Radha is evidently angry and would hear none of Krishna’s countless excuses as he returns to her in the morning. Having waited for him all night and guessing accurately that he in his faithless way, had spent the night elsewhere, she turns her head away and makes a dismissing gesture as Krishna, humbly and beseechingly, bows before her, hands stretched, head touching the ground in repentance. Seeing this oft-repeated scene, Radha’s companion is apparently amused.

There is some indication that this is another rendering of the vibhrama-hava of which the poets speak, situations where the lover or the beloved, out of fluster and nervousness, puts on the wrong garments or jewellery or engages in other nervous acts, like chewing on a lotus flower instead of a betel leaf that might be held in hand. It is likely that even as Krishna pleads his innocence, Radha has espied on his figure jewellery belonging recognizable to the other one, which Krishna has put on in haste as he left her to hurry back to Radha.

The painter places the scene in a courtly setting, introducing a marble terrace, carpeted flooring, and palace walls. Krishna, too, is dressed like a courtly figure, wearing a jama and a turban instead of the usual yellow dhoti and peacock feather crown that belongs to him and virtually identifies him. But little else has changed: the bonds of love are as strong, the exchanges are as tender, and the haze of misunderstanding about to lift as easily as before

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