Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c8.2

c8.2

VIŚVAKARMĀ—There is repeated emphasis on the creation of forms of great variety (Puru-rūpa), by Indra with his intrinsic power, and by Tvaṣṭā, ‘Shaper’ with an actual technique of cutting and chiselling (rūpa piṁśana). The deity of creation Viśvakarmā is compared to a smith (Karmāra) working at his furnace and smelting metals for forging various objects, the process being called Saṁdhamana (RV. X. 72.2). Even the mighty gods are said to be produced by the smelting of their substance on fire in the furnace.