9, 46, 56, 117
_Vedic Age, The_, 121
Victoria and Albert Museum, 98, pls. 30, 33, 34
Vidyapati, poet, 84, 87, 90, 111
Vishnu, 17-20, 26-29, 36, 39, 40, 45-47, 49, 56-58, 67, 69, 70, 76, 115,
116, pl. 2 (comment)
_Vishnu Purana_, 25, 116, 117, pl. 8 (comment)
Visvakarma, divine architect, 54, 63
Vrishabhanu, father of Radha, 72
Vrishnis, kinsmen of Krishna, 23
Vyamasura, wolf demon, 45

Wellesz, E., 98
Williams, R.H.B., pl. 30 (comment)
Wilson, H.H., 116, 117
Winternitz, M., 121
_Wonder that was India, The_, 19, 115, 117, 121
Wrestlers, Krishna's conflict with, 44, 45, 48, pl. 17

Yadavas, pastoral caste, Krishna's castemen, 21, 26, 27, 45, 49-57, 61,
62, 54, 66-69, 117, pls. 1 (comment), 2 (comment)
Yasoda, wife of Nanda, foster-mother of Krishna, 27-33, 35, 49, 51-53, 61,
62, 72, 109
Yoga, 19, 23
Yudhisthira, leader of the Pandavas, husband of Draupadi, 21-23, 65, 66

THE PLATES

[Illustration]

PLATE 1

_The Death of Balarama_

Illustration to the Persian abridgement of the
_Mahabharata_, the _Razmnama_ (or Book of the Wars)
By Basawan
Mughal (Akbar period), c. 1595
Collection H.H. the Maharaja of Jaipur, Jaipur

Although illustrations of the Hindu epic, the _Mahabharata_, were rarely
commissioned by Hindu patrons, the gigantic text possessed a unique appeal
to Indian minds and for this reason the Mughal emperor, Akbar, chose it
for translation into Persian. 'Having observed the fanatical hatred
prevailing between Hindus and Muslims,' writes his biographer, Abul Fazl,
'and convinced that it arose only from their mutual ignorance, the
enlightened monarch wished to dispel the same by rendering the books of
the former accessible to the latter.' The work of translation was begun in
1582 and was probably concluded in 1588 when Abul Fazl wrote the preface.
It is unlikely, however, that the illustrations were completed before
1595.

The present picture by one of Akbar's greatest Hindu artists illustrates
the sensitive naturalism which from antecedents in Khurasan came to
elegant maturity in Mughal India between 1585 and 1600. Certain
details--the drapery with its shaded folds, the steeples rising in the
distance--are modelled on the European Renaissance pictures which by 1580
had already reached the court. Other details such as the lithe squirrels
gambolling in the tree, the rearing snakes and dense luxuriant foliage can
only have been painted by an artist devoted to the Indian scene.

I