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Yashoda Shows Krishna the Moon in a Mirror
View through Harvard Museums
In this painting, the infant Krishna, who is the eighth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu and is worshipped as a deity in his own right, points to a mirror, which reflects the moon, on the ground. His mother, Yashoda, holds onto his other hand. Yashoda points with her free hand up towards the moon in the sky. A female attendant accompanies them, holding up a flywhisk. The painting depicts part of a story in which Krishna asks for the moon. When seeing it in the sky, he asked Yashoda what it was. She responded, “That is the moon, God’s toy.” Upon hearing the word “toy”, Krishna demanded it. Yashoda tried to distract Krishna with other toys, but was unsuccessful. Yashoda’s attendant suggests that Yashoda use a mirror to reflect the moon, bringing it closer to Krishna, which worked. Pahari Style.
Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum Gift of John Kenneth Galbraith
Title: Yashoda Shows Krishna the Moon in a Mirror
Description:
In this painting, the infant Krishna, who is the eighth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu and is worshipped as a deity in his own right, points to a mirror, which reflects the moon, on the ground.
His mother, Yashoda, holds onto his other hand.
Yashoda points with her free hand up towards the moon in the sky.
A female attendant accompanies them, holding up a flywhisk.
The painting depicts part of a story in which Krishna asks for the moon.
When seeing it in the sky, he asked Yashoda what it was.
She responded, “That is the moon, God’s toy.
” Upon hearing the word “toy”, Krishna demanded it.
Yashoda tried to distract Krishna with other toys, but was unsuccessful.
Yashoda’s attendant suggests that Yashoda use a mirror to reflect the moon, bringing it closer to Krishna, which worked.
Pahari Style.
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