Abhisandhita Nayika
Kangra, India
Circa 1800- 1810
Gouache and gold on paper
9 5/8 x 7 1/4 in. (24.5 x 18.4 cm.)
Provenance: Private North American Collection acquired from Doris Wiener Galleries in the 1970’s

Abhisandhita is she who is estranged by a quarrel. She is one who disregards her lover's devotion to her, but in his absence is full of remorse at her mistake, and the fire of separation burns her all the more. The lovers have quarreled. The hero is about to leave. There is intense sorrow and gloom on the face of the heroine who has been offended by the hero’s remarks. He has tried to soften her anger, but she does not relent, and in her anger has repulsed him. When he turns his back and is about to depart, she is sorry for her harsh conduct. Nayika says to Sakhi “How foolish of me not to have responded to him when he spoke to me repeatedly! I was adamant and would not yield to him when he came and fell at my feet. And now, my limbs seem to be dissolving like butter with excitement. Woe to me, my helplessness defies all cures! Shutting out all feeling of love, I was obstinate to him without whom I have not the power to live! How unlucky that when he tried to propitiate me, I didn’t acquiesce; and this gives to my soul the bitterest mortification and repentance. When he fell at my feet, I turned my eyes away from him, I took my lessons from the god of anger, and I didn’t act upon your advice. And, now, all joys have turned into woes. Sandal- paste, the rays of the moon, breezes from the Yamuna’s bank, and lotuses all burn my body. Since I reversed the sacred code of justice, all good things have reversed their effect upon me.

Reference: Kangra Paintings on Love, M.S. Randhawa, National Museum 1962, University of California