The story of young Krishna was first told more than 2000 years ago. Originally recited by bards from memory, it was later composed in the Sanskrit poem, the Harivamsa. The sun-like baby Krishna, Vishnu come to earth, was the delight of Vraja. Born of this earth, reared in the soil of Vraja, yielding to the temptations of this world, indulgent, inimitable, lovable in his pranks, ever guilty, yet re

Nataraja is the most popular representation of the Hindu God Shiva. In Sanskrit, Nata means dance and raja means Lord. Shiva therefore is the 'King of Dancers'. To understand the concept of Nataraja we have to understand the idea of dance itself. Like yoga, dance induces trance, ecstasy and the experience of the divine. In India consequently, dance has flourished side by side with the te

Balaji is considered Lord Vishnu's Kaliyug Avatar. Lord Tirupati Balaji is believed to be so powerful that mere sight of the idol is enough to emancipate a man from a lifetime of suffering. Lord Venkateshwara Statue is a full four-armed representation of Vishnu. But only two are visible from the front. Lord Balaji is shown having a U shaped tilak on his forehead which is the signature style t

Radiating the pure innocence of a child, causing a heavenly emotion of Vaatsalya (affection) to sprout in our hearts, Bala Krishna, the childhood form of Sri Krishna stands here, in this Kadamb wood statue- an artist’s reproduction of the incarnation of Vishnu as seen by his mother Yashoda. Gopala Champu- a mixture of poetry and prose dedicated to the Lilas (divine plays) of Krishna describes th

Lord Shiva, the auspicious one, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism and is also known as Mahadeva or the Supreme God. He is known for his attributes of being benign, the Beneficient, and the Lord and God. He possesses greater powers than most Hindu Gods and has incredible endurance and remarkable speed due to the increased reflexes from his four arms and can even manipulate power but not a

Over the years, Buddhist-Tantric traditions have incorporated numerous elements of Hinduism. Its deities are no exception: they have varied iconographies in different, predominantly Buddhist countries. The murti that you see on this page is of the Japanese Devi Durga. She is known as Butsu-Mo or Koti-Sri and is worshipped as a wrathful protectoress. The Japanese Durga is seated in padmasana on a l

This youthful, valiant posture of Ganesha, the epitome of achievement and self-mastery, sits in Utkutakasana pose on a throne having a rectangular brick-like base with two white mice carved on it, facing opposite directions, holding a laddoo and a long back curved at the top, orange in color, bordered with thick gold color. The chaturbhuja Ganesha holds laddoos (his favorite sweet) and radish, as

Sri Maha Shodashi is a Hindu goddess and is an aspect of Mahadevi mainly worshipped in Shaktism, a goddess-oriented sect of Hinduism. She is also revered as one of the prominent Mahavidyas. She is glorified in many Shakta texts, with Lalita Sahasranama being the most popular one. Sri Maha Shodashi is also known as Tripura Sundari, Rajarajeshwari, and Lalita. She is a personification of Supreme Ene

Beneath a Kirtimukham prabhavali (aureole), stands the gentle Lord Ganesha. The superb proportions of Kirtimukham contrast sharply with the chubby child’s form of the standing Ganesha idol. So does the diametric variation in the expressions - the former is a paragon of all-consuming ferocity, while the latter is widely worshipped for its childlike gentleness. The Lord Ganesha statue that you see

Balaji is considered Lord Vishnu's Kaliyug Avatar. Lord Tirupati Balaji is believed to be so powerful that mere sight of the idol is enough to emancipate a man from a lifetime of suffering. Lord Venkateshwara is a full four-armed representation of Vishnu. But only two are visible from the front. Lord Balaji is shown having a U-shaped tilak on his forehead which is the signature style to descr

The beauty of the Devi Kali lies in Her ferocity and invincibility. The very picture of Her is enough to make the adharmee tremble with fear. Each of Her ten arms ('dasha' in Sanskrit means 'ten'; 'bhuja', 'arm') bears a deadly weapon of divine prowess. She uses them to slay adharmees, whose severed heads are hanging in the garland that hangs down Her neck a

Krishna is the most popular subject of choice for artistes in India. The predominant deity to be featured in paintings and sculptors, is because He is to most Hindus the superlative of all Indian deities. He is portrayed as the most handsome of youths, the calmest and wisest of minds to have descended on ihloka (our actual realm of existence), and the most divine of all flutists. The stance that H

A seated Green Tara murti of substantial proportions. Queen of the Buddhist heavens, the epitome of karuna (compassion), metta (natural kindness), and shunyata (nothingness), She is a bodhisattva in the Mahayana tradition and a buddha in Vajrayana. On a petal-embossed throne, She sits, with the right foot cradled by a minuscule bloom in the foreground.n This is a signature aspect of the iconograph

The embodiment of sacrifice and the savior of Earth, Vishnu’s third avatar, Varaha, is presented in a highly charged form in this ‘panchaloha’ bronze sculptural image, along with his consort Varahi, or the Earth goddess Bhudevi. This visual presentation is also symbolic of what Hinduism today celebrates as Varaha Jayanti, which marks the mythological celebration of Varaha defeating Hiranyaks

The saptamatrka is a set of interesting deities from the Hindu pantheon. They are the maternal manifestations (‘matrikas’) of seven (‘sapta’) Hindu devas; and, as divine manifestations, are distinct from the wives and companions of those devas. Devi Varahi, whose murti you see on this page, is one of the saptamatrkas. She is the ashtabhujadhari (eight-armed) maternal manifestation of Lord

Goddess Durga created seven Matrikas from her own self and battled against the demon Raktabija. Devi Varahi, one of them is the female counterpart of Varaha, the boar Avatar of Lord Vishnu. The Goddess who is the regent of the southern direction and protector of the age is sometimes described as the Goddess of darkness and the ideal time for worshipping her is after sunset and midnight. Some templ

Buddhism was first very important solely among the people of Tibet, but it gradually increased in popularity all over the world. Gautama Buddha, the first Buddha to achieve enlightenment, founded it. Tibet worships Buddha as a supernatural being rather than a deity and his teachings are a significant source of positivity and harmony among his followers. Buddha mudras and postures are examples of s

The panchamukha-roopa is common to many deities in the Hindu pantheon. The word ‘panchamukha’ is a portmanteau of ‘pancha’, which means five, and ‘mukha’, which means face. The murti that you see on this page is of the Panchamukha Vinayaka (another name for Ganesha). Each of the five faces stands for the yogic koshas or layers of existence. It is a murti of Vengai wood, derived from a

Polished with a golden sheen and cast in bronze, the majestic Hanuman kneels in the form of Panchamukhi (five-headed) on this sculpture. All his five heads stare off in five different directions, eternalised at the moment he defeats Ahiravana in the warm depths of the underworld. During the battle between Lord Rama and the demon king Ravana, the latter went to the ruler of the netherworld seeking

The art-loving Hoysala dynasty of Karnataka was responsible for building a number of temples between the 10th the 14th centuries. They lent their name to a timeless standard of architecture, iconography, and aesthetics, a fine example of which could be seen on this page. It is a murti of Lord Vishnu with His wives, Bhudevi and Shridevi. The tall, slender form. The proportions between limb and crow

Dharma-Artha-kama-moksha (virtue, finances, pleasure, liberation) - these are the four Purusharthas or pursuits of a person, in Hinduism. Goddess Lakshmi’s four hands, the most common attributes attached to her iconography, represent these four life goals. It is well established that in the pursuit of any of the above-mentioned goals, Ma Lakshmi’s Kripa (regards) is required by the devotee. La

Shiva literally means "the auspicious one". In Hinduism, he is known as the Destroyer within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity, that includes Brahma and Vishnu. In Shaivism tradition, Shiva is one of the supreme beings who creates, protects, and transforms the universe. One of his titles, Nataraja, is a depiction of Lord Shiva as the divine dancer. His dance form is called Tandavam or Nada

The Mother Kali is an unusual deity. The hallmarks of the Hindu Devi are all in Her. She is supremely beautiful, a yogini of the highest adhikara, and bears superlative strength. Yet, She is unlike anything, you have ever set eyes on. For one, wrath is an integral part of Her personality. While the rest of the feminine pantheon are depicted as calm and reserved, Devi Kali comes with an iconogr

Lord Gautama Buddha is believed to be the sole founder of Buddhism and his teachings are entirely concerned towards defining a path free of worldly pleasures and liberating sentient beings from suffering. The bliss that you perceive as you look at the face of this Buddha sculpture makes you feel in heaven; the superfine carvings of his sharp nose, the satisfactory smiling curve of the lips

Garuda 'the devourer' is the mythical 'Lord of birds' in both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. In the Hindu Puranic legends, Garuda is the son of Kashyapa and Vinata. He is said to have emerged, fully grown, from an egg, after incubating for five hundred years. Garuda has always been the sworn enemy of snakes and nagas. The archetypal legend of the enmity that exists between