The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Krishna Lifts Mount Govardhan, from a Bhagavata Purana

1686

Central India, Madhya Pradesh, Malwa

Gum tempera on paper
Page: 19.4 x 27.6 cm (7 5/8 x 10 7/8 in.)
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.134
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The “hundred-eyed” Indra wears the garments of a Mughal emperor, with his tunic tied under the right arm.

Description

After Krishna convinced the dwellers of the cowherd village in Braj to not give the annual offering to Indra, king of the gods, an enraged Indra flooded the village with heavy rainfall. Krishna, shown with four arms, lifted nearby Mount Govardhan, and the villagers took shelter underneath. The painting depicts a heavy torrent of rain, and in the upper left, Indra sits enthroned with two attendants and his white elephant mount.
  • ?-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
  • Krishna and the Path of Grace – Indian Gallery 242 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 14, 2020-March 7, 2021).
  • {{cite web|title=Krishna Lifts Mount Govardhan, from a Bhagavata Purana|url=false|author=|year=1686|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2018.134