Bhairavi Ragini: Folio from a ragamala series (Garland of Musical Modes)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A female devotee is worshiping at a Shaiva shrine inside a palace compound, with a lotus pond in the foreground. She has placed an offerings of fresh flowers on the linga and, as we know from the ragamala verse written above, is singing hymns in praise of her Lord, accompanied by hand cymbals (manjira). Intense, glowing colors underscore the true theme of this subject, the passion of devotion (bhakti).

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art