A Yogini at her Hermitage Being Visited by Devotees

The yogini clad in silhouetted orange garments is standing on a tiger skin mat with a morchal and offerings around her. Her attire and ornaments suggest a noble descent. She is shown leaning on a plank tied to the tree- implying a vow to stand on her feet for a long period of time, a known yogic feat. She is giving audience to a varied group of devotees. Under the tree and close to her are seated two other ascetics. Her hermitage is located on the river bank. The marbled courtyard where she stands is surrounded by pits with smoldering embers of coal.
The group of devotees present fine examples of portraiture, with each person a studied character skillfully rendered by the artist. They include a royal extending his hand with offerings, a young boy holding a spear, two sword heralding men, an old Sufi with a  bent back and a man with a shaved head, holding a branch with leaves, reminiscent of the Christian saints rendered on Mughal folios of this time. Kishangarh’s atelier during this period was headed by Bhavanidas, the Mughal master who relocated to Kishangarh in 1719. For other examples of similar portraiture in genre scenes from the Kishangarh atelier from the Stuart Cary Welch Collection see Sotheby’s London, May 31, 2011, lots 18 and 19.