Art Institute of Chicago

Rukmini Seeks Krishna's Permission to Visit her Brother Rukma, page from a Dispersed Bhagavata Purana manuscript

Nepal

Date

c. 1775

Medium

Opaque watercolor on paper

Culture

Nepal

Department

Arts of Asia

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This painting is set in Dwarka, a kingdom in western India on the Arabian Sea where the god Krishna is believed to have spent the latter part of his life and where it is still located to this day, serving as a pilgrimage site sacred to Hindus. The artist of this set of paintings took a particular interest in depicting architecture from a bird's-eye view; it shows an intricate maze of houses, palace cupolas, and temple spires, enclosed in red brick walls and set along the water's edge. In this tranquil scene one of Krishna's wives, Rukmini, asks him (painted in blue) for permission to visit her brother, Rukma. She is shown twice, accompanied by three handmaidens in both instances. The two men were mortal enemies, as Rukma had attacked and fought Krishna when he had kidnapped Rukmini, in the custom known as a rakshasa (by force) marriage.

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