_The Rape of Rukmini_
Illustration to the _Bhagavata Purana_
Bilaspur, Punjab Hills, c. 1745
British Museum. London
Compared with Krishna's life among the cowherds, his adventures as a
prince were only scantily illustrated in Indian painting--his consort
Rukmini being totally eclipsed in courtly favour by the adored cowgirl,
Radha. The present picture--one of the very few to represent the
theme--shows Rukmini and her maids worshipping at the shrine to Devi, the
earth mother, on the morning of her wedding. Her proposed husband is
Sisupala and already he and his party have arrived to claim her hand. In
despair Rukmini has apprised Krishna of her fate but does not know that he
will intervene. As she worships, Krishna suddenly appears, places her on
his chariot and, in the teeth of Sisupala's forces, carries her away. The
picture illustrates the dramatic moment when after descending on the
shrine, Krishna effects her rescue.
The picture is in an eighteenth-century style of painting which, from
antecedents in Kashmir and the Punjab Plains, developed at Bilaspur. This
small Rajput State adjoined Guler in the Punjab Hills and shared in the
general revival of painting caused by the diffusion of artists from
Basohli.
[Illustration]