These miniature paintings are part of the manuscripts collection in the Institute of Oriental Studies, St Petersburg. Unfortunately, there is no information on their history.

The style of the paintings implies a nineteenth-century origin in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Here an artistic influence of Mughal derivation was current, characterised by flat drawing and stiff, round-faced figures. The paintings are not signed, but appear to have been painted in tempera by the same artist. The artist displays skilful use of colour, minute attention to detail, and sound knowledge of the great epics.

The artist has broadly followed tradition in order to express accepted views of the place and role of deities in the universe. The canonical rules for the representation of gods and goddesses are described in the Puranas. Special instructions for depicting gods, demons, kings, etc. are found in the Chitra lakshana (Treatise on Painting) and rules for colour schemes and sets of attributes are found in the Shilpa shastras (Treatises on Art).

The paintings bear bilingual inscriptions, in Sanskrit and in Persian (from the Mughal tradition). The size of each miniature (around 13 x 20 cm) indicates that they were not intended to illustrate a manuscript.