Krishna and his cowherds: illustrated with 33 miniatures

[Bhagavata Purana]. Bhagavata Purana.

€ 18,500.00

An illustrated manuscript of the Bhagavata Purana, featuring over thirty fine gouache miniatures illuminated with gold. The gouaches depict gods from the Hindu pantheon, principally Krishna: Krishna lifting Mount Govardhan with a single finger to protect his beloved female cowherds from the storm unleashed by Indra; the same gopis (female cowherds) at swim in a stream, begging Krishna to return their clothing, chariot rides, marriages, births, and more. The miniature tradition of the Bhagavata Purana is especially rich, and appears here in the midst of the 19th century Hindu Renaissance.

The Bhagavata Purana is one of the most important Hindu sacred texts written in Sanskrit and known as the Puranas. It is the sacred book of the Bhagavatas, the devotees of Vishnu. Comprising 18,000 stanzas, it is said to be one of the most recent of the Puranas, probably written after the tenth century. Its main subject is the life of the god Krishna, one of Vishnu's avatars, but it also deals with cosmology, genealogy, mythology and many other themes.