Page 135 - Eye of the beholder

Through these aspects Keshav Das provides a symbolic expression to an idealized realm of a loving relationship between the idealized Nayika and Nayaka, thus portraying them not only as youthful, handsome and renouncing, but more importantly adept in the arts of lovemaking, emphasizing their sexuality. Nevertheless Rasikapriya represents the vividness or convincing quality of appearing to belong to reality. This symbolism when translated into the Rajput miniature paintings, presents a plethora of images with a vivid visual portrayal of love and sexuality.
In the Rajasthani [comprising of the courts of Mewar, Jaipur, Kishangarh, Bundi, Kotah, Jodhpur] tradition, the Rasikapriya is the only text to be illustrated soon after its creation dated 1630-1635. In appreciating illustrations from this text the viewer had to depend on the verses to understand the visual language. Similarly if the artist wanted to create a word specific image then he had to depend on the intermediary to interpret the literary nuances of the verses. The multiple layers of meaning in the archetypal verses proved a challenge for the artists for translation of similar levels of meanings in visual form from the literary concepts were equally abstract. Hence the artist needed help in translating, understanding and interpreting the text that was not only brand new, but written in a highly literate form of Braj, which required to be explained to the artists in Dingal, the regional language of Mewar. The most likely choice for this task was the court librarian, in charge of the production of the royal illustrated manuscripts during the 17th century.
Rasikapriya classified heroes and heroines in different stages of maturity and describes their varying reactions to love situations. Most of the attention is given to the reactions of heroines in response to situations caused by the actions of the hero, with the subject of each of the paintings centered on mischief and romance. The hero is blue-hued Krishna. The Rasikapriya thus became a source of inspiration for artists for generations to come. There were many sets that were painted based on Rasikapriya and the last was painted in 1876 for a Mewar ruler suggesting a consistent royal patronage for it here.
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