photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Douglas Houck | all galleries >> Cities >> New York >> NYC Museums > Indian Vishnu and His Avatars
previous | next
15-NOV-2009 DHouck

Indian Vishnu and His Avatars

Brooklyn Museum, NYC

Eastern India, Palo period, 11th century
Black schist

Vishnu, the maintainer of the universe in Hindu mythology,
here holds a mace (representing power) and the wheel of time
(chakra) in the upper two of his four hands. The palm of his
lower-right hand displays a lotus blossom, symbol of purity, and
his lower-left hand holds a conch shell symbolizing victory over demons.
The small figures on the right and left represent eight of his avatars,
or incarnations. The Buddha and Kalkin, the traditional ninth and
tenth avatars, are not shown here and were perhaps not incorporated
into Hindu iconography in the middle Palo period. Vishnu stands on a
double-lotus pedestal that is supported by his winged vehicle, Garuda, the eagle.

Pentax K10D ,Pentax DA 21mm f/3.2 AL Limited
1/10s f/3.5 at 21.0mm iso400 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time15-Nov-2009 14:16:20
MakePentax
ModelPENTAX K10D
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length21 mm
Exposure Time1/10 sec
Aperturef/3.5
ISO Equivalent400
Exposure Bias
White Balance
Metering Modematrix (5)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programaperture priority (3)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium large original auto
comment | share