In the Service of Krishna: Illustrated Narratives of Eighty-Four Vaishnavas from a 1702 Manuscript in the Amit Ambalal Collection

The Pushtimarg, or the Path of Grace, is a Hindu tradition whose ritual worship of the deity Krishna has developed in close relationship to a distinct genre of early-modern Hindi prose hagiography. This volume introduces readers to the most popular hagiographic text of the Pushtimarg-the Chaurasi Vaishnavan ki Varta, or Narratives of Eighty-Four Vaishnavas, which tells the sacred life stories of the community’s first preceptor Vallabhacharya (1497-1531) and his most beloved disciples.

At

the

core

of

these

narratives

are

descriptions

of

how

Vallabhacharya’s disciples cultivated intimate relationships with Lord
Krishna
through
ritual
performances
known
as
seva,
or
loving
service.
Despite
the
widespread
practice
of
illustrating
seva through painting, these narratives, which showcase everyday men and women, have rarely been visually depicted. This book focuses on the only extant Chaurasi Vaishnavan ki Varta manuscript dated to the beginning of the 18th century, now in artist Amit Ambalal’s collection.