Modern Indian Painting

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
G. R. Santosh was a leading artist of the Neo-Tantric art movement in India. Tantric philosophy often explores the concept of cosmic duality and the union of opposing, yet complementary, forces as the source of all creation.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
In Hindu philosophy, particularly Samkhya and Tantra, "Purusha" represents the male principle—pure consciousness, the observer, and the unmanifest spirit. "Prakriti" represents the female principle—nature, creative energy, and the manifested world. The cosmic union of Purusha and Prakriti (or Shiva and Shakti, which represent a similar concept) symbolizes the creation of the universe and the ultimate state of non-duality. G. R. Santosh's paintings are renowned for their abstract and symbolic representation of this very union, using geometric forms and vibrant colors to depict the interplay between these two fundamental energies.

Step 4: Final Answer:
The cosmic union of human energy in G. R. Santosh's tantric paintings is a direct representation of the philosophical concept of Purusha and Prakriti.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks about the subject matter or themes of the paintings by Raja Ravi Varma, one of the most celebrated artists of 19th-century India.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Raja Ravi Varma is renowned for his fusion of European academic art techniques with purely Indian themes. While he painted portraits and scenes of daily life, his most significant and popular works were based on Hindu mythology and literature. He is particularly famous for his large-scale oil paintings depicting scenes and characters from the great Indian epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. His depictions of characters like Dushyanta and Shakuntala, Nala and Damayanti, and scenes like Ravana abducting Sita became iconic. He also painted numerous themes from the Puranas, including depictions of Shiva-Parvati and stories from the Bhagvata Purana. However, the most encompassing and defining subjects of his work are the grand narratives of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, which made his art accessible and popular across India through oleograph prints.

Step 3: Final Answer:
Among the given options, the Ramayana and Mahabharata represent the most prominent and central themes of Raja Ravi Varma's paintings.