Elements of Buddhist Iconography c4.53

c4.53

the Sun, but collectively as the Lights of Heaven, and so we find in *Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa*, XVIII, 8, 6, and *Maitrayaṇī Saṃhitā*, IV, 4, 7, and 58, 16, a more general statement as follows: “Through the down-shining (*avakāśe*) of the Lights of Heaven (*nakṣatrāṇām*) ³⁹ the Lotus (*puṇḍarīka*) is brought to birth (*jāyate*),” the text further making it clear that the Lotus implies Earth, the lights Heaven. It is further explained, *Pañcaviṃśa Br.*, XVIII, 8, 2, and 9, 6, that the wreath of lotuses put on by the Brahman officiating in the Rājasūya ceremony represents sensible operation, virility, and temporal power (*indriyam, vīryam, kṣatram*).