A Lady Separated from her Lover is Consoled by a Maid from a Nayak-Nayika Bhed, Virahini Nayika

The leaf represents a scene of the Amarushataka, a cycle of poetry belonging to Shringara literature, a genre that treats the obstacles that lovers encounter and generates emotive responses in its readers, particularly erotic longing. Shringara poems typically entail a confidante who is engaged in communicating between lovers. Here, a woman whose lover has left on a distant voyage seeks consolation from her maid. The yearning of the Shringara functioned as a substitute for the romantic relationships that were increasingly restricted and unattainable in Indian society. This erotic desire doubles as a longing for spiritual revelation.