c. 1640-1650

The Woman Who Is Driven by Passion to Meet Her Lover (Kamabhisarika Nayika)

The Rasikapriya is one of many Indian poetic texts that focus on the classification of lovers. In it, lovers are arranged by physical appearance or by the circumstances and emotions of their encounters. The actors in these dramas are most often Radha and Krishna, presented not as figures to worship, but as models of human passions. In this painting, the heroine is so eager to meet her lover that she ignores all dangers, including the dark, stormy night; the lurking demons, ghouls, and tigers; the snake that wraps around her ankle; and even her lost jewelry. By the mid-seventeenth century, Rajput painters selectively incorporated aspects of the Mughal style, such as greater color range and more complex landscapes. They also occasionally borrowed Mughal motifs like the rounded pink rocks and the horned demons seen here.