Radha's Friend Pleads with Her to Receive Krishna: Page from a Dispersed Rasikapriya
Unknown Artist
1634
Medium
Ink and opaque watercolor on paper
Dimensions
7 3/4 x 6 in. (19.7 x 15.2 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture
India (Madhya Pradesh, Malwa)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1935
Accession Number
35.34
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite page from a dispersed *Rasikapriya* manuscript, created in 1634 in the Malwa region of India (modern Madhya Pradesh), captures a tender moment from Hindu mythology: Radha's friend pleading with her to accept the advances of Krishna, the divine lover. The *Rasikapriya*, a 16th-century poetic treatise by Keshavdas, explores the nuanced emotions of romantic love through Radha and Krishna's iconic story, blending devotion (*bhakti*) with earthly passion. Such illustrated folios were prized by Mughal-era courts and nobility, reflecting the vibrant regional painting traditions that fl...