INDIA, RAJASTHAN, BUNDI OR KOTAH, LATE 18TH CENTURY

This illustration from the Bhagavata Purana depicts an episode from Book X, as Akrura, Krishna and Balarama depart Gokula to participate in a wrestling match at the capital city of Mathura. The demon King Kamsa had devised a plot to assassinate Krishna and Balarama under the rouse of an athletic competition. He dispatched Krishna’s uncle Akrura, to retrieve the boys from Gokula back to Mathura. In this painting, Akrura and his nephews ride in a golden chariot as the gopis cry out in grief at Krishna’s departure. In the lower register, Akrura has a vision of Krishna in his divine form Vishnu.