The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

Vertically oriented painting depicting Krishna, a god with blue skin tone, and Rhada, a woman with light skin tone, looking at each other, sitting on the rectangular platform of a swing suspended under an orange-red arch. People with light to medium-light skin tone surround them, playing instruments and dancing below and smiling and watching the couple on either side. In the background, more dance among cows, the yellow-gold ground transitioning to an arch of trees.

Hindola Raga

c. 1790–1800

Northern India, Himachal Pradesh, Pahari Kingdom of Kangra

Gum tempera and gold on paper
Image: 20.5 x 15.3 cm (8 1/16 x 6 in.); with mat: 35.5 x 25.4 cm (14 x 10 in.)
Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1975.9
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The word hindola means "swing" in Sanskrit.

Description

To celebrate the coming of spring, Krishna sits on a swing with his beloved Radha as their companions, the cowherd boys and milkmaids, play music, dance, admire the idyllic couple, and keep their swing gently in motion.

In Sanskrit, hindola means swing, and this painting belonged to a set of ragas, which are paintings associated with a musical mode. Music played in the Hindola Raga elicits the fever of young love in springtime. Radha and Krishna represent the ideal of a young couple in love.
  • ?–1975
    (William Wolff, Inc., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1975–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1975.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 63, no. 2 (February 1976): 31–71. Reproduced: p. 53; Mentioned: p. 71, no. 175 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 310 archive.org
    Czuma, Stanislaw J., "Eternal Rhythms", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 36 no. 08, October 1996 Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 9 archive.org
    Tōyō kaiga no seika: tokubetsuten: Kurīvurando Bijutsukan no korekushon kara [東洋絵画の精華: 特别展: クリーヴラント美術館のコレクションから= Highlights of Asian painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art]. Nara, Japan: Nara National Museum, 1998. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 35, cat. no. 14
  • Life and Exploits of Krishna in Indian Paintings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 1, 2021-February 6, 2022).
    Main Gallery Rotation (gallery 245). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 28-November 2, 2015).
    Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 20-August 18, 2004).
    Indian Art Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 4-August 5, 2003).
    Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998).
    Dance of the Gods: Indian Art Inspired by Music. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-December 8, 1996).
  • {{cite web|title=Hindola Raga|url=false|author=|year=c. 1790–1800|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1975.9