Krishna and Radha Quarreling: Shatha Nayaka, from a Rasikapriya

c. 1680

Krishna and Radha Quarreling: Shatha Nayaka, from a Rasikapriya, c. 1680. Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Bundi. Gum tempera and gold on paper; page: 28.3 x 18.4 cm (11 1/8 x 7 1/4 in.); miniature: 26.4 x 15.3 cm (10 3/8 x 6 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.158 When Krishna returns home at dawn, having spent the night elsewhere, an infuriated Radha inquires about his whereabouts and accuses him of infidelity. Krishna, realizing the intensity of the situation, tries to assuage her with sweet words and compares her red eyes to lotus petals. The rising sun behind the thick foliage is suggestive of early dawn. Krishna wears a transparent white muslin jama, a popular article of Mughal fashion since the time of Emperor Jahangir (r. 1605–27).