Elements of Hindu Iconography v1.c9.67

v1.c9.67

The bronze-image of Hēramba-Gaṇapati, whose back and front views are shown on Pls. XIII and XIV, belongs to the Nīlāyatākshi-yamman temple at Negapatam. In this figure, which is seated upon a lion, two hands are kept in the *varada* and the *abhaya* poses respectively, while the other eight are shown to be carrying the *parāśu*, *paśa*, *danta*, *aṅkuśa*, and four other weapons which are not easily identifiable. It should be observed that the image has five heads; four of them are facing the four cardinal points, and one is situated centrally on the top. This piece of sculpture does not appear to be older than the fifteenth century A. D.