The Development of Hindu Iconography c9.26.2

c9.26.2

Some say, they resemble human beings in form (*puruṣavidhāḥ*), for their panegyrics and their appellations are like those of sentient beings; and their human limbs are referred to in the hymns. . . . They are also (associated in their hymns of praise) with objects with which men are usually associated. . . . Moreover, they are associated with the sort of actions with which men are usually associated. Others say, the gods do not resemble human beings in form (*apuruṣavidhāḥ*), because those gods that are (actually) seen do not resemble human beings in form; as, for instance, Agni (fire-god), Vāyu (wind-god), Āditya (sun-god), Pṛthivī (earth-goddess), Candramas (moon-god), etc. As to the view that panegyrics of the gods are like those of sentient beings, (they reply) that inanimate objects, beginning from dice and ending with herbs, are likewise praised. As to the view that the human limbs of the gods are referred to in the hymns, (they reply) that this (treatment) is accorded to inanimate objects. . . . As to the view (that in their hymns of praise the gods are associated) with objects with which men are associated, (they reply) that it is just the same (in the case of inanimate objects). . . . . Or the gods may both resemble human beings in form as well as may not resemble human beings in form. Or the gods who do not resemble human beings in form exist in the form of Karman (sacrifice); as for instance, the sacrifice performed by the Yajamāna (sacrificer).