Studies in Indian Art c7.s2.44

c7.s2.44

Another typical Gupta feature is the reference to the conch and lotus symbols *Sankha-Padma-nidhis* carved on the jambs of doorways. According to the *Vishnudharmottara*, the two jewels, the lotus and the conch, should be shown in their natural form (*Sankha-Padmau nidhi kāryau svarūpau*), and this is confirmed by Kālidāsa saying that the house of the exiled Yaksha in *Alakā* was painted with the figures of the conch and the lotus (*Dvāropānte likhitavajñushau Sankha-Padmau*). This feature is clearly seen in Gupta art, on the flanking posts of the three niches in the walls of the Devagarh temple and on certain other pilasters of the Gupta period in Mathura art. The following additional references indicate the chronological bearings of Kālidāsa with the culture of the Gupta period: The goddess Kali holding a skull, the seven Divine Mothers (*Mātaraḥ*); Kārttikeya riding a peacock (*mayūra-pṛishṭhāśayī Guha*), Vishnu sleeping on Śesha (*Śeshaśāyī Vishnu*) (Fig. 12); Vishnu seated on the coils of a serpent (*Bhogi-bhogāsanāsīna Vishnu*), as the one in the image on the lintel (*lalāṭa-bimba*) of the Devagarh temple; Rāvaṇa lifting Kailāsa; the dwarf attendants of Vishnu partly in human and partly in their natural form (*jalajāsi-gadaśārṅga-chakra-lāñchhita mūrtibhiḥ*, Raghuvamsa); the halo resembling a full-blown lotus (*padmātapatra chḥāyā-maṇḍala*) as contrasted with the plain halo of the Kushana period with only a margin of scallops, etc. A more detailed study of all the motifs and elements of decoration mentioned by the poet and seen in art and painting is likely to render the picture of corelationships even more complete. The lotus halo of the Buddha, Vishnu and Tirthankara images of the Gupta period are well-known. According to the *Brihatsamhita* the halo should be covered with a pattern of geese with feathers treated in conventionalized scrolls, adorned with pearl festoons (*muktāphalopachita-pralamba-mālāvila*) and these features are corroborated by the actual specimens.