Lord Krishna’s life story is replete with tales of His mischief and His leelas (or miracles). Krishna, one of the ten incarnations of Lord Mahavishnu, is hailed as a Poorna Avatar (or complete incarnation). Young Krishna would always trouble the Gopis, playing some prank on them or the other. One day, when the Gopis were bathing in the pond, Krishna quietly tiptoed from amidst the bushes and stole their clothes.

Making a neat big bundle of the clothes, He hung them on a high branch of a tree and seated Himself atop another branch, watching the fun. When the Gopis saw what He had done, they begged Him to give back their clothes. Krishna, however, insisted that He would give it to them only if they came out of the pond and beseeched Him, singing and dancing His praises in front of Him. The stunningly colorful Madhubani folk art painting featured here depicts the scene of the Gopis’ vastraharan (stealing of clothes) by Krishna.