The artworks, part of a new exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, help shed light on a traditional ...

Rawat Gokul Das of Devgarh and Tilkayat Dauji II worship Shri Nathji (detail), Chokha (act. 1779–ca. 1826), India, Rajasthan state, Devgarh, 1823, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, National Museum ...

In response, Yashoda playfully suggested that Krishna paint Radha’s face any color he wanted. That innocent act of face painting grew into the festival celebrated as Holi. The Krishna devotee ...

When he complained to his mother Yashoda, she teasingly replied for Krishna to paint Radha’s face whatever color he chose, so he did. The flying multihued pigments, called gulal, remind of the ...