The vibrant tradition of Temple decoration in India.

The Pushtimarg, a Hindu sect established in India in the fifteenth century, possesses a unique culture--reaching back centuries and still vital today--in which art and devotion are deeply intertwined. This important volume, illustrated with more than one hundred vivid images, offers a new, in-depth look at the Pushtimarg and its rich aesthetic traditions, which are largely unknown outside of South Asia. Original essays by eminent scholars of Indian art focus on the style of worship, patterns of patronage, and artistic heritage that generated pichvais, large paintings on cloth designed to hang in temples, as well as other paintings for the Pushtimarg. In this expansive study, the authors deftly examine how pichvais were and still are used in the seasonal and daily veneration of Shrinathji, an aspect of Krishna as a child who is the chief deity of the temple town of Nathdwara in Rajasthan. Gates of the Lord introduces readers not only to the visual world of the Pushtimarg, but also to the spirit of Nathdwara.

In this stunningly produced volume, the artist's mastery and devotion are combined with compelling stories depicting the magical life of Krishna. Excerpts from classics such as the Bhagavat Purana and Gopal Champu accompany 180 paintings, wonderfully illuminated by Swami B.V. Tripurari's poetic and informative narrative.

About the Book The romantic Krishna finds a textual presence for the first time in the Bhagavata Purana and then for a thousand years we celebrate that Krishna through heart-throbbing poetry. Krishna is indeed both the kavi and the kavya, rasa and rasika, the shabda and the artha, He is Purusha and Prakriti. Krishna dances and frolics, speaks and sings, and shringara in its many colours comes alive for us through kavya. We are the gopis of Vrindavana, the nayikas of Ritikavya as Krishna comes alive not through religious rites and rituals but through the joy of poetry and painting and we acclaim krishna svayam kavyam. After we have experienced the aesthetic pleasure of the love of Krishna we realize that all love in this world is that of Krishna, the hushed words of romance between a man and a woman are those of Krishna and Radha, all poetry that celebrates romantic love is that of Krishna, so that we can turn the sentence around and say kavyam svayam krishna. We invite you to immerse yourself in the beautiful poetry of Krishna, through the melody and lyrics let His madhurya wash over you like the waves of the Yamuna and his many-splendoured persona make your mind dance like the birds and blossoms of Vrindavana. Harsha V. Dehejia beautifully weaves a tapestry of Krishna Shringara Kavya enriched by the colours and textures of paintings by the noted artist Vijay Sharma. The book assures the reader both the joy of poetry and the visual delight of painting. About the Author Harsha V. Dehejia has a double doctorate, one in medicine and other in ancient Indian culture, both from Mumbai University. He is also a member of the Royal College of Physicians of London, Glasgow and Canada all by examination. He is a practising Physician and Professor of Indian Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. His main interest is in Indian aesthetics.

The place of Krishna in Indian Art has remained obscured for many years until a parallelism was made by J. Kennedy in the years 1913-17 in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, in which the similarly of Krishna and Christ was suggested. However, this book explodes that theory and expounds the myth of the legendary Krishna and establishes the origin and development of the most important God of the Hindu Pantheon. Thus the iconography and stylistic development of Krishna explodes all the prevalent theories and categorically proves the importance of Krishna in Indian art. The subject of the book is explicity the representation of Krishna in Indian sculpture and painting. However, such an art-historical study has necessitated a good deal of discussion of the legend itself for the sake of understanding the iconography.

About the Book This volume, a visual journey, through its meticulous deliberations on the wall paintings and miniature paintings of Bundelkhand makes us reminisce the footfalls of valiant Bundella kings, ankle bells of elegant court-dancers, evocative poetry of mahakavi Kesvadas and the brilliant artistic skills of mural painters and many other historical events. These find their excellent expressions beyond the palaces of Orchha and Datia, and in many jagirs and thikanas such as Rehali, Madanpur, Chhatarpur, Narsinghgarh, Ajayagarh, Todi Fatehpur, Samthar, Jhansi and Rannod as well. A glimpse of Malwa painting is a value-add. The murals, a living art, more democratic and decidedly popular, were the artistic idiom of Bundelkhand. It was art for the raja and the praja, depicting not only Puranic stories, but also the regal affairs and the day-to-day life of ordinary people. Despite the fact that time, the vicissitudes of weather and vandalism have taken their toll on the murals, a cultivated aesthete can restore life in them. The book candidly reminds us a truth: The paintings of Bundelkhand are half remembered, half forgotten and many yet to be discovered. Thus, this book should inspire art connoisseurs, art historians, art students, and laymen alike, paving the way for further researches and studies on the forgotten legacies of Bundelkhand. About the Author Born in Harda on the banks of the holy river Narmada and presently based at Indore, Narmada Prasad Upadhyaya is a noted scholar of Hindi literature and Indian painting. He writes with grace and eloquence and his books, 25 in number, are an important part of the bibliography of Hindi literature, Indian art and aesthetics. Among his books are Bhartiya Chitrankan Prampara, Paar Roop Ke, Jain Chitrankan Parampara, Kanheri Gita Govinda, The Concept of Portrait and The Colours Fragrance. He has extensively worked on Raghogargh and Jhalawad painting traditions. His special interest is in the paintings of central India including Malwa, Bundelkhand, Baghelkhand, Vidarbha and Khandesh. He has worked with the noted scholar Dr Vidhya Niwas Mishra on the projects of Ramayana and Gita Govinda. He has lectured in England, Australia and Switzerland, and has won several awards including the prestigious Kala Bhushan in 2003. In 2002 he was given the British Council fellowship and in 2008 a German fellowship for his projects on the painting traditions of central India. At present he is working on the interdisciplinary relationship between multiple dimensions of Indian paintings and the different disciplines of Indian literature. The visual heritage of the tradition is a subject of great interest to him. His current project is on the paintings of Bhaktamar, a Jaina composition. He is also working on a project of Gayer Anderson collection of Indian paintings preserved in Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, and other museums of the world. Harsha V. Dehejia has a double doctorate, one in medicine and other in ancient Indian culture, both from Mumbai University. He is also a member of the Royal College of Physicians of London, Glasgow and Canada all by examination. He is a practising Physician and Professor of Indian Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. His main interest is in Indian aesthetics.