A Hindu ascetic or holy man performing self-torture, accompanied by a woman. Gouache painting by an artist of Thanjavur (Tanjore), ca. 1800 (?).

The man is naked apart from a black turban and armbands, a sash and a g-string; he has black and white tilaka (religious markings) on his forehead and carries a bundle wrapped in saffron cloth on his right shoulder. He is cutting into his left thigh with a small knife, and appears to be vomiting into his kamandal (holy pot). The woman is dressed in a white robe, has white tilaka on her forehead, gold chains around her neck, and carries a kamandal