Mahasiddhas Kamala, Suvarnadvipa, and Viraya

This painting is from a large set depicting the eighty-four great Tantric adepts (mahasiddha) and portrays three of them, including both monastic and lay yogis. The top figure in the work is Kamala, who was a lay scholar, grammarian, and logician. He is shown as an old man with a tiny rolled-up text in his earlobe. At the bottom left is the monastic Suvarnadvipa, a scholar of great learning revealed by his pandita hat, an accessory reserved for highly educated scholastics. At the lower right is Viraya, the cooking oil seller and yogi, playing a hand drum. His right leg is held in place by a meditation strap, and he is accompanied at his side by his consort holding a sitar.

Although required to follow a strict set of rules regarding iconography, the painter has infused each of the adepts in this work with his own personality. This finely crafted painting is a delicate balance of colors. It abounds with details to draw the eye, from the subtle gold accents and wide variety of intricate textile patterns to the turtle being offered to Kamala at top and the colorful parrot sitting in the crook of a staff below.