A naಞyika (heroine) sits in a sandalwood forest grove on an outcropping of stylized pinkish mauve rocks holding a cobra with her outstretched hand. Her disciple stands behind her smiling and waving a chauri (fan) made of leaves. Below a pond filled with lotus blossoms. A tiger drinks from the pond as birds stop to watch and listen. Above them a dark blue sky.

Typically Asavari Ragini is depicted as a young dark-skinned aboriginal Bhil girl dressed in a leaf or feathered skirt. But she appears in our painting as fair-skinned and dressed in an accordion-pleated dress with a tight bodice and her hair pulled back into a top🅠knot. She is a yogini - a female ascetic imbued through her austerities with nearly magical abilities. She had once been a princess who has led a privileged life in the palace - to live a life of renunciation in the forest. She plays a pungi - a snakecharmer's flute - her music mesmerizing all manner of wild creatures - even the top of the tall upright tree bends down towards her, seemingly enchanted by the magic tones of her flute. Many more snakes slither nearby among the rocks.

This ragini takes its name from the aboriginal Savara tribe renowned for their snake-charming abilities. When played musically it conveys a mood of renunciation and sacrifice as well as pathos. Other versions of the subject are in the Cleveland Museum of Art (2018.190) and another (Provincial Mughal) example is in LACMA (AC1999.127.🍨29).