The Hindu god Krishna with female devotees

Texts like the Gita Govinda (Songs of the Cowherd), a Sanskrit poem, describe the romantic adventures of the deity Krishna and his beloved Radha. Here, accompanied by Radha’s friends, the couple is meeting for a tryst. Radha greets Krishna with a devotional gesture, bending her head and joining her hands. The lush foliage includes banana leaves and several peacocks, signs of amorous intrigue. Krishna is shown wearing his peacock feathered crown, in his role as divine lover. But his posture—with one knee bent and an arm stretched up, holding a tree branch—is unusual for depictions of the deity. This pose is more typically associated with yakshis, ancient female earth spirits symbolizing fertility, and with lovelorn female figures in ragamala paintings illustrating modes of classical Indian music.