An Image of Shrinathji Dressed for Radha's Birthday
Artist: Kotah School
Date: about 1840
Dimensions:
sheet: 8 x 5 11/16 in. (20.3 x 14.4 cm)
image: 6 7/8 x 4 5/8 in. (17.4 x 11.7 cm)
Medium: opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Place of Origin: India
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 2007.103
Label Text:Bright and colorful, this image of the Hindu god Shrinathji, a manifestation of Krishna, relates to an incident from the seventeenth century, during the rule of the Mughals, a Muslim dynasty originating in Central Asia. In 1669, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb decided to destroy all the Hindu temples within his territory. This prompted the Maharana of Udaipur to move a particularly sacred statue of Shrinathji to the city of Mathura in order to remove it from Aurangzeb's destructive wrath. However, the cart transporting the idol got stuck in the mud in the small village of Nathdwara not far from Udaipur. Attempts to free it from the mire failed, and it was decided to build a shrine at that spot, since it was here that the divinity himself had chosen to come to rest. The idol of Shrinathji, sculpted out of a single piece of black marble that dates to the twelfth century, still resides in the temple dedicated to the deity.
Three times during the year-on the festivals celebrating the birthdays of Krishna, Krishna's consort Radha, and Krishna's son-the sculpted image of Shrinathji is dressed as he is depicted here, wearing a special four-pointed coat, his turban with peacock feathers, multiple strands of beads and flowers around his neck, and carrying a flute and a lotus flower. His chutilla-a bejeweled artificial braid-swings out elegantly behind him. The inscription on this painting tells us that he is dressed for Radha's celebration. Various offerings are placed on the altar before him.
This image of Shrinathji was painted as part of a set for the Maharao Ram Singh of Kotah, whose predecessor Kishor Singh had become a devotee of Shrinathji after he was exiled to Nathdwara in 1821.
Three times during the year-on the festivals celebrating the birthdays of Krishna, Krishna's consort Radha, and Krishna's son-the sculpted image of Shrinathji is dressed as he is depicted here, wearing a special four-pointed coat, his turban with peacock feathers, multiple strands of beads and flowers around his neck, and carrying a flute and a lotus flower. His chutilla-a bejeweled artificial braid-swings out elegantly behind him. The inscription on this painting tells us that he is dressed for Radha's celebration. Various offerings are placed on the altar before him.
This image of Shrinathji was painted as part of a set for the Maharao Ram Singh of Kotah, whose predecessor Kishor Singh had become a devotee of Shrinathji after he was exiled to Nathdwara in 1821.
Not on view
In Collection(s)