_The Beginnings of Romance_
Illustration to the _Gita Govinda_
Garhwal. Punjab Hills, c. 1790
National Museum, New Delhi
The first poem to celebrate Radha as Krishna's supreme love is the _Gita
Govinda_ of Jayadeva, written at the end of the twelfth century. The poem
recounts Radha's anguish at Krishna's fickleness, his subsequent
repentance and finally their passionate re-union.
The present picture with its glamorous interpretation of the forest in
spring illustrates the poem's opening verse and re-creates the setting in
terms of which the drama will proceed. Nanda, the tall figure towering
above the cowherd children, is commanding Radha to take Krishna home. The
evening sky is dark with clouds, the wind has risen and already the
flower-studded branches are swaying and bending in the breeze. Krishna is
still a young boy and Radha a girl a few years older. As Radha takes him
home, they loiter by the river, passion suddenly flares and they fall into
each other's arms. In this way, the verse declares, the loves of Radha and
Krishna began. The left-hand side of the picture shows the two lovers
embracing--the change in their attitudes being reflected in their altered
heights. Krishna who originally was shorter than Radha is now the taller
of the two, the change suggesting the mature character of their passionate
relations.
The picture with its graceful feminine forms and twining lines has the
same quality of rhythmical exaltation as Plates 19 and 35, a quality
typical of the Garwhal master-artist in his greatest phase.
[Illustration]