Taking of the toll, Dana-Lila
1760
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1760
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Taking of the toll, Dana-Lila is a 1760 unspecified by Unknown, a Mughal Painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a woman in a soldier’s uniform raising her hand to hit a blue-skinned man, while cows and other women watch. This painting shows a playful fight from a poem. The woman, Radha, is dressed as a guard to trick Krishna, a Hindu god. Her hand is stained red with henna, a detail that makes the scene feel real. The artist never signed the work, so we don’t know who made it. To see more scenes like this, look up northern India, Pahari kingdoms.
Radha, the blue god Krishna’s beloved, raises one hand, reddened with henna (temporary natural dye), to strike him. Cows and her companions look on. This interlude is based on a devotional poem written by Dev Datt (about 1673–1745), in which he imagines this scene. Radha has dressed up as a soldier of the evil tyrant Kamsa. She shouts, “You are accused of taking the toll from milkmaids. . . . You are a traitor!” In the distance at the top of the painting, Krishna’s friends, who do not know that the couple is playing, run away in fear.
One milkmaid points to her mouth in a gesture of surprise.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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