This wall painting of a rasa mandala is from the walls of the Anirudha Mahal in Bundi. The palace set high up on the slope is covered with paintings with religious and secular themes giving it the current name of Chitrashala.
The Rasa Manadala is the cosmic dance of Lord Krishna.
Mandala means cosmic circle.
One full moon evening in Braj, scented by the heavy smell of Jasmine Lord Krishna in absolute ecstasy starts playing his flute in the moon lit grove.
As given in the Bhagavat Purana, the captivating music is heard by the gopis who rush outdoors to be near him.
They don’t listen to their husbands who try to stop them. They abandon their household and reach the Yamuna.
Lord Krishna is dancing with Radha in the centre which signifies the axis of the cosmos : they symbolise the Supreme Self and its arch seeker.
Each of the eight gopis wishes that Krishna dances only with her and by divine arrangement, Krishna assumes as many forms as they are Gopis and dances with each one singly as also in the group with others.
The Gopis link arms together, forming a great circle.
Lord Krishna dances with every gopi at once, and each one thinks she is dancing with him alone.
This is the realisation of the Divine within and total surrender to Him as envisaged by bhakti and sufi movements.
The husbands stopping them symbolise the material world which they forsake for a union with the Divine.
There are musicians on the periphery of the circle
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