Artwork Page for A Brahmin gives Krishna the Message or Invitation for the Competition to Rukmini’s Svayamvara, from a Bhagavata Purana

Details / Information for A Brahmin gives Krishna the Message or Invitation for the Competition to Rukmini’s Svayamvara, from a Bhagavata Purana

A Brahmin gives Krishna the Message or Invitation for the Competition to Rukmini’s Svayamvara, from a Bhagavata Purana

c. 1650–60

Central India, Madhya Pradesh, Malwa

Medium
Gum tempera and gold on paper
Measurements
Page: 17.1 x 19.7 cm (6 3/4 x 7 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.133
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

The letter in Krishna’s hand repeats the name of “Rama,” another incarnation of Vishnu.

Description

Sitting on a stool in a palatial setting, Krishna receives a letter, inviting him to participate in a ceremony called a svayamvara, in which an unmarried woman who has come of age selects a husband. Krishna will later elope with the princess Rukmini. This scene takes place in Krishna’s western palace of Dvaraka, by the ocean, which is depicted with waves and fish at the bottom of the page.
A horizontally long tempera painting depicts a red-walled pavilion against a starry black sky. Krishna, with blue skin and a gold crown, sits on a platform reading a white letter presented by a standing man with a light skin tone. To our left, a man in yellow robes gestures from a green-arched doorway. Below, two fish swim in a wavy, multicolored river. Sanskrit text lines the yellow top border.

A Brahmin gives Krishna the Message or Invitation for the Competition to Rukmini’s Svayamvara, from a Bhagavata Purana

c. 1650–60

Central India, Madhya Pradesh, Malwa

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

Contact Us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please fill out the appropriate request form linked below:

Update or Correct Artwork Information

Imagery or Rights for Non-Open-Access Artworks

Report a Website Issue

Further Questions About This Artwork