Apologetic Brahma Seeks Pardon from Krishna (From the Shrimad Bhagavata Purana)

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As the episode appears in the Bhagavata Purana and other texts, one day Brahma, when passing across, saw a human being who looked like Lord Vishnu sporting with a band of cowherd boys around the bank of river Yamuna. He was none other than Krishna. However, Brahma could not concede as to why Lord Vishnu would come down to such level as to live like a low-born cowherd and graze cattle. For his satisfaction he decided to test the genuineness of this Vishnu-like looking human being. As decided, Brahma led away all cows grazing around and hid them in a secret den. Not finding their cows anywhere Krishna’s mates rushed to him and told him that their cows weren’t seen anywhere. Krishna himself went in their search but could not trace even a sign of where they had gone. Dismayed he came back to his mates but only to find that they too had now disappeared. He immediately realised that someone, and he could be none other than Brahma, was doing a trick for testing his power. Deciding to pay him in the same coin he created with his divine power all cows and cowherds in the same numbers and forms as were the real ones and with them returned to Vrindavana.

About a year passed when Brahma recalled the episode. He thought that he should find out as to what happened after he had hid the cows and cowherds. He went to Yamuna’s banks where he had seen Krishna and his friends grazing their cows. To his utter surprise Brahma found the same cows grazing around and the same cowherds sporting with Krishna, though those that he had hid – the original ones, were still in his custody. He immediately realised that the man whose genuineness he tried to test was none other than Lord Vishnu who with his divine power had created identical lots of cows and cowherds for rendering his trick ineffective. Apprehending Vishnu’s displeasure for the mischief that he had done him he rushed to Krishna and apologised for it with a bowed head and folded hands.

In scriptural tradition Krishna was of about five years of age when the event took place, though in the tradition of art, as here, he has been often portrayed in his youth. Again, different from the Bhagavata Purana’s version where he is an ordinary cowherd boy, in art tradition he is often painted as crowned and bejewelled but not in such majesty with an imperial throne under him as here in this painting. The flute carried under his armpit and the peacock feather fastened to his hair apart, he has been portrayed with all his lavish jewels and a gems-studded crest more like Lord Vishnu in his imperial frame rather than Krishna, a cowherd. Far stranger is Brahma’s iconography. The age-ridden grey-haired and grey-bearded tough form of Brahma, in scriptural as well as art traditions, has been alternated here in this portrayal with a vigorous youth endowed with feminine beauty and tenderness. But for his four faces and four arms and rosary and ‘kamandala’ – water-pot with spout, his characteristic attributes in them, he has been conceived more as the tradition conceives love-god Kama rather than with Brahma’s iconography. Medieval paintings illustrating the legend usually portrayed a number of cows, with or without a Brahma-like figure carrying them away; but instead, this painting lays greater emphasis on portraits of the two figures and in them it is simply outstanding.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr. Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of literature and is the author of numerous books on Indian art and culture. Dr. Daljeet is the curator of the Miniature Painting Gallery, National Museum, New Delhi. They have both collaborated together on a number of books.

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Oil painting technique – India centric

Oil painting is the most interesting technique in art. Unlike other paintings or art forms, oil painting is a process in which colored pigments are painted on the canvas with a drying oil medium as a binder. This medium helps colors blend beautifully to create layers and also makes them appear rich and dense. Several varieties of oil are used in this painting such as sunflower oil, linseed oil, etc., and depending on the quality of the oil, a particular consistency of the paint is developed. With the use of an oil medium, the painting gets a natural sheen on the surface which appears extremely attractive. India is famous for its old tradition of making oil paintings. This art form was brought by Europeans in the 18th century and is now practiced by almost all well-known artists. Nirmal, a small tribal town in the state of Telangana is the center of traditional oil paintings in India where the local people practice it with dedication. Most Indian artists still use the traditional technique of oil painting.

Canvas of the required size is prepared

The artists use either a wood panel or canvas made from linen or cotton. Sometimes the canvas is stretched onto the wooden frame to form a solid base, or cardboard may be used. The canvas is coated with a layer of white paint or chalk mixed with animal glue. This mixture is then smoothed and dried to form a uniform, textured surface. The wooden panel is more expensive and heavier but its solidity is an advantage in making detailed paintings with ease.

Sketch is drawn on the canvas

Now the artist starts to draw the subject of the painting on the canvas using the actual charcoal or a charcoal pencil. Sometimes, he may sketch with thinned paint as well.

Oil paint is applied using paint brushes or palette knives

Now that the rough sketch is prepared, the artist is now ready to paint. Oil paint, a special paint that contains particles of pigments suspended in a drying oil (usually linseed oil), is again mixed with oil to make it thinner for applying it on the canvas. Proper consistency of the paint is maintained to avoid its breakage. The most important rule for the application of oil paint is “Fat over lean” in which the first layer of paint is thin and later, thicker layers are applied. This means that each additional layer of paint contains more oil. This results in getting a stable paint film. Traditionally, paint was applied using paint brushes but now the artists also use palette knives to create crisp strokes. To paint using this technique, the edge of the palette knife is used to create textured strokes that appear different from that of a paintbrush. Sometimes, oil paints are blended simply using fingers for getting the desired gradation.

Smaller oil paintings, with very fine detail, are relatively easier to paint than larger ones. The most attractive feature of these paintings is the natural shiny appearance that is obtained on the surface because of the use of oil paint. The blending of colors looks extremely realistic and this is the reason why oil paintings are loved by everyone throughout the world.