The Ancient and Medieval Architecture of India: A Study of Indo-Aryan Civilisation c14.28

c14.28

magic weapons he obtained from Mahâdeva himself, through the practice of austerities in the depths of the Himâlayan forests. Arjûna's Rath is, therefore, only a poetical synonym for a Siva temple; the adjoining one, Draupadi's Rath, named after the common wife of the five Pândava brothers, is dedicated to Pârvatî, Umâ, or Dûrgâ, which are all poetical names for Siva's nature-force or *sakti*, popularly called his wife.¹ Draupadi's Rath is not, therefore, a Vishnu shrine, but symbolises Pârvatî, the Creatrix, as she is represented in the famous sculpture of the Trimûrtî at Elephanta.²