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Krishna Playing with the Gopis in the Yamuna
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
After Krishna raised Mount Govardhan, he began to play erotically with the girls of his village. Under a scorching sun, Krishna and three milkmaids enjoy the cooling waters of the Yamuna River. The women neatly stack their clothes on a nearby tree, and Krishna’s crown and scarf rest by the bank. Krishna playfully splashes one of the women, and she turns her face away. This scene evokes the joy of spending life in intimacy with the god Krishna.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineKrishna Playing with the Gopis in the Yamuna, c. 1770. Northern India, Pahari kingdoms. Gum tempera and gold on paper; page: 24.8 x 17.8 cm (9 3/4 x 7 in.); image: 23.5 x 16.6 cm (9 1/4 x 6 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 2018.118
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