Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c11.s1.15

c11.s1.15

The following description of the *hamsa* is given in the Rūpāvaliya: “The *hamsa* has nails like those of a dog, and eyes like those of a fowl, a very red beak, a fish-like face, and an unexpanded tail.” In Fig. 21 is shown the South Indian (Dravidian) form of the *hamsa* (*anna paḍci*) for comparison. This illustrates very well the difference of feeling in Sinhalese (Buddhist) and Dravidian (Hindu) art; for other examples, compare Figs. 13, 15, and 24 with the Sinhalese treatment of the same forms. For an Indian *hamsa paṭṭuva*, see ‘Journal of Indian Art,’ Vol. V., Pl. 84.