Krishna (Shri Shri Guranga Avatara)

Krishna, seen here in his six-armed form and standing on a lotus, is depicted in his flute-playing aspect. The setting is a Victorian-era theater, with drawn curtains and receding floor tiles. The painted backdrop mimics a Bengali rural landscape, with rivercraft, temples, and dwellings in a wooded setting. Krishna’s title, “Gauranga,” refers to his golden complexion; Gauranga typically appears in puranic literature and in the context of Bengali devotionalism that references the sixteenth-century Bengali guru Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Chaitanya founded the practice of Gaudiya Vaishnavism and, over time, came to be venerated as an incarnation of Krishna himself. The guru placed great emphasis on worship through exuberant singing and dance and composed his famed eight devotional hymns, Shikshahtakem, in praise of Krishna.