Yashoda and Gopal

The infant Krishna, under threat of death from his uncle Kamsa, the usurper king of Mathura, was delivered to a couple, Yashoda and Nanda, in the nearby village of Vrindavan for his safety. In this tender image, the infant Krishna is crawling playfully while his foster parent Yashoda looks on, the model of maternal love. Although Krishna was raised in a village, the print’s setting is palatial; the figures are portrayed in an interior with Indo-Islamic architecture. Similarly at odds with this humble upbringing, both Yashoda and the infant Krishna wear princely jewels. Here Krishna has been given the epithet “Gopal,” an abbreviation of Gopala-Krishna, the “Cow-Protector,” and by extension, the “Protector of the World.” This print was issued as part of a portfolio titled “Fifteen Hindu Mythological Pictures,” produced by the Calcutta Art Studio in 1883.