CC0 · no rights reserved
Taking of the toll, Dana-Lila
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Radha, the blue god Krishna’s beloved, raises one hand, reddened with henna (temporary natural dye), to strike him. Cows and her companions look on. This interlude is based on a devotional poem written by Dev Datt (about 1673–1745), in which he imagines this scene. Radha has dressed up as a soldier of the evil tyrant Kamsa. She shouts, “You are accused of taking the toll from milkmaids. . . . You are a traitor!” In the distance at the top of the painting, Krishna’s friends, who do not know that the couple is playing, run away in fear.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineTaking of the toll, Dana-Lila, c. 1760. Northern India, Pahari kingdoms. Gum tempera and gold on paper; page: 26.2 x 19.9 cm (10 5/16 x 7 13/16 in.); image: 21.2 x 17.9 cm (8 3/8 x 7 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 2018.86
Similar works
Sri Krsna with the flute
Ragini Vasanta, Page from a Jaipur Ragamala Set
Rag Megh Malar, page from a Garland of Musical Ragas (Ragamala) Set
Kama Shoots a Love Arrow at Shiva, from a copy of the Song of Gauri (Gita-Gauri)
Krishna Exacts a Toll from the Milkmaids: Dana-Lila, from a Bhagavata Purana
Gujari Ragini (Krishna with Gopis Playing the Flute), from a Ragamala Series