2-742-796 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Taking of the Toll, Dana-lila, c. 1760. The god Krishna has stopped the cowherd women on their way to bring milk and yogurt to the Brahmin priests. He pretends that he is a landowner and is demanding a toll tax from the women. His lover Radha playfully raises her hand to smack him. Both Radha and Krishna wear conical headdresses associated with minority groups in the western Himalayas, which visually relocates them to Chamba where this painting was made. In the background herdsmen coax the cows to move along—work that Krishna should be doing instead of flirting with the women.