Studies in Indian Art c7.s2.7

c7.s2.7

Of the great Vedic motifs, the one relating to the eternal conflict of good and evil known as the Daivāsuram, constitutes the most forceful and varied symbol for the flow of religious thought and the manifestation of art forms. All our gods and goddesses that enter into deadly combats with demoniac forces, the Buddha that vanquishes Māra the genius of evil, the Yogi Śiva that triumphs over Kāma the god of love, are all but standing commentaries to explain the dominant motif of Daivāsuram. Originally formulated in the Ṛigveda, it subsequently underwent endless transformation, but remained throughout the outstanding metaphysical motif of Indian religious thought and art expressing it.