Abhisarika Nayika (Heroine Braving the Night)

India (Pahari Hills, Kangra or Guler)

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There are eight nayika (heroine) love stories, the most popular and frequently illustrated being the abhisarika nayika. While a storm gathers above, a woman ventures undaunted through a forest populated by snakes and demons in order to rendezvous with her lover. The storm and the hazardous landscape hint at the trials and passion of her impending encounter. This drawing typifies the refinement of the early-nineteenth-century Kangra and Guler styles.

Abhisarika Nayika (Heroine Braving the Night), Ink, wash ,and translucent watercolor on paper, India (Pahari Hills, Kangra or Guler)

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Abhisarika Nayika (Heroine Braving the Night), Ink, wash ,and translucent watercolor on paper, India (Pahari Hills, Kangra or Guler)
Abhisarika Nayika (Heroine Braving the Night), Ink, wash ,and translucent watercolor on paper, India (Pahari Hills, Kangra or Guler)

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