Baua Devi is one of the pioneers of Madhubani painting, an ancient folk art from the Mithila region in Bihar. She is the only Mithila artist to be included in the groundbreaking show ''Magicians of the Earth'' at Centre Pompidou (Paris) in 1988. Devi was the youngest among the first group of artists who transported traditional Maithili patterns into works of art. 

Contrasting with common Western notions of snakes as evil and frightening, in Mithila and beyond, there are many stories about snakes being potentially beneficent if worshipped and fed with milk and rice, and only dangerous when mistreated. It is also believed, as shown in this work, that a massive many-headed snake, Shesha, supports the earth sitting on its head while swimming in the primordial ocean of milk.