Lot Essay
The myth of Viswamitra and the love-nymph Menaka is narrated in both the Mahabarata and the Ramayana and tells how Menaka was sent by the Gods to seduce Viswamitra with her charms and allurements. This subject is dealt with in several well-known works of the painter Raja Ravi Varma, and we can presume that Regunatha Naidu was greatly influenced by these paintings especially in the treatment of his figures. For a similar work by Raja Ravi Varma, see Sharma and Chawla, Raja Ravi Varma: New Perspectives, National Museum, New Delhi, 1993, page 78.