The Bewildered Nayika, Page from a Rasikapriya Series
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Caption
Indian. The Bewildered Nayika, Page from a Rasikapriya Series, ca. 1660–1690. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, sheet: 9 1/4 x 6 7/8 in. (23.5 x 17.5 cm) image: 8 7/8 x 6 5/16 in. (22.5 x 16.0 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul E. Manheim, 69.125.2. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
The Bewildered Nayika, Page from a Rasikapriya Series
Date
ca. 1660–1690
Geography
Place made: Rajasthan, India
Medium
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Classification
Dimensions
sheet: 9 1/4 x 6 7/8 in. (23.5 x 17.5 cm) image: 8 7/8 x 6 5/16 in. (22.5 x 16.0 cm)
Inscriptions
The Braj text, written in Devanagari script in the panel at the top, explains the title of the Rasikapriya verse (ch. 3, v. 4) Krishna, the hero (correspondence, V. N. Desai, 1992): The text in Devanagari script translates: Krishna is delighted in his heart to see her slow charming gait [this condition of the Nayika is due to the fact that she is slightly lost "bewildered", until she meets her beloved.] Her gentle smile, sensual "aura" and bodily fragrance are totally controlled by him. Seeing her bewildered condition Krishna, [the Son of Nanda] feels like Kama himself thinking that indeed Brahma has mistakenly called Kama's arrows as those of flowers, the real arrows are the feelings he generates. (Trans. V. N. Desai).
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul E. Manheim
Accession Number
69.125.2
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