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Balarama

India, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh

2nd–3rd century CE

Not on view

Among the most ancient cults in India are those devoted to the veneration of deified snakes (nagas), whose presence can be confirmed in Vedic texts dating from about 500 to 300 BCE. This snake deity may be identified as Balarama, from two elements: the snake-hooded canopy, which links him to the cosmic serpent Sesa, and the plough he holds, associated with his origins as an agricultural deity. He is depicted and named, in Greek, on Bactrian silver coins of the second century BCE, along with the emerging premier deity Vasudeva-Krishna. By the time of the epic literature, he is identified as the stepbrother of Krishna, a secondary role that exists today.

Balarama, Sandstone, India, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Balarama

Period: Kushana

Date: 2nd–3rd century CE

Culture: India, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh

Medium: Sandstone

Dimensions: H. 14 3/8 in. (36.5 cm); W. 8 1/16 in. (20.5 cm); D. 3 9/16 in. (9 cm)

Classification: Sculpture

Credit Line: Lent by Museum für Asiatische Kunst – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Rights and Reproduction: bpk Bildagentur/Museum fuer Asiatische Kunst, Staatliche Museen/Art Resource, NY

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Asian Art at The Met

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world.