_The Felling of the Trees_
Illustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_
Kangra, Punjab Hills, c. 1790
State Museum, Lucknow
From the same great series as Plate 3, here attributed to the Kangra
artist Purkhu.
The young Krishna, tied to a mortar to keep him out of mischief, has
dragged it between two trees and thereby uprooted them. The cowherds, led
by the bearded Nanda, Krishna's foster-father, have hurried to the scene
and Balarama, Krishna's half-brother, is excitedly pointing out that
Krishna is safe. In the foreground, emerging from the earth are two
crowned figures--Nala and Kuvara, the sons of the yaksha king, Kubera,
who, as a consequence of a curse had been turned into the two trees.
Doomed to await Krishna's intervention, they have now been released.
Reclining on the trunks, still tied to the mortar, the young Krishna
surveys the scene with pert satisfaction.
[Illustration]