Krishna and Radha making love in a leafy bower on the banks of the Yamuna - Kangra or Guler Painting, C. 1780

Krishna and Radha making love in a leafy bower on the banks of the Yamuna - Kangra or Guler Painting, C. 1780

The illustration depicts Krishna and Radha making love in a leafy bower on the banks of the Yamuna with papihas or weaver-birds cooing on the branches of a flowering tree beside them and cranes ambling gracefully on the emerald grass adjoining the silvery water in the distance.
The inscription on the verso, from the twelfth canto of the poem, describes the passionate union between the couple as they lie on a bed of tender leaves, their hips conjoined. Krishna smothers his beloved Radha's face with his ardent kisses and she in turn returns his kisses with equal passion.

credit: sothebys.com