This is Vatapatrasai, infant Krishna lying on his back and trying to suck his right toe. A very rare form of Krishna. The banyan tree leaf he is supposed to be lying on is missing.

See the effort he is putting to get his right toe to his mouth. Both the hands are at work trying to coax the right toe up.

As is the case with infant/toddler Krishna he is naked but for the full set of ornaments. The back view shows the bells on his waist belt, meant to track him as he wanders about. The pinched hair-do is possibly an influence of Mysore style.

Other than the smiling face, the features to note include sirachakra (sign of divinity), chubby features and child like face.

This copper-rich Vigraha is from South India and most likely from the Mysore region. It is 6 cm in length and may be dated to the nineteenth century .

5 Feb 2022: Here is a painting of Vatapatrasai. The painting is about 8.5 cm across. The painting is probably dated to the mid-part of the 20th century.

28 May 2022: Lucky to get Vatapatrasai depicted in blackwood. See the back the artist has taken the trouble to show the leaf’s veins and the curved surface of the leaf. Blackwood is difficult to carve, but it seems to have mattered to him he has made it a bit more realistic. The carving is about 17 cm in height. This sculpture probably dates to the second half of the 20th century.