A holy man in the forest (Shiva as Lord of the Animals)

Jogmaya Devi’s central subject here is an ascetic holy man surrounded by wild animals. He is seated in a posture of meditation and is holding a string of prayer beads. In other representations in Indian art, a sage surrounded by four animals (who here look more charming than ferocious) also refers to a form of Shiva as Lord of the Animals.

The horizontal mark across the figure’s forehead identifies him as a devotee of the deity Shiva. Ascetics, like Shiva, are often depicted with long, stringy, matted hair, shown here as colorful sinuous locks around his head. This image may be read doubly as an ascetic meditating in the forest, and as the god Shiva. Bright colors, repeated patterns, dots, and floral motifs lend it a cheerful quality reminiscent of ritual wall painting.