RAS question
The 'Pichwai' paintings of Rajasthan, depicting scenes from Lord Krishna's life, originate from which town?
Correct answer: (C) Nathdwara.
Pichwai paintings of Rajasthan originate from Nathdwara, the town associated with the Shrinathji temple.
Explanation
Pichwai is tied to Nathdwara because the form developed around the worship of Shrinathji, a childhood manifestation of Lord Krishna. Rajasthan Tourism describes Pichwais as refined works of art depicting Shrinathji and notes the tradition’s origin in 1670, when Goswami priests from Mathura installed a pichwai at the Nathdwara temple. Nathdwara, in Rajsamand district, is home to the Shrinathji temple, and the paintings are made on cloth to show different forms and moods of Krishna as Shrinathji. The key link is therefore not merely Krishna imagery, but the Nathdwara temple tradition in which each pichwai is treated as an offering to the deity.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Kota is one of Rajasthan’s art centres, but the Pichwai tradition is specifically linked to Shrinathji worship at Nathdwara, not Kota.
- (B) Kishangarh is a known Rajasthani painting style, but Rajasthan Tourism places the birth and temple context of Pichwai at Nathdwara.
- (D) Jaipur appears in Rajasthan’s wider craft and painting landscape, but the Pichwai form is tied to Nathdwara and the Shrinathji temple.
Concept
Rajasthan’s temple-linked painting traditions show how devotional practice shaped regional art forms. RAS repeats such questions because they connect geography, religious institutions and material culture in a single fact pattern.