Shiva and family, including Parvati, Ganesha, and Kartikeya, preparing soma on Mount Kailasa

This painting shows the Hindu god Shiva and his family in their home on the sacred mountain Kailasa. This Himalayan peak is considered a sacred place for Buddhists, Jains, and Hindus. In Hindusim, Mount Kailasa (and the Himalayas more generally) is the abode of Lord Shiva and a place of eternal bliss. In this scene Shiva, his consort Parvati, and their sons Ganesha and Skanda appear engaged in sifting, grinding, and heating to make soma, the nectar of immortality. The animals in the scene are the mounts of the holy family—Shiva's bull, Parvati's tiger, Ganesha's mouse and Skanda's peacock—who appear to live peacefully in their mountainous retreat.