The Loves of Krishna in Indian Painting and Poetry

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Loves of Krishna in Indian Painting and Poetry, by W. G. Archer This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: The Loves of Krishna in Indian Painting and Poetry Author: W. G. Archer Release Date: April 6, 2004 [EBook #11924] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOVES OF KRISHNA *** Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Andrea Ball and PG Distributed Proofreaders [Illustration: _Radha and Krishna in the Grove_ Kangra (Punjab Hills), c. 1785] THE LOVES OF KRISHNA IN INDIAN PAINTING AND POETRY By W. G. ARCHER To MR. AND MRS. H. N. WITH LOVE AND ADMIRATION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply indebted to Dr. A.L. Basham for generous guidance throughout the preparation of this book, to George Keyt for permitting me to quote extensively from his brilliant translation of the _Gita Govinda_, and to Deben Bhattacharya who supplied me with new translations of later poemsand discussed a number of important points. I must also express my deep gratitude to Mildred Archer and to Gopi Krishna Kanoria for valued criticism and advice, to Messrs. Faber and Faber, the Harvill Press, Messrs. Macmillan, the Oxford University Press, the Phoenix House and Messrs. Sidgwick and Jackson for permitting me to quote passages from works still copyright, to Professor J. Brough for an informative note on Bhanu Datta's _Rasamanjari_ and to all those owners of collections who have either allowed me to reproduce pictures in their possession or have kindly supplied me with photographs. Part of the material for this book was delivered as lectures to the Royal Asiatic Society, the Royal India, Pakistan and Ceylon Society and at the Victoria and Albert Museum. CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I INTRODUCTION II THE MAHABHARATA: KRISHNA THE HERO III THE BHAGAVATA PURANA: THE COWHERD i Birth and Early Adventures ii The Loves of the Cowgirls iii The Death of the Tyrant IV THE BHAGAVATA PURANA: THE PRINCE i The Return to Court ii Marriages and Offspring iii Last Phases iv The _Purana_ Re-considered V THE KRISHNA OF POETRY i The Triumph of Radha ii The _Gita Govinda_ iii Later Poetry iv The _Rasika Priya_ VI THE KRISHNA OF PAINTING NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX PLATES AND COMMENTARY SOURCES I INTRODUCTIONDuring the twentieth century, a certain type of Indian painting began to fascinate the West. Unlike Mughal art, it was a product of Hindu courts in Rajasthan and the Punjab Hills and unlike Mughal painting, its chief concern was with the varied phases of romance. Ladies would be shown brooding in their chambers as storm clouds mounted in the sky. A girl might be portrayed desperately fondling a plantain tree, gripping a pet falcon, the symbol of her lover, or hurrying through the rainy darkness intent only on reaching a longed-for tryst. A prince would appear lying on a terrace, his outstretched arms striving vainly to detain a calm beauty or welcoming with delight a bashful girl as she slowly advanced. In all these pictures, romantic love was treated as the highest good and physical passion was interpreted with a freshness and innocence unequalled in the world's art. Such paintings were, at first sight, easy to appreciate. Although they alternated between two methods of expression--the first a style of savage distortion, the second a style of the softest grace--each manner enlivened the common subject.[1] Yet in two respects elucidation was vitally necessary. Just as in Japan, the lover might express his longings by cryptic references to Nature, the Indian artist employed poetic symbols to charge his subjects with romantic ardour. Flowers were never merely flowers nor clouds clouds. The symbols of Indian poetry--the lotus swaying in a stream, the flowering creeper embracing a trunk--were intended to suggest passion-haunted ladies. The mingling of clouds, rain and lightning symbolized the embraces of lovers, and commonplace objects such as dishes, vases, ewers and lamps were brought into subtle conjunction to hint at 'the right true end of love.' What, in fact, might seem at first sight to be a simple portrait, proved on closer understanding to be a study in despair, a revelation of delight or a clue to rapture, each image with its sexual implications contriving to express some nuance of longing. In these pictures, only a part of the meaning was apparent and without a comprehension of the poetry, much of its true significance was lost. Such an obstacle to understanding was real enough but, as the eye ranged over this new kind of love-painting, a second difficulty appeared. In many pictures, the lover had special characteristics. He was shown with a crown of peacock's feathers, clad in a golden _dhoti_ and in every case his skin was mauve or slate-blue.[2] In certain cases, the lady of his choice appeared bowing at his feet, her pose suggesting the deepest adoration; yet, in other pictures, his role was quite different. He was then a resolute warrior, fighting and destroying demons. It was clear, in fact, that here was no ordinary lover but one who might also be a god. At the same time, other perplexing circumstances were present. The lover's appearance was that of an aristocratic youth and the ladies whom he loved had the bearing of elegant princesses. Yet often the scene of their encounters was a forest thick with flowering trees. His companions were cowherds and the objects of his love were not the ladies of a court but cowgirls. Other activities betrayed the same lowly sphere. In certain pictures, he was shown eating with cowherds, sharing in their sports, grazing the cattle and himself milking cows. That such a lover should dominate the paintings was perplexing in the extreme and just as cultured Indians would be baffled by Italian and Flemish painting unless they already knew the life of Christ, it was clear that part, even the majority, of these pictures would remain obscure unless the character of their central figure was first explained. One further point remained. In many cases, the pictures were not intended to be viewed in isolation but were illustrations of a text. Many were inscribed with Sanskrit or Hindi verses and in each case there was an intimate connection between the content of the picture and the poem's subject. To understand the pictures, therefore, some acquaintance with these texts was necessary for only in this way could the identity and role of the blue-skinned lover be appreciated. He was, in fact, Krishna--an incarnation of God--and in his worship some of the deepest requirements of the Indian spirit found ecstatic release.The purpose of this book is to throw some light on Indian painting by presenting the story of Krishna in the clearest possible terms. It might be supposed that, of all Indian gods, Krishna was already the one best known to the West and therefore, perhaps, the one least requiring explanation. Among modern poets, Sacheverell Sitwell devotes a whole poem in _Canons of Giant Art_ to describing Krishna's effect. Rain falls and ceases, all the forest trembles: Mystery walks the woods once more, We hear a flute.