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Illustration of an Indian woman holding a flower
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INDIAN SCHOOL, LATE 18TH CENTURY

Folio from the Gita Govinda.

c. 1790

RCIN 1005114.v

First verse of the Third song:

ललितलवङ्गलतापरिशीलनकोमलमलयसमीरे॥
मधुकरनिकरकरम्बितकोकिलकूजितकुञ्जकुटीरे॥१॥
विहरतिहरिरिहसरसवसन्ते॥ नृत्यतियुवतिजनेन समम् सखि विरहिजनस्यदुरन्ते ॥धृवम्॥

lalitalavangalatāparishīlanakomalamalayasamīre II
madhukaranikarakarambitakokilakūjitakuñjakutīre II 1 II
viharatiharirihasarasavasante II nrtyatiyuvatijanena samam sakhi virahijanasya durante II dhruvapada II

Soft sandal mountain winds caress quivering vines of clove.
Forest huts hum with droning bees and crying cuckoos.
When spring’s mood is rich, Hari roams here to dance with young women. A cruel time for deserted lovers, my friend. 1


Set in a windy forest on a mountainside in springtime, the painting is divided into three scenes. In the upper left, Rama receives refreshment from a lady while another lady plays the tambūra. To his right stand a rishi, Rama's brother Lakshmana, and a kinārā. In the right, Krishna and a gopīdance under a red canopy to the music of four female musicians. To the left a forlorn woman looks on,leaning on her sakhī in a sālabhañjikā pose. The poet watches from bushes with his finger on his lips – a gesture traditionally used in Persian and South Asian painting to denote an emotional reaction. On the right, the deserted Radha also assumes a sālabhañjikā pose as she looks across to see Krishna dancing.

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