South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses c7.7

c7.7

Another representation shows Brahmā riding on a chariot drawn by seven swans (*haṃsa* ²). His right lower hand rests on the palm of the left lower, the two other hands holding the usual rosary and the water-pot. He is seated on a full blown lotus-flower, with his eyes closed in a meditative posture. The goddess Sāvitrī is seated on his left thigh.³ There are various other representations of Brahmā drawn purely from the imagination of the sculptor or painter and sometimes also based on *Purāṇic* legends. But the mainpoints which distinguish Brahmā from the other gods are the same in all. Hēmādri mentions some forms of Brahmā such as Prajāpati, Visvakarma,⁴ Lōkapāla and Dharma. It may be noted that the swan vehicle and the goddesses are rarely, if at all, found in the figures of Brahmā generally set up in South-Indian temples.