Opaque Pigment on paper
Mewar, India
c. 1690
Provenance:
Formerly in the collection of Paul F. Walter
Inscribed in Devanagari script within a yellow panel in the upper border.
Bhagati ratanavali ro patra. 26. Thara bhagat hain je. Katha sambha le. Thari bhagati kare. Gati pampa. Narayana ri bhagati ki dhi jadi sagalo huo. Dana. Tapa. Homa. Svadhyay. Itpadika kare. Narayana bhajaje.
Page 26 from the Bhakti Ratnavali. [O Vishnu!] The one who is your devotee, recites your stories, and prays to you, receives your shelter. One can achieve everything by praying to Narayana (Vishnu). Charity, penance, oblation, and reading the holy scriptures should be done [to please Vishnu]. Prayers to Narayana.
This folio from a Bhakti ratnavali series depicts Vishnu seated at upper left on a throne, and ascetics recounting the merits of praying to Vishnu. Other pages from the same series are in the collections of the National Museum, New Dlehi; the Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai and the Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum, Ahmedabad (formerly in the N C Mehta Collection).