Kailash Nath

Oleograph of ‘Kailash Nath’ by the artist K.S. Siddalinga Swami, printed by the Ravi Varma F.A.L. Works. This was the Fine Art Lithographic Press, a printing company founded in 1894 by the artist Raja Ravi Varma. The image is wrongly titled Kailash Shankar, a common mistake found in many prints of this subject.
The image depicts Shiva sitting with his wife Parvati, surrounded by their sons Murugan (Kartikeya) and Ganesha and Shiva’s followers. Nandi is also shown touching Shiva’s foot to the left. Shiva is represented in a benevolent attitude, as a king sitting on a throne in the divine residence of Kailash. The backdrop shows pillars and arches of the palace. Shiva is holding a small deer which symbolises his mastery over the restless mind, and in the other hand he holds an axe which represents his power as a destroyer and protector.