Shiva and Parvati

Unknown artist

The god Shiva is shown in the wilderness as an ascetic with snakes coiling around his arms and in his hair. He holds a mala (a string of prayer beads) and is attended to by his wife, Parvati, who holds her hands in anjali mudra (veneration), and by Nandi, his vahana (vehicle). This "holy family" assembly, sometimes with the addition of their children, Ganesha and Skanda, was a popular subject in later Pahari painting.