Page:A Handbook of Indian Art.djvu/295

Rh and mace. His sakti, Lakshmi, the bringer of prosperity, seems to be identical with the Dawn Maiden Ushas, who, clad in robes of saffron and rose-colour, like the Brahmā lotus flower, flings open the doors of the sky. To her many of the songs of the Rig-Veda are addressed, especially the immortal inspired hymn I. 113, which invokes her thus:

The famous monolithic granite sculptures at Māmallapuram include two fine reliefs, given in Pl. LX, which show Vishnu in his active and passive aspects. In Fig. A he is an eight-armed warrior-king upholding the heavens with one hand and holding his discus, mace, sword, and shield, and his war-trumpet, the conch, in others. The ascent of the sun towards its zenith is symbolised by the image of Brahma on his right hand seated on his lotus throne and carried up by the sun's disc personified. The descent is shown on the