Indian Sculpture c9.115

c9.115

87. Vāhana means a conveyance. Animals were such conveyances of the gods (Figs. 27). Originally the figure itself of the divinity was not represented, but the animal conveyed its presence (Figs. 10, 6; cf. also R. P. Chanda, *Beginnings of Art in Eastern India*, p. 32). In this sense a composition, too, may be called a vāhana, for it conveys an everlasting presence. This term differs from the symbol, which denotes a substitute and contains only an allusion. It is not shaped by the living reality. It is not form, but just a mere sign. A symbol may, however, as any other motif, become integrated into a form context.