Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v2.c14.s38.7

v2.c14.s38.7

Brahmā should have four arms and four faces. He should wear a diadem and the matted hair of an ascetic (*jaṭā-mukuṭa-maṇḍita*). Two of his hands should be in the gift-bestowing (*varada*) and refuge-granting (*abhaya*) attitudes. The four attributes held in his hands are the water-pot (*kuṇḍika*), the rosary (*aksha-mālā*), and the large and small sacrificial ladles (*sruk-sruva*). The various ornaments, with which his body is to be adorned, are described in great detail. As to his clothes, he is said to wear a strip of bark (*chīra*) and an upper garment (*uttarīya*). His whole body should be of golden colour. Brahmā is accompanied by his two Śaktis (female energies), the goddesses Sarasvatī and Sāvitrī, standing to his right and left respectively.