King Dushyant Entering the Hermitage; Sages Preparing the Yajna-bhoomi

While the sage Kanva was away, the demons around the hermitage of Kanva wreaked havoc in the area, inhibiting the ascetics residing in the sanctuary from performing their sacrificial rituals. King Dushyant, then, upon the request of the sages, proceeded towards the hermitage to protect the sages and secure the area from so that the sages could perform their sacrificial yagnas with ease. Such was the fame of the prowess of king Dushyant, that even before he entered the hermitage to battle with the demons, they fled from the fear of their annihilation at the hands of the king.

The folio depicts little signs of devastation by the demons, except a few upturned and disordered earthen pots, an atmosphere of calm prevails in the hermitage. A boy sage is engaged in reconsecrating the floor with a mixture of sacred cow dung and water in preparation of the yagna-bhoomi where the prayers and ritual sacrifices will be offered to the deities, while another young sage brings a fresh lot of firewood for rekindling the sacrificial fire that is now extinct. Before Dushyanta will reach the sacred sacrificial space of the hermitage the place seems to have regained its usual peace and calm.

Below on the left, a sage sits in deep meditation in a small recess in the hillock, while in the centre Dushyant rides in his gilded chariot; his sumptuous chariot and its rich brocade hangings presenting a contrast to the simple rustic surroundings of the woodlands and its inhabitants. The rustic settings are charmingly detailed - a pleasant little hut nestles among a thicket of trees, picketed with a boundary of dry twigs. Little pots with food hang from the trees as does deer skin that the sages use to sit on. On the right, stacks of hay rest against a tree with a few earthen pots scattered on the ground.

Keenly observed and rendered are the sages in their attire, their naturalistic gestures, and finer details of their attire in rendering of their matted and coiled hair and their accoutrements such as the very finely delineated deer skin that one of the hermit sits on and the leopard skin that the sage in the cave wraps around his shoulders while meditating. The variety of foliage with intricately delineated leaves provide delightful detail to the scene.