The Lord Krishna in the Golden City from the Harivamsha (Geneology of Vishnu).

Opaque watercolour, ink and gold on paper. H: 34.9 cm; W: 23.2 cm;

The painting represents the mythical city of Dwarka, where the blue-skinned Krishna, an incarnation of the Hindu God Vishnu, is enthroned in a golden palace and surrounded by his kinsmen. A pastoral scene in the foreground evokes a familiar village setting and a sense that the gods are present in everyday life.

This manuscript was painted for the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556–1605) who was quite interested in other religions. Akbar had translations made of major Hindu texts, including the Sanskrit epic the Mahabharata (Great Story of the Bharatas), known in its Persian translation as Razmnama (Book of Wars). This page is from a section appended to the Razmnama known as the Harivamsa (Genealogy of Vishnu), which narrates the life of Krishna.