Gaja Samhara is a ferocious form of Lord Shiva popularized during the Chola period. Gaja Samhara Shiva means the slayer of elephant and represents him as ego annihilator and soul emancipator. Legends tell of an asura who in the guise of an elephant, Gajasura, became so strong...

This forty inches high and twenty-six-inch wide Brass Statue represents one of the early forms of Manjushri, the Buddhist god who stands for wisdom and knowledge, more particularly the knowledge of linguistics and grammar. The image of the deity, with its two arms and the book...

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...

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 underwor...

This large mythical bird is a representation of birth and heaven and an enemy of snakes, carrying amalgamated features of an eagle and human. Here it sits on a large stylized throne crowned with long and fancy peacock feathers and two peacock torsos heading out at the seat fro...

Of the many wives of Lord Krishna, the King of Dvaraka, Lord Krishna with Rukmini and Satyabhama was the first. Whilst engaged to His cousin Shishupala, promised to him by her envious brother Rukmi, the princess of Vidarbha beseeched Her Lord and love to come and take Her away...

Lord Buddha is the embodiment of peace, compassion, and happiness. The variation in the iconography of Buddha statues reflects through various hand gestures and sitting postures. In this idol, Buddha’s right hand is in Vitarka Mudra representing him in the state when he is tra...

The teachings of Lord Buddha form the basis of the Buddhist tradition. Buddha literally means ‘awakened’ who conferred the path to nirvana. This large chocolate-shaded wooden Buddha head is an alluring statue that can beautifully ornament the entrance of your hotel or office r...

This three feet tall gold-like glittering brass statue, a highly accomplished example of the art of metal casting, represents Krishna in flute-playing Tribhanga three-curved form. As if overwhelmed by the melody pouring from his flute a phenomenon that ears fail to experience...

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 o...

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 visi...

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 tea...

Nestled within the coils of Sheshanaga, the great Bhagwan Vishnu dreams drishyam into being. The gentle, multi-headed Brahma emerges upon a lotus stem from His navel, while His wives, Bhoodevi and Shreedevi, sit tenderly at His feet. The Padmanabha Swamy-Vishnu sculpture that...

A superfine Saraswati murti, sculpted from panchaloha. Panchaloha is a unique bronze made of five (‘pancha’) different iron-based (‘loha’) alloys. The metal casting method used to work with it is called madhuchista vidhana, an Agamic term for a technique that is now known as t...

A many-layered Ganesha idol, designed for the finest home or office temple. A traditional-style plinth carved with elongated lotus petals. Featuring a simple floral structure down the frontal midline. The mouse vahana of gigantic proportions, on all four on its surface. It is...

An art form that unites Indians across the subcontinent is Rangoli Oil Painting. Beautiful geometric, natural, and stylistic patterns are drawn in the courtyard of households, signifying the celebration of a festival or auspicious occasion. Two young girls are seen immersed in...

Hindu religion is a massive expanse spanning countless sects, traditions, and cultures. While some are just nice and elegant, some go beyond the societal norms to realise their spiritual quest. In her essence, Kali is the divine protector of her devotees, protecting them from...

The vitarka mudra is of great importance in Buddhist iconography. The enlightened one sits in a stable padmasana and raises the right hand in the stance of dispensing vidya (awareness). This is called vitarka in Sanskrit; while ‘mudra’ refers to the stance of the hands in part...

Devi Gayatri is a deity of complex origins. Mother of the Vedas (the Vedamata), She is the personification of the all-important Gayatri mantra. However, according to the Skanda Purana, She is the wife of Brahma and a roopa of Sarasvati. And according to Shaivite texts, Mahagay...

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...

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 Ganesha another name Vinayaka. Each of the fiv...

On the pistil of an upturned lotus, pedestal stands the steady chaturbhujadhari (four-armed) Ganesha, poised on a quadrilateral plinth engraved with lotus petals. The vertical structures on either side of the same are designed to be wound around with a rope in order to maneuve...

This image idol represents a winged Naga-Kanya brass statue, a maiden with a serpent’s lower half. Almost all ancient mythologies world-over comprise the concept of half man-half serpent and half maiden-half serpent, often interacting with the world of man. As regards the cult...

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 Goddess Statue that you see on this page is of the Japanese Devi Durga....

Upon a throne of bejeweled gold, upholstered in blue and purple velvet, sits the gorgeous Devi Lakshmi Watercolor Painting. Her legs are in lalitasana, the signature stance in Indian iconography; and lotuses in Her posterior hands, symbols of wealth and plenty in Her anterior...

Kubera, the God of wealth according to Buddhism is also known as Vaishravana. He is considered as a guardian king of the north direction and of Mount Sumeru that is believed to be the center of the universe. In this Lord Kubera thangka painting, the God of wealth is seated in...

The urdhvatandava stance of the dancing Shiva is immortalised in the ancient Thillai Nataraja temple in Cidambaram. The shiva murti that you see on this page depicts the Nataraja in this stance: the right leg is raised high behind the spine, such that the sole of the foot almo...

A Tibetan thangka of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, one of the Shakyamuni triad of Mahayana Buddhism (together with Gautama Buddha and Manjushri). In this fine example of thangka art, He is depicted in a dynamic stance upon the back of a fair elephant, a mythical creature of the B...

Gautam Buddha, the first to attain Buddhahood, is the founder of Buddhism, primarily followed only by the people of Tibet, but now it is popularly revered all over the world. This Buddha brass statue is a representation of his state where he teaches his followers the ways to a...

Maryada Purushottam Rama has been the 18th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. When Rama returned to Ayodhya with Sita, Lakshaman, and his foremost Sevak-bhakt Hanuman after killing Ravana & affecting his 14yr-Vanwas, his Rajyabhishek was solemnized and crowned as the Maharaja of...