The Rakish Lover (Adhama Vaishika), Folio from the “Nurpur” Rasamanjari (Bouquet of Delights)

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The Rakish Lover (Adhama Vaishika), Folio from the “Nurpur” Rasamanjari (Bouquet of Delights)

India, Himachal Pradesh, Nurpur, circa 1710-1720
Drawings; watercolors
Opaque watercolor, gold, silver, and ink on paper
Image: 7 1/2 x 10 3/4 in. (19.05 x 27.31 cm); Sheet: 8 3/8 x 12 1/2 in. (21.27 x 31.75 cm)
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase (M.74.5.9)
South and Southeast Asian Art
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

The Rasamanjari (Bouquet of Delights) was composed by the Bengali Sanskrit poet Bhanudatta (15th century). It classifies 384 types of female and male lovers. ...
The Rasamanjari (Bouquet of Delights) was composed by the Bengali Sanskrit poet Bhanudatta (15th century). It classifies 384 types of female and male lovers. This folio illustrates the verses on the reverse describing the Rakish Lover (Adhama Vaishika) (Rasamanjari 109): The heroine says to her confidante. “O Sakhi [friend], I am tender like a bud of [the] maulshri [tree; (Mimusops elengi)]. Pray do not leave me to suffer in the hands of that rake, In whose heart there is no shame, Nor pity, nor trace of fear.” (Translation by M. S. Randhawa and S. D. Bhambri.) See its series mate M.75.4.29. Additional folios from this dispersed series are in the British Museum, London (1961,0211,0.2), Cleveland Museum of Art (1967.239), National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (23625), National Museum of Asian Art, Washington (S2018.1.14), and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. For an alternate translation, see Sheldon Pollock, Bouquet of Rasa & River of Rasa by Bhanudatta (New York: Clay Sanskrit Library and New York University Press, 2009), p. 101.
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Bibliography

  • Rosenfield, John.  The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection.  Boston:  Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1966.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya.  The Sacred and Secular in Indian Art.  Santa Barbara, CA:  University of California, 1974.