Krishna stealing the gopis’ clothes

ca. 1880s

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 251

A popular episode from Krishna’s youth at Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh recounts his playful theft of the clothes of the local female cowherders, the gopis, who had left their garments on the Yamuna riverbank while bathing. When they were distracted, Krishna placed their robes high in the branches of a tree, where he decamped with his flute. The setting is a pastoral landscape, lush and green from monsoon rains; the clear water offers the gopis little shelter from Krishna’s gaze. Metaphorically, this story conveys the power of devotion (bhakti), to stand vulnerable, yet secure, before one’s god. The print offers a localizing detail for its Marathi audience; the gopis wear a distinctive nose ring studded with pearls (motyanchi nath).

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Krishna stealing the gopis’ clothes
Date: ca. 1880s
Culture: India, Pune, Maharashtra
Medium: Chromolithograph with varnish on paper
Dimensions: Sheet: 17 3/4 × 22 in. (45.1 × 55.9 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Purchase, The Kipper Family Foundation Gift, 2021
Object Number: 2021.217
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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Dagger (Katar) with Sheath, Steel, gold, wood, velvet, Indian — Dagger (Katar) with Sheath
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