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Krishna watches the milkmaids circumambulating a sacred tree: The month of Jyestha (May–June), from a Barahmasa (The Twelve Months)
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About this work
On the day of Jyestha Purnima, having fasted for three days, married women worship the banyan tree by circumambulating it. The goal of this ritual is to ask for a long life for their husbands. The milkmaids ( gopi s), having already accepted Krishna as their supreme master, are praying for his well-being, while he observed the ritual from behind the plantains.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineKrishna watches the milkmaids circumambulating a sacred tree: The month of Jyestha (May–June), from a Barahmasa (The Twelve Months), c. 1760. Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Bundi. Gum tempera on paper; page: 29.2 x 21 cm (11 1/2 x 8 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 2018.163
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