A new book looks at Krishna’s playful relationship with the gopis through lens of Jungian psychology

Krishna, the young cowherd of Vraja, was a blessing to all who came into his presence. Listening to the music of his flute – not without its metaphoric connotations – bewitched and melted the hearts of all creatures, especially those of the women of Vraja who “continuously embraced him in their minds”. As Krishna played his flute, “even celestial damsels moving in their vehicles became infatuated with him, the chaplets of flowers dropping from braids of hair, and the folds of their garments slipping”. But the girls of Vraja thought of Krishna constantly. Whenever they were taking a bath in the waters of the river Yamuna at daybreak, they would make an image of the River Goddess in the sand, worship it with sandal-paste and fragrant flowers and repeat the same prayer: “O Goddess! O Great Maya of the Universe! Please grant the son of Nanda to me as my husband!”

Once in the course of this vow, the maidens left their garments on the bank and entered the waters of the Yamuna, nude, playing merrily. All the time, however, in mind, word and deed, they were with Krishna. Seeing them from a distance, Krishna collected their garments and climbed up the...

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