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Abduction of Rukmini: Krishna Tied the Hands of Rukma, from a Bhagavata Purana

Unknown

1640

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Baroque Mughal Painting Baroque Religious Madhya Pradesh Malwa

Dominant colour

Abduction of Rukmini: Krishna Tied the Hands of Rukma, from a Bhagavata Purana is a 1640 unspecified by Unknown, a Baroque work, depicting Madhya Pradesh, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1640 · Baroque
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a bright, busy scene: Krishna, in blue, ties the hands of a man in a striped tunic while a woman in a red sari kneels beside them. Soldiers and horses fill the background. This painting tells a story from an old Hindu text. Krishna just kidnapped Rukmini—she wanted to marry him, but her brother didn’t. Instead of killing the brother, Krishna ties his hands with cloth, sparing him at Rukmini’s request. If you like this kind of storytelling art, look up *central india, madhya pradesh, malwa*—other paintings from this region do the same thing.

The story of this work

Overview

Krishna eloped with Rukmini against her brother Rukma’s will. Rukma, in the striped tunic ( jama ), soon chased him down and challenged him to a battle. Knowing that Krishna would murder her brother, Rukmini pleaded with Krishna to spare his life, so Krishna tied his hands with a piece of cloth, and Krishna’s brother Balarama later freed him.