Balarama with a plough share
Mandi, India
Tempera on paper
Mid 19th Century
Tempera on paper
Mid 19th Century
Image 15.4 x 21 cm.
Folio 24.5 x 30 cm.
Folio 24.5 x 30 cm.
Inscribed in Takri in the upper border 'Balibhadravatara ji' and numbered '8' which identifies Balarama as the eighth incarnation of Vishnu. Further inscribed in Devanagari on the flyleaf with verse...
Inscribed in Takri in the upper border 'Balibhadravatara ji' and numbered '8' which identifies Balarama as the eighth incarnation of Vishnu. Further inscribed in Devanagari on the flyleaf with verse no . 8 from the first chapter of the Gita Govinda. The sanskrit verse reads,
"vahasi vapuni vishade vasana jaladabham hala-hati-bheti-milita-yamunabham
keshava dhata-haladhara-rupa jaya jagadisha hare (8)"
'O Hari! Taking the form of Baladeva, You sport a brilliant white complexion and blue clothes that resemble the beauty of fresh rainclouds. It seems that the river Yamuna has hidden in your cloth, fearing the blow of your plough. O wielder of the plough, may you be victorious!'