Elements of Hindu Iconography v4.c25.s2.6

v4.c25.s2.6

The *Śritatvanidhi* gives somewhat different descriptions of the Pañchabrahmās. For Īśāna there should be, according to this work, five faces, and four for each of the rest; each of these faces should have three eyes; the colour of Īśāna, Tatpurusha, Aghōra, Vāmadēva and Sadyōjāta, are respectively white, golden-yellow, blue, red and white. They ought to face the top, east, south, north and west respectively. Īśāna should have in his hands abhaya, varada (?) (iṣṭa in the original), aṅkuśa, pāśa, ṭaṅka, kapāla, ḍhakka (a musical instrument), akṣamālā and śūla. In two out of the four hands of Tatpurusha there should be kuṭhāra (a sort of axe) and vidyā (jñāna-mudrā or a book) and the remaining two should be held in the abhaya and the varada poses; whereas there should be the paraśu, vēda (a book ?), aṅkuśa, pāśa śūla, kapāla, ḍhakka and akṣamālā in the hands of Aghōra. Two of Vāmadēva’s hands should be held in the varada and the abhaya poses and the two remaining ones should hold in them the akṣamālā and the ṭaṅka; while similarly two of those of Sadyōjāta are to be held in the varada and abhaya poses and the two remaining ones keep the *vēdas* and the *akshamālā*. But Sadyōjāta is distinctly required to be sculptured so as to appear of greater importance than the rest.