The Loves of Krishna in Indian Painting and Poetry Part 19

_The Month of Asarh (June-July)_

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

In Hindi poetry, lovers were sometimes described against a background of the twelve months--each month suggesting a different kind of mood or behaviour. Such poems known as _Barahmasa_ (barah, twelve; masa, month) were sometimes ill.u.s.trated--a princely lover and his lady being shown seated on a terrace with the sights and scenes appropriate to the month going on around. When this lover was identified with Krishna, any aspect of love was regarded as, in some degree, expressive of his character.

The present picture portrays the beginning of the Rains. The sky is black with clouds. On a lake lovers dally in a tiny pavilion, while in the background two princes consult a hermit before leaving on their travels.

The rainy season was a.s.sociated in poetry with love in separation and for this reason a lonely girl is shown walking in a wood. In a garden pavilion Krishna dallies with Radha, the approaching rain augmenting their desire.

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PLATE 33

_Radha and Krishna swinging_

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

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

The picture represents one of the more poetic traditions of Indian painting but at a comparatively late stage of its development. During the sixteenth century the Malwa style had played a decisive part in the evolution of Rajput painting, but by the eighteenth century had shed something of its early ardour.

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PLATE 34

_Krishna attended by Ladies_

Ill.u.s.tration to the musical mode, _Bhairava Raga_ Hyderabad. Deccan, c. 1750 Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Like Plate 33, an ill.u.s.tration to a poem accompanying a leading mode of Indian music. Krishna is sitting on a bed while Radha is rubbing his right arm with sandal preparatory to making love. In the foreground a maid is grinding the sandalwood into a paste. Although the poem itself contains no mention of Krishna, it speaks of Bhairava--a form of Siva--as a raging lover, 'insensate in a whirlwind of desire.' On this account Krishna--identified by his blue skin--has been inserted in the picture, his character as a lover according with the frenzied character of the poem. In the background a bullock is lifting water from a well and a gardener is bending over a bed of poppies. Ducks and fishes sport in the water.

Ill.u.s.trations to modes of music were common features of the Muslim art of the Deccan--the a.s.sociation of certain modes with Krishna being carefully preserved. One of the finest series of _raga_ and _ragini_ pictures executed at Hyderabad and now in the India Office Library, London, contains exquisite versions with Krishna themes.

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PLATE 35

_Radha disguised as a Constable arresting Krishna as a Thief_

Garhwal, Punjab Hills, c. 1785 Indian 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. 'I am a policeman of Raja Kansa, come to take you to gaol,' she says. The picture shows the cowgirls standing with their pitchers of curd, while cowherd boys--Krishna's accomplices--take to their heels. Krishna himself stands limply by, as if uncertain who the constable is.

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

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

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PLATE 36

_Krishna meeting Radha_

Ill.u.s.tration to a poem from the _Sat Sai_ of Bihari Kangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790 N.C. Mehta collection. Bombay

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

The picture is most probably by the Kangra artist, Kushala, to whom Plate 21 may also be a.s.signed.

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PLATE 37

_Radha's Longing_

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

In Indian painting and poetry, it was women driven to distraction by unappeased longing rather than men hungry with desire who formed the chief subject of romantic art. Pictures focussed on woman in all her varied moods and flattered the male mind by portraying her wilting with sadness when deprived of husband or lover.

The present picture shows Radha frenziedly contemplating her lonely state.

Ornaments grown too hot for wearing--from the pa.s.sion burning in her heart--are strewn about the bed, while hands tightly clasped suggest her wild unhappy torment. The vast and barren hills, empty angular buildings, tiny guttering candles and lonely flowering tree provide a sympathetic setting.

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

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PLATE 38

_Radha and Krishna returning in the Rain_

Nahan, Punjab Hills, c. 1820 State Museum, Lah.o.r.e.

A scene from Radha and Krishna's idyllic life together. Caught by a gale of wind and rain, the lovers are hurrying to shelter, Krishna carrying a leaf umbrella while cows and cowherds bend before the storm. In the distance, small figures wearing hooded cloaks hasten towards the village.

Although keenly evocative of actual landscapes in the Punjab Hills--where palaces were usually set on rocky hill-tops with nearby villages cl.u.s.tering at their feet--the picture's main concern is to ill.u.s.trate and interpret the lovers' feelings. The black clouds lit by eerie lightning and the trees tossing and swaying in the wind symbolize the pa.s.sion raging in their hearts and suggest its ultimate outcome.

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

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PLATE 39

_The Triumph of Radha_