Vastu-shastra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v2.c73.136

v2.c73.136

The sum and substance of this symbolism in worship is the fundamental fact of being grateful to an object which some way or the other has been conducive to the well-being of human life and its primary necessities. Man has always found in Nature, his protector and the greatest benefactor. The trêes, the rivers, the mountains, the sun, the moon, the stars and animals like cow, etc. have all been the benefactors and protectors of man and hence objects of veneration and worship. The hymns of the Ṛg-veda are the earliest testimony of paying homage to the natural objects.