Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v3.c43.t1.411

v3.c43.t1.411

Vishnu, who is here adored as the ‘four-armed,’ was placed upon an altar, clad in robes of his favourite colour (*pandu*, or yellow ochre), whence one of his titles, Pandurang. The principal shrine is surrounded by the inferior divinities in the following order: First, on entering are the Poliyas or ‘Porters’; Ganesa is upon the right, close to whom is Sarasvati, “whose throne is on the tongue”; and on the left are the twin sons of Kali, the Bhairavas, distinguished as Kala (black), and Gora (fair); a little in advance of these is a shrine containing five of the ten Mahavidyas,¹ or ministering agents of Kali, each known by her symbol, or *vahan*, as the bull, man, elephant [723], buffalo, and peacock. The Mahavidyas are all evil genii, invoked in *jap*, or incantations against an enemy, and phylacteries, containing formulas addressed to them, are bound round the arms of warriors in battle.²