Cows 4

Taking off from the classical iconography of the Gopashtami theme where Shrinathji is surrounded by cows, commemorating the day he officially becomes a Cowherd, and custodian of the cows; this contemporary Pichvai uses the prominent subjects of cows as the main visual material. Shrinathji is conspicuous by his absence, one may argue that this is a contemporary device but actually such a usage takes us back to the original intent of the Pichvais : to serve as backdrops for Shrinathji’s idol (and hence not featuring Shrinathji himself).