te stage of its development. During the
sixteenth century the Malwa style had played a decisive part in the
evolution of Rajput painting, but by the eighteenth century had shed
something of its early ardour.

[Illustration]

PLATE 34

_Krishna attended by Ladies_

Illustration to the musical mode, _Bhairava Raga_
Hyderabad. Deccan, c. 1750
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Like Plate 33, an illustration to a poem accompanying a leading mode of
Indian music. Krishna is sitting on a bed while Radha is rubbing his right
arm with sandal preparatory to making love. In the foreground a maid is
grinding the sandalwood into a paste. Although the poem itself contains no
mention of Krishna, it speaks of Bhairava--a form of Siva--as a raging
lover, 'insensate in a whirlwind of desire.' On this account
Krishna--identified by his blue skin--has been inserted in the picture,
his character as a lover according with the frenzied character of the
poem. In the background a bullock is lifting water from a well and a
gardener is bending over a bed of poppies. Ducks and fishes sport in the
water.

Illustrations to modes of music were common features of the Muslim art of
the Deccan--the association of certain modes with Krishna being carefully
preserved. One of the finest series of _raga_ and _ragini_ pictures
executed at Hyderabad and now in the India Office Library, London,
contains exquisite versions with Krishna themes.

[Illustration]

PLATE 35

_Radha disguised as a Constable arresting Krishna as a Thief_

Garhwal, Punjab Hills, c. 1785
Indian Museum, Calcutta

Tired of Krishna's attempts to waylay the cowgirls, Radha dons a turban,
brandishes a constable's heavy staff and seizes Krishna by the wrist. 'I
am a policeman of Raja Kansa, come to take you to gaol,' she says. The
picture shows the cowgirls standing with their pitchers of curd, while
cowherd boys--Krishna's accomplices--take to their heels. Krishna himself
stands limply by, as if uncertain who the constable is.

The incident is unrecorded in the _Bhagavata Purana_ but appears in later
poetry as an instance of Radha and Krishna's mutual fun--teasing being an
essential part of their love-making.

The picture is by the same master artist as Plate 19.

[Illustration]

PLATE 36

_Krishna meeting Radha_

Illustration to a poem from the _Sat Sai_ of Bihari
Kangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790
N.C. Mehta collection. Bombay

An example of Krishna's meeting