A Kota Ruler as Krishna's Form Brijnathji Hunts by Moonlight

Artists

Description

Under a starry moonlit sky, a herd of deer and antelope drinks from a silvery water hole in blissful oblivion to the camouflaged hunters eagerly waiting with their rifles in an enclosure. Created to attract prey, the body of water is fed by a channel connected to the lily pond in the lower left. Beside it is a lever system, known as laat, which draws the water out of the pond and into the channel. The hunting party is led by the blue-skinned and haloed Brijnathji, a local form of Krishna and the family deity of the royal household. In paintings from the city of Kota in Rajasthan, such as this one, the king (maharao) is often conflated with the god. With deer, antelope, boars, and tigers roaming in a lush, velvet green forest, Brijnathji—and by extension the maharao—is represented as the master of nature in a land of abundance as well as the divine protector.

Dimensions

22.4 x 27.5 cm (8 13/16 x 10 13/16 in.) framed: 38.42 x 48.58 x 2.22 cm (15 1/8 x 19 1/8 x 7/8 in.)