c. 17th century

Krishna Dances and Holds Aloft Two Stolen Balls of Butter

In devotional Hinduism, the soul's love of god is often envisioned as the total and all-forgiving love of a mother for her son. As a toddler, Krishna was very fond of dairy products-so much so that he would steal his adoptive mother Yashoda's freshly churned butter. As a precautionary measure, Yashoda stored her butter in containers suspended from the ceiling, presumably out of young Krishna's reach. The mischievous god was not deterred: he would simply stack pots on top of one another until he could reach the prize. Here he dances jubilantly, having succeeded in purloining two balls of butter.