Cleveland Museum of Art

Akrura Drives Krishna and Balarama to Mathura, from the “Isarda Bhagavata Purana”

Date: c. 1560–70
Medium: Gum tempera and ink on paper
Culture: Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Isarda
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

A page from a Hindu manuscript shows the dark-skinned Krishna and his white-skinned brother leaving their companions in the cowherd village where they grew up. They are on their way to confront their evil uncle who killed their siblings and imprisoned their parents. Their gestures urgently indicate the direction of their journey. A preference for the color pink in the sky, chariot, and garments distinguishes this work from those of pre-Mughal creation.

View at Cleveland Museum of Art ↗

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.

Related across collections

Semantically similar works from Cleveland Museum of Art and other institutions.

Krishna and Balarama touching the feet of Vasudeva and Devaki, from the “Vertical” Bhagavata Purana

Cleveland Museum of Art

Krishna returns with the cowherds to Braj, from a Bhagavata Purana

Cleveland Museum of Art

Rama’s brothers Bharata and Shatrughna set out from Ayodhya to find Rama and Lakshmana in the forest to inform them of the death of their father Dasharatha, from Chapter 77 of the Ayodhya Kanda (Book of Ayodhya) of a Ramayana (Rama’s Journey)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Sugriva challenges his brother Vali, King of the Forest Dwellers, to a duel, folio 10 from the Kishkindha Kanda (Book of Kishkindha) of a Ramayana (Rama’s Journey)

Cleveland Museum of Art