Krishna Dancing with the Gopis, Illustration from a Gita Govinda (Songs of the Lord) series

At the center of this painting is Krishna, the eighth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu who is worshipped as a deity in his own right. He wears a large crown with a large plume and is also adorned with jewelry. He is encircled by a group of dancing gopis, or milkmaids. Flanking them are musicians, three on the left and two on the right. The group on the left consists of a male musician who keeps the music’s rhythm with a large stick, a female musician playing a stringed instrument known as a tanpura, and another female musician playing tabla, a type of drum. On the right are two female musicians, one playing the cymbals and the other playing a bowed, stringed instrument known as a sarangi. Pahari style.