A simple, time-tested image of the seated Shakyamuni. The epithet Shakyamuni refers to the rulership (‘muni’) of the Buddha’s family over the Shakya clan. It is a traditional thangka painting made with age-old painting techniques (acrylics, gouache) set off by subtle metallic...

Golden and black border on a striking maroon shade, this Tanchoi silk saree from Banaras is one of those clothing pieces whose story is as interesting as its designs. The beautiful and soft Tanchoi silk which has become one of the most popular fabrics in traditional Indian wom...

Amoghasiddhi is one of the five spiritual vectors of the Buddha’s divine personality (tathagata). He is the Buddha of perfect practice leading up to consummate accomplishment or ‘siddhi’ (‘amogha’ stands for that which goes not in vain). The thangka painting that you see on th...

The work of art you see on this page is a powerful confluence. It is a fusion of the innocence and wisdom of Lord Ganesha with the strength and prowess of Lord Hanuman. The former has the gigantic head of the gentle elephant, the latter the protruding jaw of the clever monkey....

A life-sized Lord Shiva statue for the home or office of the finest devotee. Sculpted from brass and given a sturdy finish, the big Lord Shiva statue that you see on this page is fit to be installed outdoors. It depicts the great Adiyogi Shiva seated in lalitasana on a mound o...

The Kalinga Nardhana Krishna is the quintessential image of the triumph of dharma over adharma. When the wicked serpent, Kalinga or Kaliya, had made a home for itself in the Yamuna and none of the inhabitants of Braj could access its beauty and nourishment due to his presence,...

Nara-Narayana, sages who were the incarnations of Bhagavan Vishnu were deep into austerities when Devas alarmed by their powers, sent celestial nymphs to disrupt their effort. Reacting to this nuisance, Narayana placed a lotus flower on his thigh, from which an unmatchable bea...

The towering presence of Lord Vishnu would add a world of auspiciousness to your space. A larger-than-life murti like the one that you see on this page serves just the purpose. It is fashioned from pure bronze in the hands of traditional artisans of the South. Indeed, bronze a...

The image of the seated Lord Ganesha Painting in the Tanjore idiom. The son of Shiva and Parvati, a widely adored baala-deva (boy-deity), is seated on a studded throne of solid gold. Behind the chaturbhujadhari deity rises the velvet-upholstered backrest hemmed in with gold. T...

This brass image of Ganapati, small in size but immeasurable in its magnificence and grandeur, defines his Vira Ganapati – the ‘valiant warrior’ form, one of his initial thirty-four classical forms which early texts, the eighth century Maudgalya Purana in special, have identif...

Shitala Mata is a folk deity and an incarnation of supreme Goddess Durga; cures poxes, sores, ghouls, pustules, and diseases. Shitala literally means ‘one who cools’ and is referred to as ‘ma’ or ‘mata’ as she, just like a mother cures her children of diseases and other evil s...

A compactly carved figure of Devi Lakshmi Statue. Poised within a makeshift temple on a double-layered lotus-bloom plinth. From the iconography to the style of the surrounding temple structure, this composition borrows heavily from Hoysala aesthetics. It is the name given to t...

A glowing Ramadurbar Tanjore painting for your home or office walls. The haloed Lord Rama is at the very center of the canvas. His smooth dusky skin sets off the glittering silken amber of His dhoti. To His left is the beauteous Devi Seeta, the brave daughter of King Janaka wh...

In a touch of artistic poetry – the god of auspicious starts – is artistically shown reclining in rest in this ‘panchaloha’ bronze statue executed in the ‘madhuchista vidhana’ lost wax technique. Ganesha’s image is presented to us in his two-armed avatar, lying on his side, an...

The art historian Partha Mitter, when writing his oft-cited masterpiece ‘Many Maligned Monsters,’ explained that European and Victorian sensibilities wrongly assumed the significance of Indian art – when they came across depictions of four or eight-armed gods and goddesses, of...

An ancient South Indian legend tells of Deva Guru Brihaspati and Lord of Winds Vayu, descending to Earth to build a Bhuloka Vaikuntam, in the Thrissur district of Kerala. It was to be a holy abode for Vishnu in the mortal realm. That town was named Guruvayur after its two cele...

Devi Mariamman is the name given in South India to the more recognizable Sheetala Mata. She is known to infuse Her devotees with divine cool and calm ('sheetal' in Sanskrit means 'cool'). In Tamil, the suffix 'amma' stands for 'mother', denoting the nature of the people's devo...

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 portrayal that is simple. Almost basic. Downright rustic. The Radha-Krishna Brass Statue iconography captures the imagination of devotees and artisans alike, to which the twin sculpture that you see on this page is no exception. Fashioned from brass and finished with a serra...

The irresistibly beautiful Lakshmi is seated on a blooming pink lotus. She is clad in a scarlet-colored saree, densely embroidered with gold. With streams of emeralds and rubies about Her, every curve - neck and hip and wrists - the wife of Vishnu is the most sumptuously dress...

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 a...

Varahi, a supremely powerful Tantric goddess is one of the Sapt-Matrikas, seven mother goddesses who accompany goddess Durga to the battlefield as per Shakta tradition. The sow-faced goddess is considered a mighty incarnation of the divine mother and the counterpart of Vishnu’...

Bhogashakti is the name given to a special Roopa (form) of Devi Uma. The beauty of bhogashakti comes out in the presence of Her husband, the great Lord Shiva. It is said that bhogashakti is the form She assumes moments before She draws Him into the inner sanctum of their divin...

Lord Kamadeva is Hindu dharma’s presiding deity over desire. Devi Rati is the object of the desire He embodies. In the murti that you see on this page, the two are captured in the midst of the passionate dance. Their arms and legs are in the air. The spinal column, all the way...

Narasimha, literally man-lion, is one of the Dashavatara (ten incarnations) of the Hindu preserver god- Lord Vishnu, the tutelary deity of dynasties of mighty rulers, the Pancharatras (a Vaishnava Tantric sect), and commoners looking for His protection. The myth around the eme...

The distraught Shiva traverses the three lokas. His wife, the beautiful Sati, lies limp and lifeless on His left shoulder. The eight arms of Shiva - He is the ashtabhujadhari - flays about Him in this mad state. The left foot crushes down upon the seated Apasmara, the personif...

The Mother Kali is an unusual deity. The hallmarks of the Hindu Goddess 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 He...

A seated Green Tara Statue 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,...

An embossed square-shaped panel depicting Devi Sarasvati. Nestled upon the belly of a gigantic lotus bloom, She floats about on the bosom of the steadily flowing Ganges. She is playing on Her veena, which She cradles in Her anterior arms (in Her posterior hands, the chaturbhuj...

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 som...