The Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Stories of the Lord) is traditionally ascribed to the legendary poet-sage Vyasa in the 8th-10th century CE. It stresses the path of devotion (bhakti) to Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, the Hindu God of Preservation. To fulfill his role as the guardian of the world and savior of humanity, Vishnu appears as a succession of heroic animals and semi-mortal saviors, called avatars, through which he intervenes in times of crisis or unrighteousness.
A partially visible devanagari caption in the upper border identifies the subject. When Krishna, Balarama, and their companion cowherders (gopas) entered Mathura they went to the house of the garland-maker Sudama, who honored them with water for ritual ablution, betel nut quids (pan), sandalwood paste, and garlands of fresh, fragrant flowers (Bhagavata Purana 10:41:43-52). Here, Krishna and the cowherds receive the garlands.
This folio and its series mate M.71.49.9 are from a Bhagavata Purana comprised of some 70 illustrations that was dispersed around 1950 by a Delhi art dealer, Tula Ram. Additional folios from this series are in the Brooklyn Museum (1999.136.2), Cleveland Museum of Art (1990.40), National Museum of Asian Art (S2018.1.56), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1976.17 and 1977.450.1), Philadelphia Museum of Art (1959-93-60 to 1959-93-67, 1994-148-469, and 1994-148-470), San Diego Museum of Art (1990.211), and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (68.8.73).
See also M.83.219.3.
