The Hindu Temple v2.c12.199

v2.c12.199

"The sport of the Hamsas should be carved on the walls of the temple" ('Samarāṅganasūtradhāra', LVII. 360). In this panel their 'goose step' resounds in an amplitude of curves; they shape the body of the birds and their feathery accompaniment; tail and scroll of drapery are boats in which they sail and swings in which they rock. The streamers flowing from their beaks are reminiscent of the sun bird's serpent, or they may be understood as "extension of the whiteness of the swans' bodies in the shape of white cloths" ('Ādipurāṇa', XXXII. 228, 'Ind. Ant.' vol. XIV. p. 105).