A PUJA SCENE WITH A MURTI OF BALARAMA AND HIS CONSORT REVATI
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE AMERICAN COLLECTION
Kota, Rajasthan, North-Western India, 18th century

Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, the small vertical composition depicting a life-sized murti of Balarama, the elder brother of Krishna, standing in a temple niche with an ogival arch and ochre yellow background, next to him the icon of his consort Revati smaller in size, both icons clad in bright orange fabric and heavily bejewelled with several strands of pearl necklaces, to the right a standing brahmin officiating the puja whilst holding a rosewater sprinkler and large lotus leaf to fan the murtis, set within black rules and bright red borders, 17.4cm x 12.5cm.

Provenance: Private New York Collection.

The noticeable difference in the two murtis' sizes is connected to the episode narrated in the Bhagavata Purana, when, after proposing to Revati, Balarama tapped his plough (his characteristic weapon) on her shoulder and shrunk her to a normal height of people in their age. In fact, Revati was believed to come from an earlier yuga, and because of that, she was far taller and larger than her husband-to-be.