The love of Radha and Krishna is a timeless theme inspiring poets and painters for innovating its ever new situations and aspects. It has always combined transcendental love with the ephemeral and given it mystic dimensions. Here in the painting Krishna is represented as braiding Radha’s hair. As lover his act is an expression of delicate love but as Brahman and Radha a worldly self pining to unite with him in love, this is his act of entwining this worldly self with Him.
On sensual plane the love story between Radha and Krishna is the representation of youthful love, all its passions and madness that Radha and Krishna had since childhood beyond considerations of age, status and everything. Banks of the river Yamuna and groves of trees or bowers were their favourite resorts for love-making.
The scene in the painting is influenced by the Geet-Govinda, a Sanskrit poem of love by Jayadeva, a 12th century poet, to which medieval painters attributed further dimensions. The miniature portrays Krishna and Radha seated under shadow of tree on a dark black carpet with red border close a pond full of lotus flowers and leaves. Despite that Krishna is engaged in braiding Radha’s hair, the eyes of both are fixed on each other as when in deepest love. He kept his flute aside on carpet.
Krishna is wearing Pitambara (yellow garments) : a lower wear and sash, and is elegantly bejeweled - putting on a crown embedded with precious jewels and crested with peacock feathers and a white garland of fresh flowers, the mythical Vaijayanti of Parijata flowers that never faded. Radha is wearing a green lehenga and red odhani and various ornaments the more attractive being the white pearl necklace, nose-ring and golden bracelets.
Peacocks are inseparably linked with Krishna and are often painted with him. Here a peacock couple, a reflection of Radha and Krishna in love, has been painted perching close by on the tree and as well as ground. The sky is covered with dark clouds indicative of monsoon months. Trees are filled with fresh leaves and colourful flowers. The painting pursues the idiom of Pahari School of miniature art.
This description is by Miss Indra Vats. She has a deep interest in Indian art and iconography and is currently working at the National Museum of India, one of the premier organizations engaged in the curation and protection of Indian heritage.
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