Scenes of the deities and their families engaged in ordinary pleasures were popular in Punjab painting in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Here the great Hindu god Shiva and his family enjoy time beside a river on Mount Kailash. Shiva, sitting on a leopard skin, moves to the music played by his consort Parvati (Uma) and sons, the elephant-headed Ganesha and six-faced Skanda (Karttikeya). Nandi, Shiva’s
bull vehicle ('vahana') rests beside them. Also present is Ganesha’s 'vahana', the rat, while Skanda’s peacock can be seen perched in the tree. Shiva’s dishevelled hair, which indicates his ascetic lifestyle, holds a tiny image of the river goddess Ganga.