Krishna Vishvarupa

Title: KrishnaClose TooltipKrishna[KRISH-nah]a major deity and an avatar of the god Vishnu, considered by some to be of equal or greater importance than Vishnu. The most popular and widely worshiped avatars of Vishnu are Krishna and Rama. VishvarupaClose TooltipVishvarupa[VISH-va-ROOP-uh]the infinite cosmic form of Vishnu and Krishna.

Type: Painting

Associated Religious Tradition: Hinduism

Origins

• Geography: India, Himachal Pradesh, Bilaspur
• Date: ca. 1740
• Period: Early Modern India

Physical Properties

• Material: Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
• Dimensions: H × W (Image): 19.8 × 11.7 cm (7 13/16 × 4 5/8 in)

Crediting Information

• Collection: National Museum of Asian Art Collection
• Credit Line: Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection—funds provided by the Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries
• Accession Number: S2018.1.3

This painting depicts one of Hinduism’s most central and profound conceptions of the nature of time and being. It represents the cosmos within the body of the god KrishnaClose TooltipKrishna[KRISH-nah]a major deity and an avatar of the god Vishnu, considered by some to be of equal or greater importance than Vishnu. The most popular and widely worshiped avatars of Vishnu are Krishna and Rama. as related in the Bhagavad GitaClose TooltipBhagavad Gita[bha-guh-VAD GEE-tuh]the teaching of Krishna within the larger Mahabharata epic. Dating to circa 200 BCE–300 CE, it is one of the most influential Hindu philosophical texts. (“The Song of the Lord,” 200 BCE–300 CE). The Gita’s eleventh chapter describes Krishna in his infinite cosmic form, VishvarupaClose TooltipVishvarupa[VISH-va-ROOP-uh]the infinite cosmic form of Vishnu and Krishna., which encompasses all beings and all time and “the whole world, moving and unmoving,” filling “all the horizons,” and “brushing the sky” (Bhagavadgītā 11:20, 24).

Conceptualizing the cosmos as a body is central to Hindu tradition. The earliest description of the cosmos as a body appears in the Rig Veda (1500–1000 BCE). Between the third century BCE and the fifth century CE, conceptions of VishnuClose TooltipVishnu[VISH-noo]one of the principal deities of the Hindu traditions. He is the object of devotion for the Vaishnavas and the preserver of the universe. He has taken physical form as human avatars, such as Rama and Krishna. and ShivaClose TooltipShiva[SHI-vuh]one of the most important and widely revered Hindu deities. as the universe developed. These developments are reflected in the Bhagavad Gita and the Kurma Purana, wherein the great gods Vishnu and Shiva manifest the entire universe within their cosmic bodies.

In the Gita, Krishna’s universe-form is overwhelming and terrifying. This painting transcends literal illustration of the Gita to convey the more loving context of bhaktiClose Tooltipbhakti[BHAK-tee]a form of devotion that stresses a personal connection to one’s chosen deity. devotion in which Krishna’s compassion is accessible to all. The artist realized his gentler take on tradition through delicate lines, luscious sherbet colors, and Krishna’s tender expressions.

This painting on paper is tiny, but its subject is vast. The artist drew upon longstanding iconographic traditions from South Asia to convey divine power through multiple limbs. He also evoked the limitless and proliferating universe by extending Krishna’s sixty multicolored heads and forty-four pinwheeling arms to the very borders of the image. Through the juxtaposition of scale, the painter conveyed both Krishna’s vastness and his supremacy over all other beings. A miniaturized mountain landscape covers the golden-yellow dhoti that wraps around his waist. On its peaks dwell the deities ShivaClose TooltipShiva[SHI-vuh]one of the most important and widely revered Hindu deities., the Great Goddess MahadeviClose TooltipMahadevi[MA-huh-DAY-vee]the Great Goddess, who has many different names and many different forms. on her lion, GaneshaClose TooltipGanesha[ga-NE-shuh]the elephant-headed god; son of Shiva and Parvati. He is the remover of obstacles and the deity of new beginnings., and other gods as well as sages and animals.

Between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries, paintings on paper became an important art form in the Hindu kingdoms located in the Himalayan foothills of northwest India. Artists, mostly men, were trained by their fathers, and they often worked for more than one court. They worked with mineral pigments, such as lapis lazuli imported from Afghanistan, and vegetable colors, including the vivid yellow seen in Krishna’s dhoti that was made from the urine of cows fed only on mango leaves.

The Gita describes a cosmos that is vast and awesome. A half-century ago, its verses were recalled by the American scientist Robert J. Oppenheimer on the day that he observed the first nuclear bomb test at Trinity, New Mexico. It is said that Oppenheimer recited a verse (stanza 12) from the Gita’s eleventh chapter. The verse describes the overwhelming brilliance of Krishna’s universe-form:

If the light of a thousand suns were to rise in the sky at once,

it would be like the light of that great spirit.

Later, and perhaps more ominously, Oppenheimer recalled this self-description of KrishnaClose TooltipKrishna[KRISH-nah]a major deity and an avatar of the god Vishnu, considered by some to be of equal or greater importance than Vishnu. The most popular and widely worshiped avatars of Vishnu are Krishna and Rama. VishvarupaClose TooltipVishvarupa[VISH-va-ROOP-uh]the infinite cosmic form of Vishnu and Krishna., also from the Gita:

I am death, the destroyer of all.

1. This painting is less than eight inches in height. Imagine picking it up and looking at it closely.
2. Name the colors you see of Krishna’s many heads. What do these colors evoke for you?
3. What elements and motifs relate to the conception of the vast universe as terrifying? What elements are gentle?
4. Describe the relative size and scale of the figures in the painting. What do you think the differences in size and scale convey?

1. What is the Bhagavad GitaClose TooltipBhagavad Gita[bha-guh-VAD GEE-tuh]the teaching of Krishna within the larger Mahabharata epic. Dating to circa 200 BCE–300 CE, it is one of the most influential Hindu philosophical texts.? Why is this text important to Hindus?
2. How does the use of the body as a metaphor for depicting the cosmos reflect Hindu perspectives on the significance of the body?
3. Why might Oppenheimer have quoted from the Bhagavad Gita during the nuclear bomb tests? What does his choice of words say about power?

Cummins, Joan. Indian Painting from Cave Temples to the Colonial Period. Boston, MA: MFA Publications, 2016.

Diamond, Debra. Yoga: The Art of Transformation. Exh. cat. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2013. No. 10a, pp. 160–61.

Flood, Gavin. An Introduction to Hinduism. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

Lazaro, Desmond. Pichhvai Painting Tradition of Rajasthan: Materials, Methods and Symbolism. Ahmedabad, India: Mapin, 2016.

Miller, Barbara Stoler, trans. The Bhagavad-Gita: Krishna’s Counsel in Time of War. New York: Bantam, 1986.

Sovik, Rolf. “Brilliance of a Thousand Suns: A Cosmic Vision in the Gita.” The Himalayan Institute. February 8, 2021. https://himalayaninstitute.org/online/brilliance-of-a-thousand-suns-a-cosmic-vision-in-the-gita/