Mughal Emperor Akbar was always curious about other religions and thus, he wanted to know more about tanets of Jainism too. People from different religions used to attend his courtroom discussions every week where he used to debate about different religious beliefs. Court painter to Akbar, Basawan was one of the finest of his time and also one of the first to be influenced by western art techniques from Renaissance. Painted in technique using gum tempera, ink and gold on paper; the above artwork shows a simple Jain monk walking along a riverbank. Under his left arm, he carries a manuscript wrapped in red cloth while he holds a whisk broom, staff and pot in his hands. He appears to be a white-clad Jain Ascetic. Four Jain monks whose name end in -chandra were prominent participants in the Mughal court: Shantichandra, his disciple Bhanuchandra, Jinachandra, and Siddhichandra. This portrait probably depicts one of them. Bhanuchandra was close to Akbar's sons, Salim (who became the emperor Jahangir).

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