The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 12, 2025

A heroine waiting for her lover: Vasakasajja Nayika, from the "Nurpur" Rasikapriya

c. 1750

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms

Gum tempera and gold on paper
Page: 28.4 x 20.2 cm (11 3/16 x 7 15/16 in.); Image: 24.4 x 16.7 cm (9 5/8 x 6 9/16 in.)
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.116
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The deer are depicted in a pair to highlight the Nayika’s separation.

Description

Vasakasajja has been described as Nayika who arranges the bed for making love. She is seated on a bed of leaves by a pond, anxiously waiting for her lover. The painter has faithfully followed the poet’s description of the scene and depicted the fair-complexioned Nayika radiating against the otherwise dark surrounding, illuminating the tryst.
  • ?–2018
    Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer, Beverly Hills, CA, partial sale and gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2018–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=A heroine waiting for her lover: Vasakasajja Nayika, from the "Nurpur" Rasikapriya|url=false|author=|year=c. 1750|access-date=12 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2018.116