The Development of Hindu Iconography c10.75

c10.75

¹ Coomaraswamy, Yakṣas, Pt. II, p. 72, pl. 1. The original is in the Indian Museum, Calcutta; I have counted the number of objects coming in a downpour as it were from the so-called Kalpadruma and have found in all there are 8 such :—a conch-shell, a lotus, two vases all exuding coins and four more or less similar bags or purses, their necks tied round by strings, the idea being that they also contain treasures. Coomaraswamy enumerates 9 treasures of Kubera, viz., Padma, Mahāpadma, Śaṅkha, Makara, Kacchapa, Mukunda, Nanda, Nīla and Kharva which are really water-symbols according to him. But the list is not the same in all the texts; the above list does partially agree with the one quoted in the Śabdaka’padruma from Hārāvalī, the names of the last three being put in as Kunda, Nīla and Varcca. Kunda seems to be a mistake for Nanda and Varcca or Kharva are evidently later additions; for the same lexicon quotes from Bhārata—’ Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇe tu varcca iti hitvā aṣṭāveva uktāḥ :—Padminī nāma yā vidyā Lakṣmītasyādhidevatā | Tadādhārāśca nidhayastān me nigadataḥ śṛṇu ā Tatra Padmamahāpadmau tathā makarakacchapau | Mukundanīlaunandaśca śaṅkhaścaivāṣṭamo nidhiḥ | Satyāmṛddhyāṃ bhavantyete sadbhiḥ saha bhavantyamī | Ete hyaṣṭau samākhyātā nidhayastava kroṣṭuke ||