Centred within a gloriously ornate courtyard, Krishna and his brother Balarama come together in the wrestling ring, in a depiction of their victory over Chanura and Mushtika, the evil King Kamsa’s most prized wrestlers. Seated in the central jharokha, or balcony, of the upper level is Kamsa, who watches in the company of two of his wives, Asti and Prapti, and their palace ladies. The queens are attended to by other palace women, some looking toward the king, others engaged with each other, and only one of them actually looking down into the courtyard. On the uppermost floor, more women of the zenana catch a glimpse of the spectacle, secluded behind delicate stone lattices.

At the heart of the action are two large, bejewelled and haloed figures, one of whom is blue-bodied and must represent Krishna, the tutelary deity of Kota. He extends his arms to the second divine figure, his brother, Balarama. There is a tenderness to their portrayal that recalls stories of their play fighting as children in Vrindavan. Meeting in near perfect symmetry, gazing towards one another with haloes merged and hands clasped, they are symbolic of the meeting of strength and intelligence, of matter and spirit, and a demonstration of the Vaishnava understanding of the divine manifest as lila (play).

The very elaborate exterior of the building is typically finished with white chunam, with a pink sandstone interior. We find extraordinarily fine line work and astute observation in the rhythmic curves of the brackets, and the depiction of floral scrolls that climb the walls and flourish from ornate window frames. Immaculate detail extends to the interior with gold furnishings and crystal chandeliers set against radiant hues of green, pink and blue.

The royal setting and characters are delightfully stylized and theatrical. Pairs of wrestlers grapple with each other, while others train with traditional club-weights known as mudgar. Surrounding the action on all sides is a throng of dhoti-clad men who seem to be engaged, curiously, in philosophic stances and exchanges. The depiction represents, in fact, a scene from a traditional Hindu akhada, a well-known Indian genre of monastic fraternities which combined spiritual instruction with intensive training in the martial arts.