c. 1740-1750

Krishna, Balarama, and the Cowherds Have a Meal of Rice

This page is one of three from the same lively Bhagavata Purana series, perhaps by a painter working for a nonroyal patron. The paper is wider than it is high, reflecting the traditional format of loose-leaf religious manuscripts, called pothi, which were originally written on palm leaves. The yellow margins at the top of each page were probably prepared for short verses indicating the episode-although none of the known pages are inscribed. This page shows Krishna and Balarama eating rice and yogurt with the cowherds, most likely outside the walls of Vrindavan. However, it might depict a later episode in which they share a meal outside the walls of Mathura.