Elements of Hindu Iconography v1.c8.75

v1.c8.75

Some images, as, for instance, those of Dakṣiṇāmūrti and Sarasvatī, are shown with a vīṇā held in the left hand the right hand being made to play upon it. The Ḍamaru is another instrument generally found in the hands of the images of Śiva and of his manifestations such as Bhairava. Muralī, also called Veṇu is the flute peculiar to Kṛṣṇa. Śaṅkha is more properly a natural bugle than a weapon of war, and is treated as such in the representations of Viṣṇu. Ghaṇṭā or the bell is another musical instrument, which is generally found in the hands of Vīrabhadra and Kālī.