Nagarjuna and Aryadeva as Two Great Indian Buddhist Scholastics

On a platform floating in the water sit the Indian Buddhist scholars Nagarjuna and Aryadeva. Wearing a scholars hat Nagarjuna on the left side is offered a book by a serpent deity emerging from the waters, while Aryadeva is holds a book of his own. White Manjushri appears in a white circular aura at the top of the painting. He is above a white cloud that drifts diagonally down to a dark, boyish emanation figure who rides the shaggy lion characteristic of the Manjushri emanations associated with the Five Mountains (Wu Tai Shan) paradise in northwest China. A Tibetan lama sits in the lower left corner as his attendant lights incense in a brazier bowl.