Krishna with Gopinis
Ajit Kumar Sah, 2017
Pen and ink with acrylic
45 x 61 cm

© Ajit Sah

The love story of Radha and Krishna is legendary. Krishna’s relationship with Radha, his favourite among the ‘Gopinis’ (cow-herding maidens), has served as a model for male and female love in a variety of art forms. Radha, daughter of Vrishabhanu, was the mistress of Krishna during that period of his life in which he lived among the cowherds of Vrindavan. The two had been close since childhood. They had played, danced, fought, grew up together, and wished to be with one another forever. So great was Radha’s love for Krishna that she waited a lifetime for him. Even today her name is uttered whenever Krishna is referred to, and Krishna worship is considered incomplete without the deification of Radha. My painting depicts their celebrated love.