Five Poses of Krishna Making Love, from a Bikaner Bhagavata Purana

c. 1600

Five Poses of Krishna Making Love, from a Bikaner Bhagavata Purana, c. 1600. Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Bikaner. Gum tempera and gold on paper; miniature: 17.5 x 25.4 cm (6 7/8 x 10 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.187 When the Hindu god Vishnu incarnated as his human avatar Krishna, he spent his youth in a cowherd village. When he reached adolescence, the milkmaids were all drawn to him. A passage in the text explains that Krishna miraculously multiplied himself so he could be with each one individually, so they could experience the bliss of divine union. Krishna can be seen making love on a swing in the central circle.