Temple, Palace, Mosque: 2010

These figures once stood by an image of the Hindu god Vishnu. The group on the left features a female figure who is the person-ification of one of Vishnu’s weapons, the mace. The Sanskrit word for mace is gada, which, grammatically, is in the feminine gender; for this reason, the mace is personified as female. A section of a mace is visible above her head, confirming the identification. The other subsidiary figures are adorants and emanations of Vishnu. Notable is the image of a seated Buddha holding a manuscript page; many followers of Vishnu considered the Buddha to be an incarnation of Vishnu.

In the group on the right, the main male figure personifies another of Vishnu’s weapons, the discus. The Sanskrit word for discus is chakra, which, grammatically, is in the masculine gender, so, accordingly, this weapon is depicted as a male figure. In his hands he grasps a wheel-shaped discus, which symbolizes the power of the knowledge of truth. A conch shell, another of Vishnu’s attributes, is grasped by the hand of the image of Vishnu that is now missing

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October 2005
Rotunda Niche Rotation
These figures once stood to the left of an image of the Hindu god Vishnu. Together with the other sculptural grouping (shown here in the opposite niche of the rotunda) they formed a section of a temple.
The main female figure is the personification of one of Vishnu's weapons, the mace. The Sanskrit word for mace is gada, which, grammatically, is in the feminine gender; for this reason, the mace is personified as female. A section of a mace is visible above her head, confirming the identification. The other subsidiary figures are adorants and emanations of Vishnu. Notable is the image of a seated Buddha holding a manuscript page; many followers of Vishnu considered the Buddha to be an incarnation of Vishnu.
Last Updated: 9/5/2017