Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v3.c43.t1.336

v3.c43.t1.336

On the right is the shrine of Trimurti, the triune divinity. Brahma’s face, in the centre, has been totally obliterated, as has that of Vishnu, the Preserver; but the Destroyer is uninjured. The tiara, which covers the head¹ of this triple divinity, is also entire, and of perfect workmanship. The skill of the sculptor ‘can no further go.’ Groups of snakes adorn the clustering locks on the ample forehead of Siva, which are confined by a bandeau, in the centre of which there is a death’s head ornament, hideously exact. Various and singularly elegant devices are wrought in the tiara: in one, two horses couped from the shoulder, passing from a rich centring and surmounted by a death’s head; a dissevered arm points to a vulture advancing to seize it, while serpents are wreathed round the neck and hands of the Destroyer, whose half-opened mouth discloses a solitary tooth, and the tongue curled up with a demoniacal expression. The whole is colossal, the figures being six feet and a half high. The relief is very bold, and altogether the group is worthy of having casts made from it.