Yashodha Suckling the Infant Krishna, India, Kangra, circa 1820

The illustration depicts a tender scene of Yashodha seated in a courtyard feeding the infant Krishna with ladies attending to her.

Yashodha’s devotion to her child and the poignant relationship between Krishna and his mother are the bedrock of bhakti poems and literature. This special, Divine yet very human, maternal-filial bond was picturized in a variety of ways in paintings produced at different ateliers. 

Compare with another illustration from Devgarh depicting the same scene, see Sotheby’s New York, Important Indian Miniatures from the Paul F. Walter Collection, 14 November 2002, lot 31. Also see Sotheby’s New York, 16 March 2016, lot 846, for a depiction of Krishna as a toddler revealing a miracle to his mother as she gazes at him with wonder.