Sakhi persuades Radha to meet Krishna, from a Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherd) of Jayadeva (c. 1820–25): Art, History and Details

Sakhi persuades Radha to meet Krishna, from a Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherd) of Jayadeva (c. 1820–25) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Purkhu (Indian, 1750–1860).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

While all the cowherd girls were in love with Krishna, he had a favorite according to texts of the 1200s and later. Her name was Radha, and she and Krishna would meet for secret trysts in the forest, facilitated by her sakhi, or confidante. Krishna is shown twice in this painting. At the right he is in the process of making a bed of leaves for their upcoming encounter, and in the middle, he spies on Radha, wearing orange and gold. The sakhi is encouraging Radha to go and meet Krishna, since he is pining for her.

Object facts

• Title: Sakhi persuades Radha to meet Krishna, from a Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherd) of Jayadeva
• Date: c. 1820–25
• Creator attribution: Purkhu (Indian, 1750–1860)
• Culture: Northern India, Pahari kingdoms
• Type: Painting
• Technique: gum tempera and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Overall: 24.1 x 32.1 cm (9 1/2 x 12 5/8 in.); with borders: 25.4 x 30.3 cm (10 x 11 15/16 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1989.334

A detail from the museum

According to the text, Krishna softly plays his flute and weaves his beloved Radha's name into the melody.

Collection credit

Bequest of Mrs. Severance A. Millikin

Further reading listed by the museum

• Catalogue of the Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1990.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.