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Elements of Hindu Iconography v2.c16.s8: Dakshinamurti

Elements of Hindu Iconography v2.c16.s8

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Dakshinamurti

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WE have already stated that Śiva is a great master of *yōga*, music and dancing and have described in detail his dances in the chapter on “Nṛittamūrtis.” As a teacher of *yōga*, music and other sciences he is known by the name of Dakshiṇāmūrti. One account gives an explanation regarding the etymology of this name; it states that because Śiva was seated facing south when he taught the *rishis* *yōga* and *jñāna* he came to be known as Dakshiṇāmūrti. This aspect of Śiva is always invoked by students of science and arts. The great Śaṅkarāchārya, among several other celebrities, have sung the praise of this aspect of Śiva, which is as remarkable for its peacefulness as the Nṛittamūrti is for joyfulness.

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Dakshiṇāmūrti is viewed in four different aspects namely, as a teacher of *yōga*, of *vīṇā*, of *jñāna* and as also an expounder of other *Śāstras* (*Vyākhyānamūrti*). Of these, the last form is the one which is most frequently met with in temples. It has already been mentioned elsewhere that in all Hindu temples, both Śaiva and Vaishṇava, the niche on the south wall of the central shrine should have the figure of Dakshiṇāmūrti enshrined in it.

Vyākhyāna Dakshiṇāmūrti

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As an expounder of the *Śāstras*, Dakshiṇāmūrti should be represented as seated on a secluded spot on the Himālayas, under a banyan tree, on a seat covered with a tiger's skin; or, as another account has it, on a white lotus (*padmāsana*). The right leg of Dakshiṇāmūrti should be hanging below the seat while the left one bent and rested across on the right thigh. The kind of sitting posture adopted here is called the *vīrāsana*. The leg hanging down may or may not rest on the back of the *Apasmāra-purusha*. Dakshiṇāmūrti should have three eyes and four arms : of these the front right one is held in the *jñānamudrā* or the *sandarśanamudrā*¹ pose and the front left hand may be kept in the *varada* pose or stretched straight in the *daṇḍa* pose, the elbow resting upon the left knee in that latter posture. Even when the hand is in the *varada* pose it should rest upon the left knee but with the back of the hand touching it. The back right hand should hold the *aksha-mālā*, while in the back left hand there should be either *agni* (fire) or a *sarpa* (snake). In one account it is stated that one of the left hands may be, as already stated, in the *varada* or the *daṇḍa*

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¹ This is known as the *samdaṃśa* in the *Nāṭya-śāstras*, a name which occurs also in the *āgamas*.

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pose; if it is in the former pose, it might keep a book, the other left hand holding a snake, fire or a lotus or *nīlotpala* flower. The various parts of the body of Dakshiṇāmūrti should be free from bends—a rigidity indicative perhaps of the resolute will and force of thought of the god in the aspect of the teacher. His head might be adorned with a *jaṭābhāra*, *jaṭābandha*, *jaṭāmaṇḍala* or *jaṭā-makuṭa*; or the *jaṭās* might be held together with a *paṭṭa-bandha*. In any case the mass of *jaṭās* should be embellished with the flowers of the *durdhura* (*dhatura*) and other wild plants, as also with a serpent on the left and with small tinkling bells, the *kapāla* and the crescent moon on the right side. In the middle of the *jaṭābhāra* there should be visible the smiling face of the river-goddess *Gaṅgā*. The complexion of Dakshiṇāmūrti is pure white, resembling a *sphaṭika* (crystal); according to another account the colour of Dakshiṇāmūrti may be white, red, yellow or black. His person should be adorned with all ornaments, clothed with perfectly white clothes and tiger's skin, should wear a white *yajñopavīta* and have on his chest a coat of white sandal paste. In his left ear there should be a *Śaṅkhapatra* and in the right ear a *kuṇḍala*, or there may be only the *śaṅkha-patra* or the *kuṇḍala* in both the ears. A garland of *rudrākshas* should be hanging round the neck and descending as far down as the chest. The countenance of the god should be absolutely free from even a trace of mental perturbation. His sight must be fixed upon the tip of the nose; according to the *Kāraṇāgama* the sight must be fixed on the tip of the toe. The *Śilparatna* adds that this aspect of Śiva which preaches the *dharma* or law is very auspicious to the devotees and grants all good to its worshipper.

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Surrounding the great teacher-god, are to be *rishis* eager to learn the *śāstras*. The names of the *rishis* are given differently in different works; for example, the *Aṃśumadbhēdāgama* mentions the *rishis* Nārada, Jamadagni, Vasiṣṭa, Bhṛigu, Bhāradvāja, Sanaka and Agastya. The *Kāmikāgama* mentions the names Kauśika, Kaśyapa, Bhāradvāja, Atri and Gautama and omits the names of two others though it gives the number of *rishis* as seven. The *Kāraṇāgama* gives the names of Agastya, Pulastya, Viśvāmitra and Āṅgirasa only. These *rishis* should have *jaṭāmakuṭas* on their heads, the garland of *rudrāksha* seeds round their neck and white *yajñōpavītas* on their person. Their bodies should be covered with ashes (*vibhūti* or *bhasma*) and be clothed in white garments. The height of these *rishis* should not exceed that of the chest of

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Dakshiṇāmūrti. It is stated in the *Kāmikāgama* that the complexion of the *rishis* Kauśika and Kaśyapa should be dark, of two others (unmentioned in the text) yellow, of Bhāradvāja red and of Atri and Gautama a mixture of dark and red. In grouping them on a panel around the figure of Dakshiṇāmūrti, two may be placed on one side and three on the other, or three and three on each side, or three and four on either sides.

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The god Dakshiṇāmūrti should be adored by kinnaras, *dēvas* and others.

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The Apasmāra-purusha should hold his right hand in the *sarpa-mudrā* pose, that is, hold the palm of his hand in the form of the hood of a cobra, in front of the cobra which he should hold in his left hand.

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The *Dakshiṇāmūrti Upanishad* and the *Sūta-saṃhitā* give the esoteric meaning of the figure of Dakshiṇāmūrti. It is stated that He is the supreme god who, at the end of an æon (*kalpa*) absorbs within himself the whole universe and remains resplendent with joy. Dakshiṇāmūrti is such a deity. *Jñāna* (knowledge) is known also as *dakshiṇā* and since *dakshiṇā* is ever in front of Śiva and is gazing at him in the aspect of Dakshiṇāmūrti, he is called Dakshiṇāmukha. The Apsmāra-purusha under his foot is the personification of the ignorance of the living beings, which he keeps under subjection under the tread of his foot. The book he holds in his hand contains all wisdom and illuminates the souls of beings. The *akshamālā* which he carries in his hand is the representation of the *tatvas*. His body is composed of eternal bliss and eternal energy; the wide-spreading banyan tree casting deep shade is the symbol of *māyā* (illusion) and the *vṛishabha* of Śiva is *dharma* (law). Dakshiṇāmūrti is teaching the *rishis* who are already deeply versed in the Vēdas the *ātma-vidyā* (knowledge of self and soul) and rescuing them from *saṃsāra* (bondage). He is himself imperishable, without birth or death and the *kamalāsana* or the lotus-seat upon which he is seated is the symbol of the sacred syllable *Ōm*.

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Eight photographs are reproduced in illustration of the above description. Of these the first illustration, Pl. LXXI, comes from Deogarh and represents a very fine piece of sculpture. This panel has its central figure Dakshiṇāmūrti seated on a raised platform placed under a tree, with his left leg hanging and the right one bent and rested upon the seat. On his head is a *jaṭābandha*; the back right hand carries an *akshamālā* and the front right hand is held in the *jñānamudrā* pose. The back left hand carries a long object which is not easy to identify; perhaps it represents a cadjan

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Jñāna-Dakshiṇāmūrti: Stone Panel: Deogarh.

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manuscript : or a bundle of kuśa grass (kūrcha) the front left hand carries a pot, perhaps an amṛita-ghaṭa, as required in the Viṣṇudharmōttara. He wears round his loins a garment which descend as far down as the knees ; on his left shoulder and descending below as far as the left thigh and lying on it is a kṛiṣṇājina (or deerskin), the head and front legs of the deer being clearly visible there : this skin is worn in the upavīta fashion. The whole figure is slightly bent forward and a few jaṭās are seen descending over the shoulders. The face portrays beautifully the calmness that is insisted upon by the āgamas and the sight is fixed below.

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Below his seat and near his left leg are seen two deer, also listening to this exposition of dharma. This brings to mind the analogy of the representations of Buddha's preaching the dharma wherein also the same animals are introduced as members of the audience. Behind stands an ascetic with crossed arms and legs and carrying on his left hand an akṣamālā; he has a tapering beard and his jaṭās are tied up in a knot on the crown of his head.

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To the left of Dakshiṇāmūrti is seated a person as tall as himself. He is also seated underneath a tree on a rocky seat. This may either be a ṛishi or Śiva himself in the aspect of the Vyākhyāna-Dakṣiṇāmūrti; on the latter supposition the other person (seated to the right) must be taken to be Yōga-Dakṣiṇāmūrti. However it is not possible to say definitely whom this figure represents. The right hand of this image though carrying an akṣamālā is held in the chin-mudrā pose, while the left hand is held in the bhū-sparśamudrā pose. Its head is adorned with a neatly executed jaṭāmakuṭa, and its body is covered with a deer skin in the upavīta fashion. The right leg is let down the seat and is resting on the ground and the left leg is bent and kept on the seat. The garment covering the lower portion of the body descends as far below as the knees. As in the case of the other figure there is behind it a smaller one, also an ascetic, whose right hand, holding an akṣamālā, is kept in the chinmudrā pose and the left hand carries a water pot. Below the seat of this image is a lion couchant with its head resting upon its forelegs which are kept crossed over each other.

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There are dēvas and gandharvas, who are shown as flying in the air over the heads of these two central figures carrying flower garlands in their hands. Higher up and in a separate compartment is sculptured Brahmā as seated on a padmāsana; as usual, he has four heads; but only two arms;

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Fig. 2. Jñāna-Dakshiṇāmūrti: Stone:

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Fig. 1. Jñāna-Dakshiṇāmūrti: Āvur (Tanjore District).

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Jñāna-Dakṣiṇāmūrti: Stone: Tiruvorriyūr.

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The right hand is kept in the *chinmudrā* or *abhaya* pose and the left carries a *kamaṇḍalu*. On both sides of Brahmā are a *dēva* and his *dēvī*, flying in the air and praising him.

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The second image whose photograph is reproduced as fig. 1, on Pl. LXXII, is to be found in the Śiva temple at Āvūr in the Tanjore district. It is also a well executed piece of sculpture. In this image the *jaṭās* are bound together by a *lalāṭapaṭṭa* of elaborate workmanship. In the left ear is a *patrakuṇḍala* and in the right a *nakrakuṇḍala*; on the chest are the *yajñōpavīta* and a necklace of *rudrāksha* seeds; there are also the *chhannavīra* and the *udarabandha* and a cloth worn in the *upavīta* fashion. The front right hand is kept in the *chinmudrā* pose and the front left hand, which rests on the left knee, bears a book. In the back right hand is the *sarpa* (snake) while in the back left hand is *agni* (fire). The right leg hangs down the seat and is placed upon the Apasmāra-purusha and the left foreleg rests upon the right thigh. This image belongs to the early Chōḷa period.

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The photograph reproduced on Pl. LXXIII is of a comparatively modern sculpture to be found in a Śiva shrine built in the second *prākāra* of the temple at Tiruvorriyūr. It is coarse in its execution and lacks effect. The *jaṭās* in this case are spread fanwise and are bound at their base by a *lalāṭapaṭṭa*. The image has the same objects in its hands as the one noticed above (Pl. LXXII, fig. 1). But there is in addition the figure of a *rishi* seated below the seat of Dakshiṇāmūrti, with its hands held in the *añjali* pose. The seat on which Dakshiṇāmūrti is seated in fig. 1, Pl. LXXII, is a *bhadrapīṭha* while in Pl. LXXIII it is the mountain represented in the usual conventional manner.

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The fourth illustration, fig. 2, Pl. LXXII, is exactly similar to the third; but there are two *rishis* sculptured separately and seated on either side of the central figure.

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The fifth illustration, fig. 1, Pl. LXXIV, is from Suchindram in South Travancore. The image is of a comparatively recent date. It has on its head a carefully worked up *jaṭāmakuṭa*; and a few stray *jaṭās* are seen flowing down on the shoulders. The posture assumed herein is the *vīrāsana*. In the right back hand is seen a lotus flower, in the back left hand a *sarpa*, while the front right hand is held in the *chinmudrā* pose and the front left hand carries a book.

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Fig. 2, Pl. LXXIV, is the photograph of the figure of Dakshiṇāmūrti found in Kāvēripakkam and belongs to the Pallava period. Herein, the deity has on his head heavy curls of hair constituting the *jaṭābhāra*; he carries the *akṣamālā* in his back right hand, *agni* (?), in the back left hand and a book in the front left hand; the front right hand is held in the *vyākhyāna-mudrā* pose. The right leg is hanging below the seat, while the left one is kept bent in the *utkuṭikāsana* posture. Round the neck are two *hārās* (necklaces) on the chest, the *yajñopavīta* and in one ear a *vṛtta-kuṇḍala*; the other ear wears no ornament. Below the seat are to be seen a deer and a cobra listening to his discourse.

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Fig. 1. Jñāna-Dakshiṇāmūrti : Stone : Suchīndram.

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Fig. 2. Jñāna-Dakshiṇāmūrti Stone : Kāvēripākkam.

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Fig. 2. Jñāna-Dakṣiṇāmūrti : Bronze : Collection of Mr. Kay, Madras.

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Fig. 1. Jñāna-Dakṣiṇāmūrti : Stone : Tiruvēṅgavāsal.

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Fig. 1, Pl. LXXV, is the reproduction of a photograph of the Jñāna-Dakṣiṇāmūrti kept in the southern niche of the central shrine of the Śiva temple at Tiruvengavāśal in the Pudukottah State. In this case, the deity is represented as seated with his left leg kept in the *utkuṭikāsana* posture and on it is stretched the front left arm. Fig. 2, on the same plate is that of a bronze statuette belonging to the collection of Mr. Kay, Madras. It is almost similar to the figure on Pl. LXXIII; the only difference is that in the figure belonging to Mr. Kay, the back right hand keeps *agni* and the back left one, a snake, whereas in the Tiruvorriyūr image the order is reversed.

Jñāna-Dakshiṇāmūrti

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There is not much difference between the Vyākhyānamūrti and the Jñānamūrti. In the latter the general posture of Siva is exactly the same as in the former, but in the back right hand there should be the akshamālā, and in the back left hand a utpala flower. The front right hand should be held in the jñānamudrā pose, whereas the front left hand may be kept in the abhaya or the daṇḍa pose.

Yoga-Dakshiṇāmūrti

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This form of Dakshiṇāmūrti may be sculptured in three different ways. In the first, the two legs of the image should be crossed as in the svastikāsana; while the front right hand should be held near the chest in the yōgamudrā pose and the front left hand should rest upon the lap in the characteristic yōgic posture. In the back right hand there should be the akshamālā, and in the back left hand a lotus flower. The gaze must be fixed on the tip of the nose: and a few jaṭās should hang over the shoulders. This image of Dakshiṇāmūrti should be surrounded by ṛishis who should be adoring him.

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In the second mode of representation of Yōga-Dakshiṇāmūrti the left leg of the figure should be bent in the utkuṭikāsana posture; surrounding the body of the figure and its left leg should be a *yōgapaṭṭa*. The right leg should be hanging down the seat. The front left arm should be kept stretched and be resting by the elbow on the knee of the bent left leg. The rest of the description is identical with that given for the first form.

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Yōga-Dakshiṇāmūrti (locally known as Gauḷīśvara) : Stone : Tiruvorriyūr.

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The third form is required to be sculptured thus: The two legs are bent and crossed in a more or less vertical position (as in the figure of Yōga-Nārasiṃha), and round these and the body is passed a *yōgapaṭṭa* to keep the legs in position. The front two arms are stretched and kept resting on the knees. In the back right hand there should be the *akṣamālā* and in the back left hand a *kamaṇḍalu*. The *jaṭās* should be disposed of in the form of a *jaṭāmaṇḍala* and in it should be the crescent moon, a snake and other objects. The colour of the body of this aspect of Dakṣiṇāmūrti is white, but his neck should be represented as of black colour. The image should be adorned with all ornaments including a number of snake ornaments.

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The illustration on Pl. LXXVI, is a well-carved figure of Śiva in the *yōgāsana* posture. It is enshrined in a fane situated in the south *prākāra* of the Śiva temple at Tiruvorriyūr. The inscriptions on the walls of this shrine refer to the image set up in it as Paḍampakkanāyinār and state that it was set up in the fifth year of the reign of the Chōḷa king Virarājēndradēva (about A.D. 1067-8). From the position of this shrine with reference to the main central shrine, that is, to the south side of it, and from the posture and other features of the image itself enshrined therein, it may, without fear of contradiction, be stated to be the first form of Jñāna-Dakshiṇāmūrti described above. The figure has a well executed jaṭā-makuṭa ornamented with jewelled discs and bands round it; kuṇḍalas in the ears; and hāra and necklace of rudrāksha seeds and yajñōpavīta on the chest. The forearms are adorned with a number of bracelets and the upper arm with kēyūras. The legs are crossed one over the other so as to bring the soles up; this is exactly the yōgic āsana called the svastikāsana. In the back right hand there appears to have been a śūla, whose shaft alone now remains, the head being broken; in the back left hand is the kapāla; the front right hand is held in the chinmudrā pose and the front left hand also in the pose characteristic of an expounder of sciences. This image now goes by the inexplicable name of Gauḷīśvara and near it and to its proper right is set up in more recent times the figure of Saṅkarāchārya; on the base of the seat of this latter are carved the figures of his four great disciples.

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Yōga-Dakshiṇāmūrti: Stone: Conjeevaram.

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The second form is illustrated by Pl. LXXVII. The original of this photograph is in the Kailāsanāthasvāmin temple at Conjeevaram. In this sculpture Śiva has his left leg bent and rested vertically on the seat and this leg and the body are bound together by the *yōgapaṭṭa*. The front right hand is held in the *yōgamudrā* pose, while the front left hand is in the *abhaya* pose. The back right hand keeps an *akṣamālā*, and the back left hand *agni* or a lotus flower.[*] The right leg is hanging down the seat. Śiva is as in the previous instances, seated under the shade of a banyan tree and below his seat are deer lying, with their heads lifted up to Śiva. Below his right elbow is a cobra with an uplifted hood, also gazing at the enchanting figure of Śiva. Above the head of Śiva are seen seated a pair of *bhūtas* on either side. On three niches situated on either side respectively of Dakshiṇāmūrti (not shown in the picture) are *rishis* sitting

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[*] At some later period of the history of this temple, when the surface of the stones of which the sculptures are composed began to peel off, they have all been covered with thin coat of plaster. The plasterer not being able to make out the exact nature of some badly injured objects has shaped slightly different things in their stead: thus, a lotus flower that is required by the *āgamās* seems to have been evidently mistaken for the most likely object in the back left hand of Śiva, namely, *agni*.

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and listening to the preaching of the Dharma or Yōga by Śiva.* The image whose photograph is reproduced as Pl. LXXVIII is almost similar to that on Pl. LXXVII; the back right hand, in this instance, carries a cobra. Dakṣiṇāmūrti is seen sitting here upon a bhadrapīṭha placed upon a hill.

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Pl. LXXIX is the photograph of the image of Dakṣiṇāmūrti to be found in the Siva temple at Nañjaṅgōḍu in the Mysore Province. This represents, only so far as its sitting posture goes, the third form the Yōga-Dakṣiṇāmūrti. The āsana assumed is that form of utkuṭikāsana described under the third form. The legs are bound with the body with a yōgapaṭṭa. But in fact the image is a combination of all aspects of Dakṣiṇāmūrtis—namely, the Yōga, the Viṇā-dhara and the Vyākhyāna forms; it is the Yōga form because its sitting posture is the yōgic;

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∗ Mr. Alex. Rea in his "The Pallava Architecture" describes a panel containing the images of Dakṣiṇāmūrti and the rishis thus: "in this panel, eleven seated sages are listening to the exhortations of Śiva, who is represented in a panel on the north side of the central shrine. He is armed with different symbolical weapons, and seems to be preaching war" (!) Such mistakes are fairly common in his publications and hence need no serious refutation; nor are his drawings reliable, for, to quote an instance, a śaṅkha in the hand of an image is wrongly represented in the drawing as a padma.

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Yōga-Dakshiṇāmūrti : Stone : Conjeevaram.

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the Vīṇādhara because it carries in its back left hand a vīṇā, and Vyākhyāna because its front right hand is in the chinmudrā pose and the front left hand carries a book. The figure is seated below a banyan tree and the lāñchhana (the totemistic emblem), the bull, is carved in a counter-sunk surface on the pedestal, in front. Below the seat and in the middle of it is seated a Liṅgāyat priest who holds in his left hand a liṅga. On either side of this guru are his disciples with their hands in the añjali pose. A prabhāvaḷi is placed behind the figure of Dakṣiṇāmūrti on the jambs of which are standing one on each side a ṛishi with the hands in the añjali pose.

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VĪṆĀDHARA-DAKṢIṇĀMŪRTI.

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As a great teacher of music, both instrumental and vocal, Śiva is worshipped in the form of Vīṇādhara-Dakṣiṇāmūrti. The description of the image of this aspect of Dakṣiṇāmūrti is found in the Kāmika, the Aṁśumadbhēda and the Kāraṇāgamas. The Aṁśumadbhēdāgama states that the left leg should be kept in the utkutika posture and the two front hands should hold the vīṇā; the rest should be exactly similar to the description of the Vyākhyānamūrti. According to the Kamikāgama the Gāna-Dakṣiṇāmūrti should have his front right and left hands held in the kaṭaka pose, the former with its palm facing below and the latter facing above. The *kaṭaka* pose being slightly different in form, the *Kāmikāgama* calls the pose the *sarpa-kara*. The left arm should be lifted up and the right arm lowered below, so as to hold in proper position the long-handled musical instrument, the *vīṇā*. The *vīṇā* should be held at the top by the left hand and by the right hand at the lower end; the resonating body of the instrument should rest on the right thigh. The lower right hand should be manipulating the strings of the instrument.

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The measurement of the *vīṇā* is next given as follows: the *vīṇā* should be projecting three *aṅgulas* beyond the right thigh and four *aṅgulas* above the left *kaṭaka-hasta*. The distance between the two points specified above is the length of the *vīṇā-daṇḍa* or the hollow shaft of the instrument whose width at the top should be two *aṅgulas*. The gourd resonator attached at the lower end should be six *aṅgulas* in diameter and three *aṅgulas* in height.

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A few general observations are added also about the figures of Dakṣiṇāmūrti. It is stated that the face of Dakṣiṇāmūrti should be turned towards the hand held in the *sandarśanamudrā* pose; also the gaze of the god may be fixed on this hand. Surrounding the figure of Dakṣiṇāmūrti there should be different kinds of animals and reptiles, sages (*munis*)

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Vīṇādhara-Dakṣiṇāmūrti: Bronze: Madras Museum.

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Viṇādhara-Dakṣiṇāmūrti: Bronze: Vaḍaraṅgam.

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and ascetics (*siddhas*), *vidyādharas*, *bhūtas* and *kinnaras*; Śiva should be seated in a place on the mountain where all sorts of flowering trees and plants grow luxuriantly and under a banyan tree, on the right side of its trunk, on a jewelled *pīṭha* covered with a tiger’s skin and he should present a benign look: and the *rishis* the ancestors of the Śivadvijas (Śaiva brāhmaṇas) should be seated round him. The figure of Dakshiṇāmūrti may be sculptured as seated or standing surrounded or not by *rishis*, with his legs either resting or not upon the Apasmāra-purusha and with or without the banyan tree, *bhūtas* and others mentioned above.

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Two photographs, Pls. LXXX and LXXXI, are reproduced in illustration of the Viṇādhara-Dakshiṇāmūrti; both of them are identical in shape and in the details of moulding.* Śiva is seen standing with his right leg kept firmly on the ground, while the left leg is placed a little forward slightly bent. The front two hands are held in the *kaṭaka* pose, the left one looking up and the right one looking down. Evidently a separately cast *vīṇā* was intended to be inserted in the hands whenever wanted and hence this instrument is not to be seen in either image. The back right hand carries a *paraśu* and the back left one a *mṛiga*. There are all sorts of elaborately sculptured ornaments on the person of the figures. The first figure (Pl. LXXX) belongs to the Madras Museum, while the second (Pl. LXXXI) is to be found in the temple at Vaḍaraṅgam in the Tanjore district. The second, an earlier piece of sculpture, is of very high artistic value; the first is of rather inferior workmanship.

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∗ These two images figure on Pls. XV and XVI of Mr. O. C. Gangoly’s *South Indian Bronzes*. Besides these, he has reproduced two other photographs of the same aspect of Śiva on Pls. I and XIV. In every detail all the four figures agree; for instance, in all, the right leg stands straight on the ground while the left one is slightly bent; all four have four arms, the back hands of which carry the *paraśu* and the *mṛiga* and the two front hands are held in the *kaṭaka* poses required in the *āgamas* and are evidently meant to keep a *viṇā* in them; the very same ornaments, head-gear and clothing are to be seen on all the images. In the case of Pl. I, there is a slight divergence from

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the description of the *āgamās*, namely, the left leg, instead of being placed directly on the ground, is held supported on its head by a *bhūta*—which deviation is one of the artistic embellishments of the master-sculptor. In spite of the striking similarity, nay identity among the four images, they are called by different names: thus, the figure on Pl. I is said to be Kālasamhāra or Kālakālamūrti; that on Pl. XIV, Gaṅgādhara, that on Pl. XX, Chandraśēkhara or Sōmadhāri; and lastly; that on Pl. XVI, Pramēśwara Swami (*sic*). It is not quite clear either from the *dhyāna-ślōkās* quoted or from the short descriptive notes added to each if the identifications are justifiable at all.

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