Yashoda Binds Krishna’s Hands: Page from a Dispersed Bhagavata Purana Manuscript

Yashoda Binds Krishna’s Hands: Page from a Dispersed Bhagavata Purana Manuscript

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In a futile attempt to keep him from stealing butter, Krishna’s foster mother, Yashoda, ties the god to a wooden mortar. Due to Krishna’s miraculous nature, she was originally thwarted, as the rope was always too short no matter how much of it was supplied by the Gopis (cowherdesses); in the end, Krishna took pity and allowed himself to be bound under the flowering arjuna trees. It is unusual that the figures of Krishna and Yashoda are quite small and do not stand out among the Gopis clutching strands of rope. The representation of these figures on stacked registers follows pictorial conventions established earlier in the Jain illustrated manuscript tradition.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Yashoda Binds Krishna’s Hands: Page from a Dispersed Bhagavata Purana ManuscriptYashoda Binds Krishna’s Hands: Page from a Dispersed Bhagavata Purana ManuscriptYashoda Binds Krishna’s Hands: Page from a Dispersed Bhagavata Purana ManuscriptYashoda Binds Krishna’s Hands: Page from a Dispersed Bhagavata Purana ManuscriptYashoda Binds Krishna’s Hands: Page from a Dispersed Bhagavata Purana Manuscript

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.