Vishvarupa : Paintings on the Cosmic Form of Krishna-Vasudeva

Contents: Foreword by Prof. B.N. Goswamy. Preface. Introduction. 1. Origins of Vishvarupa. 2. Concept and philosophy of Vishnu Vishvarupa. 3. Vishvarupa in Indian Art and Thought. 4. Vishvarupa in Indian painting. 5. Illustrations with notes on paintings. Annexures: 1. Benefits of reciting the Gita according to the Mahatmya. 2. List of sources for images. 3. Textual references from Vishnusahasranama. Glossary. Select bibliography.

"Vishvarupa is popularly known as the cosmic form that Krishna revealed to Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra in India in the Mahabharata, circa 500 BC. This was captured in verse in two chapters of the Bhagavad Gita. The concept of Vishvarupa is rooted in the Indian philosophical traditions since the Vedic times and represents a holistic inter-dependence in the manifested universe at all levels. Vishvarupa explores the relationship of man with the Cosmic Being -- the microcosm and the macrocosm.

Simple but effective visual representations of this thought are found in Indian arts and culture through the millennia. Herein Krishna is present in a Brahmin, a mongrel dog, a tree and a stone in equal measure. While this book attempts to showcase for the first time a careful selection of Vishvarupa paintings between the 17 and 20 Century to stimulate further study, it also reveals the beauty and genius of the Indian painting tradition for the lay reader." (jacket)