Krishna : The " Play boy " according to Hindu mythology, can be depicted in various poses and themes. The most popular in Tanjore paintings is the Butter krishna, which shows baby krishna holding a butter pot and pampered by two Gopis on either side.

Yashoda and Baby krishna , Kaliya mardhana krishna dancing on the serpent's head, Radha krishna, Krishna with Bama & Rukmani , Venugopala - Krishna with cows under the holy tree or Punnai Vriksha, Krishna on banyan leaf - more popularly called Vatapatrasayi are some of the apt subjects for Tanjore style paintings.