South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses c3.2

c3.2

When I accepted the task, I was not fully aware of the difficulties that lay before me. In the first place, there were very few printed books, in Sanskrit or in translations, that gave the orthodox description and significance of the images set up in temples. And when I managed to collate notes from a few old manuscripts treating of this subject, it was almost impossible in several instances to reconcile the discrepancies which they showed or even to understand the technical terms which abounded in them. In some cases, the description of a particular image found in the local chronicles or *Sthala-Purāṇas* could not be traced in the *Āgamas*. I am not altogether sanguine that I have steered clear of these difficulties and succeeded in presenting a clear and readable account to the average reader.