisupala and already he and his party have arrived to claim her hand. Indespair Rukmini has apprised Krishna of her fate but does not know that hewill intervene. As she worships, Krishna suddenly appears, places her onhis chariot and, in the teeth of Sisupala's forces, carries her away. Thepicture illustrates the dramatic moment when after descending on theshrine, Krishna effects her rescue. 

The picture is in an eighteenth-century style of painting which, fromantecedents in Kashmir and the Punjab Plains, developed at Bilaspur. Thissmall Rajput State adjoined Guler in the Punjab Hills and shared in thegeneral revival of painting caused by the diffusion of artists fromBasohli. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 19

_Krishna welcoming the Brahman Sudama_

Illustration to the Sudama episode in the _Bhagavata Purana_Garhwal, Punjab Hills, c. 1785Chester Beatty Library, Dublin

Sudama is a poor Brahman whose devotion leads him to go to Dwarka, andseek out Krishna. Krishna remembers the time when they had shared the samepreceptor and warmly welcomes him to his princely palace. The pictureshows Sudama in rags seated on a stool while Krishna washes his feet andhails him as a Brahman. In close attendance are various ladies of thecourt, their graceful forms transcribed with sinuous delicacy and suavepoetic charm. 

Although an episode in Krishna's later career as a prince and one designedto buttress the priestly caste of Brahmans, the story--with its emphasison loving devotion--is actually in close accord with Krishna's life amongthe cowherds. For this reason, it probably continued to excite interestlong after other aspects of his courtly life had been ignored. In thisrespect. Sudama's visit to Krishna is as much a parable of divine love asKrishna's dances with the cowgirls. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 20

_The Beginnings of Romance_

Illustration to the _Gita Govinda_Garhwal. Punjab Hills, c. 1790National Museum, New Delhi

The first poem to celebrate Radha as Krishna's supreme love is the _GitaGovinda_ of Jayadeva, written at the end of the twelfth century. The poemrecounts Radha's anguish at Krishna's fickleness, his subsequentrepentance and finally their passionate re-union. 

The present picture with its glamorous interpretation of the forest inspring illustrates the poem's opening verse and re-creates the setting interms of which the drama will proceed. Nanda, the tall figure toweringabove the cowherd children, is commanding Radha to take Krishna home. Theevening sky is dark with clouds, the wind has risen and already theflower-studded branches are swaying and bending in the breeze. Krishna isstill a young boy and Radha a girl a few years older. As Radha takes himhome, they loiter by the river, passion suddenly flares and they fall intoeach other's arms. In this way, the verse declares, the loves of Radha andKrishna began. The left-hand side of the picture shows the two loversembracing--the change in their attitudes being reflected in their alteredheights. Krishna who originally was shorter than Radha is now the tallerof the two, the change suggesting the mature character of their passionaterelations. 

The picture with its graceful feminine forms and twining lines has thesame quality of rhythmical exaltation as Plates 19 and 35, a qualitytypical of the Garwhal master-artist in his greatest phase. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 21

_Krishna playing on the Flute_

Illustration to the _Gita Govinda_Kangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790N. C. Mehta collection, Bombay

As Radha wilts in lonely anguish, a friend describes how Krishna isbehaving. 

 'The wife of a certain herdsman sings as Krishna sounds a tune of love Krishna here disports himself with charming women given to love. '

In the picture, Radha sits beneath a flowering tree, conversing with thefriend while, to the right, Krishna plays the flute to a circle of adoringgirls. 

The painting is by a Kangra master, perhaps Kushala, the nephew of theGuler artist, Nainsukh, and illustrates the power of Kangra painters toimbue with innocent delicacy the most intensely emotional of situations. It was the investment of passion with dignity which was one of the chiefcontributions of Kangra painting to Indian art. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 22

_Krishna dancing with the Cowgirls_

Illustration to the _Gita Govinda_Western Rajasthan, c. 1610N. C. Mehta collection, Bombay

Besides describing Krishna's flute-playing, Radha's friend gives her anaccount of his love-making. 

 'An artless woman looks with ardour on Krishna's lotus face. ' 'Another on the bank of the Jumna, when Krishna goes to a bamboo thicket, Pulls at his garment to draw him back, so eager is she for amorous play. ' 'Krishna praises another woman, lost with him in the dance of love, The dance where the sweet low flute is heard in the clamour of bangles on hands that clap. He embraces one woman, he kisses another, and fondles another beautiful one. ' 'Krishna here disports himself with charming women given to love. '

The present picture illustrates phases of this glamorous love-making--Krishnaembracing one woman, dancing with another and conversing with a third. Thebackground is a diagram of the forest as it might appear in spring--theslack looseness of treatment befitting the freedom of conduct adumbratedby the verse. The large insects hovering in the branches are the blackbees of Indian love-poetry whose quest for flowers was regarded assymbolic of urgent lovers pestering their mistresses. In style the pictureillustrates the Jain painting of Western India after its early angularrigidity had been softened by application to tender and more romanticthemes. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 23

_Krishna seated with the Cowgirls_

Illustration to the _Gita Govinda_Jaunpur, Eastern India, c. 1590Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay

After flute-playing and dancing (Plates 21 and 22), Krishna sits with thecowgirls. 

 'With his limbs, tender and dark like rows of clumps of blue lotus flowers. By herd girls surrounded, who embrace at pleasure any part of his body, Friend, in spring, beautiful Krishna plays like Love's own self Conducting the love sport, with love for all, bringing delight into being. '

And it is here that Radha finds him. 

 'May the smiling captivating Krishna protect you, whom Radha, blinded by love, Violently kissed as she made as if singing a song of welcome saying, "Your face is nectar, excellent, " ardently clasping his bosom In the presence of the fair-browed herdgirls dazed in the sport of love. '

The picture shows Krishna surrounded by a group of cowgirls, one of whomis caressing his leg. To the right, Radha and the friend are approachingthrough the trees. The style with its sharp curves and luxuriatingsmartness illustrates a vital development of the Jain manner in the latersixteenth century. [130]

[Footnote 130: For a first discussion of this important series, see acontribution by Karl Khandalavala, 'A _Gita Govinda_ Series in the Princeof Wales Museum, ' _Bulletin of the Prince of Wales Museum. Bombay_ (1956), No. 4. ]

[Illustration]

PLATE 24

_The neglected Radha_

Illustration to the _Gita Govinda_Jaunpur, Eastern India, c. 1590Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay

Following his revels with the cowgirls, Krishna is smitten with remorse. He roams the forest, searching for the lovely Radha but finding hernowhere. As he pursues his quest, he encounters the friend and learns ofRadha's dejected state. 

 'Her body is wholly tormented by the heat of the flame of desire; But only of you, so loved, she thinks in her langour, Your extinguishing body; secluded she waits, all wasted-- A short while, perhaps, surviving she lives. Formerly even a moment when weary she closed her eyes. The moment's parting she could not endure, from the sight of you; And now in this long separation, O how does she breathe Having seen the flowery branch of the mango, the shaft of Love?'

In the picture, Radha is sitting in the forest, lonely and neglected. Trees surround her, suggesting by their rank luxuriance the upward surgeof spring while cranes, slowly winging their way in pairs across theblackening sky, poignantly remind her of her former love. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 25

_Krishna repentant_

Illustration to the _Gita Govinda_Garhwal, Punjab Hills, c. 1790

Learning of Radha's plight, Krishna longs to comfort her. Beforeapproaching her, however, he spends a night passionately dallying withanother cowgirl and only in the morning tenders his submission. By thistime, Radha's mood has turned to bitter anger and although Krishna begs tobe forgiven, Radha tells him to return to his latest love. 

 'Go, Krishna, go. Desist from uttering these deceitful words. Follow her, you lotus-eyed, she who can dispel your trouble, go to her. '

In the picture, Krishna is striving to calm her ruffled feelings whileRadha, 'cruel to one who loves you, unbending to one who bows, angry withone who desires, averting your face from this your lover, ' has none ofhim. 

According to the poem, the scene of this tense encounter is not a palaceterrace but the forest--the Garhwal artist deeming a courtly setting moreappropriate for Radha's exquisite physique. The suavely curving linearrhythm, characteristic of Garhwal painting at its best, is once again themeans by which a mood of still adoration is sensitively conveyed. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 26

_The last Tryst_

Illustration to the _Gita Govinda_Basohli. Punjab Hills, c. 1730State Museum, Lahore

Having brusquely dismissed Krishna, Radha is overcome with longing andwhen he once again approaches her she showers on him her adoring love. Thefriend urges her to delay no longer. 

 'Your friends are all aware that you are ready for love's conflict Go, your belt aloud with bells, shameless, amorous, to the meeting. '

Radha succumbs to her advice and slowly approaches Krishna's forest bower. 

In the picture, Krishna is impatiently awaiting her while Radha, urgedonward by the friend, pauses for a moment to shed her shyness. The pictureis part of an illustrated edition of the poem executed in Basohli in 1730for a local princess, the lady Manaku. As in other Basohli paintings, trees are shown as small and summary symbols, the horizon is a streak ofclouds and there is a deliberate shrinkage from physical refinement. Thepurpose of the picture is rather to express with the maximum of power thesavagery of passion and the stark nature of lovers' encounters. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 27

_The closing Scene_

Illustration to the _Gita Govinda_Basohli, Punjab Hills. C. 1730Art Gallery, Chandigarh, East Punjab

From the same series as Plate 26. 

After agonies of 'love unsatisfied, ' Radha and Krishna are at lastreconciled. 

 'She looked on Krishna who desired only her, on him who for long wanted dalliance, Whose face with his pleasure was overwhelmed and who was possessed with Desire, Who engendered passion with his face made lovely through tremblings of glancing eyes, Like a pond in autumn with a pair of wagtails at play in a fullblown lotus. Like the gushing of the shower of sweat in the effort of her travel to come to his hearing, Radha's eyes let fall a shower of tears when she met her beloved, Tears of delight which went to the ends of her eyes and fell on her flawless necklace. When she went near the couch and her friends left the bower, scratching their faces to hide their smiles, And she looked on the mouth of her loved one, lovely with longing, under the power of love, The modest shame of that deer-eyed one departed. '

In the picture, Radha and Krishna are again united. Krishna has drawnRadha to him and is caressing her cheek while friends of Radha gossip inthe courtyard. As in Plate 25, the artist has preferred a house to theforest--the sharp thrust of the angular walls exactly expressing thefierceness of the lovers' desires. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 28

_Krishna awaiting Radha_

Illustration to the _Rasika Priya_ of Keshav DasBundi (Rajasthan), c. 1700National Museum, New Delhi

Following the Sanskrit practice of discussing poetic taste, Keshav Dasproduced in 1592 a Hindi manual of poetics. In this book, poems on lovewere analysed with special reference to Krishna--Krishna himselfsustaining the role of _nayaka_ or ideal lover. During the seventeenthcentury, illustrated versions of the manual were produced--poems appearingat the top of the picture and the subjects being illustrated beneath. Thepresent picture treats Radha as the _nayika_ or ideal mistress and showsher about to visit Krishna, She is, at first, seated on a bed but a littlelater, is leaning against a pillar as a maid or friend induces her todescend. In the left-hand bottom corner, Krishna sits quietly waiting. Thebower is hung with garlands and floored with lotus petals while lightningtwisting in the sky and torches flickering in the courtyard suggest thestorm of love. The figures with their neat line and eager faces aretypical of Bundi painting after it had broken free from the parent styleof Udaipur. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 29

_Radha and Krishna making Love_

Illustration to the _Sursagar_ of Sur DasUdaipur, Rajasthan, c. 1650G. K. Kanoria collection, Calcutta

Like Plate 28, an illustration to a Hindi poem analysing Krishna's conductas ideal lover. 

Krishna is here embracing Radha while outside two of Radha's friends awaitthe outcome. Above them, two girls are watching peacocks--the strainedadvances of the birds and the ardent gazes of the girls hinting at thetense encounter proceeding in the room below. 

The Udaipur style of painting with its vehement figures, geometricalcompositions and brilliant colouring was admirably suited to interpretingscenes of romantic violence. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 30

_The Lover approaching_

Illustration to the _Rasamanjari_ of Bhanu DattaBasohli, Punjab Hills, c. 1680Victoria and Albert Museum, London (I. S. 52-1953)

Although the _Rasika Priya_ of Keshav Das was the manual of poetry mostfrequently illustrated by Indian artists, an earlier Sanskrit treatise, the _Rasamanjari_ of Bhanu Datta, excited a particular raja's interest andresulted in the production at Basohli of a vividly illustrated text. Theoriginal poem discusses the conventions of ordinary lovers. Under thisBasohli ruler's stimulus, however, the lover was deemed to be Krishna andalthough the verses make no allusion to him, it is Krishna who monopolizesthe illustrations. 

In the present instance, Krishna the lover, carrying a lotus-bud, is aboutto visit his mistress. The lady sits within, a pair of lotus-leavesprotecting her nude bust, her hair falling in strands across her thighs. Amaid explains to Krishna that her mistress is still at her toilet andchides him for arriving so abruptly. 

The poem expresses the sentiments which a lover, denied early access, might fittingly address to his mistress. 

'Longing to behold your path, my inmost heart--like a lotus-leaf when anew rain-cloud has appeared--mounts to your neck. My eye, too, takeswing, soaring in the guise of a lotus-bird, to regard the moon of yourface. '[131]

[Footnote 131: Translation R. H. B. Williams. ]

In the picture, the lotus imagery is retained but is given a subtletwist--the lotus-leaves themselves, rather than the lover's inmost heart, being shown as mounting to the lady's neck. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 31

_Radha extinguishing the Lamp_

Basohli, Punjab Hills, c. 1690Bharat Kala Bhawan, Benares

Although no inscription has so far been published, it is likely that thispicture is an illustration to the _Rasamanjari_ of Bhanu Datta. The loveris once again Krishna and the girl most probably Radha. Krishna isinviting her to extinguish the lamp so that they may better enjoy theexcitements of darkness. 

With its air of violent frenzy, the picture is typical of Basohli paintingat the end of the seventeenth century--the girl's wide-flung legs andrushing movements symbolizing the frantic nature of passionate desire. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 32

_The Month of Asarh (June-July)_

Illustration to a _Barahmasa_ (or Cycle of the Months)Bundi, Rajasthan, c. 1750Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay

In Hindi poetry, lovers were sometimes described against a background ofthe twelve months--each month suggesting a different kind of mood orbehaviour. Such poems known as _Barahmasa_ (barah, twelve; masa, month)were sometimes illustrated--a princely lover and his lady being shownseated on a terrace with the sights and scenes appropriate to the monthgoing on around. When this lover was identified with Krishna, any aspectof love was regarded as, in some degree, expressive of his character. 

The present picture portrays the beginning of the Rains. The sky is blackwith clouds. On a lake lovers dally in a tiny pavilion, while in thebackground two princes consult a hermit before leaving on their travels. The rainy season was associated in poetry with love in separation and forthis reason a lonely girl is shown walking in a wood. In a garden pavilionKrishna dallies with Radha, the approaching rain augmenting their desire. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 33

_Radha and Krishna swinging_

Illustration to the musical mode. _Hindola Raga_('the swinging music')Malwa, Middle India, c. 1750Victoria and Albert Museum, London

A poem celebrating one of the main modes of Indian music is hererepresented by Radha and Krishna seated on a swing. The mode itself iscalled 'the swinging music' but since swinging was symbolical oflove-making and also took place during the rains, the season of longing, its spirit was sometimes impersonated not by an ordinary prince but byKrishna himself. In the picture, peacocks, which were common symbols forthe lover, are shown against a storm-tossed sky--the battered clouds andwrithing lightning being symbolic references to 'the strife of love. ' Atthe foot, lotus plants, their flowers symbolizing the male, their leavesthe female, rise from a rain-filled river. 

The picture represents one of the more poetic traditions of Indianpainting but at a comparatively late stage of its development. During thesixteenth century the Malwa style had played a decisive part in theevolution of Rajput painting, but by the eighteenth century had shedsomething of its early ardour. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 34

_Krishna attended by Ladies_

Illustration to the musical mode, _Bhairava Raga_Hyderabad. Deccan, c. 1750Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Like Plate 33, an illustration to a poem accompanying a leading mode ofIndian music. Krishna is sitting on a bed while Radha is rubbing his rightarm with sandal preparatory to making love. In the foreground a maid isgrinding the sandalwood into a paste. Although the poem itself contains nomention of Krishna, it speaks of Bhairava--a form of Siva--as a raginglover, 'insensate in a whirlwind of desire. ' On this accountKrishna--identified by his blue skin--has been inserted in the picture, his character as a lover according with the frenzied character of thepoem. In the background a bullock is lifting water from a well and agardener is bending over a bed of poppies. Ducks and fishes sport in thewater. 

Illustrations to modes of music were common features of the Muslim art ofthe Deccan--the association of certain modes with Krishna being carefullypreserved. One of the finest series of _raga_ and _ragini_ picturesexecuted at Hyderabad and now in the India Office Library, London, contains exquisite versions with Krishna themes. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 35

_Radha disguised as a Constable arresting Krishna as a Thief_

Garhwal, Punjab Hills, c. 1785Indian Museum, Calcutta

Tired of Krishna's attempts to waylay the cowgirls, Radha dons a turban, brandishes a constable's heavy staff and seizes Krishna by the wrist. 'Iam a policeman of Raja Kansa, come to take you to gaol, ' she says. Thepicture shows the cowgirls standing with their pitchers of curd, whilecowherd boys--Krishna's accomplices--take to their heels. Krishna himselfstands limply by, as if uncertain who the constable is. 

The incident is unrecorded in the _Bhagavata Purana_ but appears in laterpoetry as an instance of Radha and Krishna's mutual fun--teasing being anessential part of their love-making. 

The picture is by the same master artist as Plate 19. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 36

_Krishna meeting Radha_

Illustration to a poem from the _Sat Sai_ of BihariKangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790N. C. Mehta collection. Bombay

An example of Krishna's meetings with Radha. Appearing as if by accidentKrishna is lolling on his cowherd's stick while Radha, encouraged by afriend, has come to meet him. As she stands, there ensues that idyllic'meeting of eyes' which Indian sentiment regarded as one of the mostelectrifying experiences in romance. In the picture, a tree pushes itsflowering branches across open rolling slopes, suggesting by its freshupsurgence the exquisite emotions stirring in Radha's and Krishna'shearts. 

The picture is most probably by the Kangra artist, Kushala, to whom Plate21 may also be assigned. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 37

_Radha's Longing_

Guler, Punjab Hills, c. 1810Bharat Kala Bhawan, Banaras

In Indian painting and poetry, it was women driven to distraction byunappeased longing rather than men hungry with desire who formed the chiefsubject of romantic art. Pictures focussed on woman in all her variedmoods and flattered the male mind by portraying her wilting with sadnesswhen deprived of husband or lover. 

The present picture shows Radha frenziedly contemplating her lonely state. Ornaments grown too hot for wearing--from the passion burning in herheart--are strewn about the bed, while hands tightly clasped suggest herwild unhappy torment. The vast and barren hills, empty angular buildings, tiny guttering candles and lonely flowering tree provide a sympatheticsetting. 

With its sinuous line and innocent delight in feminine form, the pictureis typical of Guler painting at the start of the nineteenth century. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 38

_Radha and Krishna returning in the Rain_

Nahan, Punjab Hills, c. 1820State Museum, Lahore. 

A scene from Radha and Krishna's idyllic life together. Caught by a galeof wind and rain, the lovers are hurrying to shelter, Krishna carrying aleaf umbrella while cows and cowherds bend before the storm. In thedistance, small figures wearing hooded cloaks hasten towards the village. Although keenly evocative of actual landscapes in the Punjab Hills--wherepalaces were usually set on rocky hill-tops with nearby villagesclustering at their feet--the picture's main concern is to illustrate andinterpret the lovers' feelings. The black clouds lit by eerie lightningand the trees tossing and swaying in the wind symbolize the passion ragingin their hearts and suggest its ultimate outcome. 

The picture represents a style of painting which is thought to have grownup at Nahan, the capital of Sirmur, after its neighbour, Garhwal, had beenoverrun by Gurkhas in 1804. Garhwal artists probably sought asylum at theSirmur court and there developed a distinctive offshoot of the Garhwalmanner. 

[Illustration]

PLATE 39

_The Triumph of Radha_

Kishangarh, Rajasthan, c. 1770C. K. Kanoria collection, Calcutta

During the eighteenth century, Radha was often regarded as Krishna'spermanent consort and was accorded divine honours--the present pictureillustrating her final apotheosis. Seated together, their heads surroundedby haloes, the two lovers display their courtly charms. Krishna has nowthe mannered luxury of a high-born prince and Radha, no longer the simplecowgirl, is the very embodiment of aristocratic loveliness. As the loverssit together, their forms offset by a carpet of lotus petals, Krishnaattempts to put betel-nut in Radha's mouth--the gesture subtly indicatingtheir loving intimacy. 

SOURCES

Frontispiece. By courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and ofMessrs Faber and Faber. 

1, 2. Hendley, _Memorials of the Jeypore Exhibition, IV, the Razm Namah_. 

5. By courtesy of State Museum, Lucknow and of Mr. M. M. Nagar. 

6, 12, 20, 28. Archeological Survey of India, New Delhi. 

10, 19, 30, 33, 34. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. 

18. Stchoukine, _La Peinture Indienne_. 

22, 26, 31, 38. Messrs. A. C. Cooper Ltd, London. 

23, 24. By courtesy of the Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay and of Dr. MotiChandra. 

25. _Journal of Indian Art_, Vol. XVI, 116. 

27. By courtesy of Mr. M. S. Randhawa, I. C. S. 

39. By courtesy of Mr. Gopi Krishna Kanoria. 

3, 4, 7-9, 11, 13-17, 21, 29, 32, 35-37. Author's photographs.