Kartikkeya; Shiva

Karttikeya, the son of Shiva, is seated upon a low throne with his vehicle the peacock at his feet. According to legend, Karttikeya, also known as Skanda, was born when Shiva's semen was deposited in the river Ganga during a prolonged period of love-making between Shiva and Parvati. The Ganga was unable to bear the heat of Shiva's divine seed and so eventually the child was nurtured by the six constellations known as the Krittakas. In the second work, Shiva is seated in royal ease and holds a sitar in his right hand.

For similar works from the Kalighat School see, J. Jain, Kalighat Painting: Images from a Changing World, 1999, pl. 9 and pl. 86.