c. 1720

Akrura's Mystic Vision

As Krishna approached manhood, his wicked uncle Kansa dispatched the nobleman Akrura to trick him into coming to Mathura for a tournament. Although Akrura warned Krishna of the trick, the god decided to confront Kansa and accompanied Akrura back to Mathura. On the journey Akrura asked Krishna to rest in the chariot while he ritually bathed in the river. Each time Akrura immersed himself, he experienced a mystic vision of Krishna as the eternal god Vishnu. In this unusual depiction of the scene, multiple Akruras talk with multiple Krishnas/Vishnus, one of whom is accompanied by a female who may be intended as the goddess Lakshmi.