India
1970s
Approximately 35 x 21 cm
The Hindu pantheon is complex and composed of numerous gods and deities. In this piece, deities often appear on animal mounts (vahanas), their vehicles. The creatures here are all auspicious and this item is likely for fortune telling/astrology. The seller reported this came from a man who had commissioned a temple priest to produce it for him. In this piece are several auspicious signs.
Birds/fowl are also associated with spiritual bliss, freedom, insight, and wholesomeness. Birds have long been associated with sensuous longing and attachment. Birds may be messengers between lovers.
Elephants symbolize royalty, majesty, strength, divinity, abundance, fertility, intelligence, keenness, destructive power, and grasping power. The souls in elephants are said to be highly evolved and ripe for evolution. Its large head symbolizes knowledge, intelligence and thinking power. The trunk represents grasping power, while his large ears denote his attentiveness.
The antelope is the vehicle of the moon god, Chandra, associated with the night, plants and vegetation.
Horses symbolize speed, beauty, purity, freedom, grace, and strength and often appear as the vehicles of Hindu deities.
Lions are symbols of royalty, strength, and ferocity, majesty, courage and commanding power.
The bull represents masculinity, virility, strength, aggression, and fighting power. It is associated with manliness, mighty strength and sexual prowess. Shiva’s vehicle is the divine bull, Nandi and Nandi is prominent in temples. On the negative side, bulls symbolize darkness, brute power, excessive sexuality, lust, anger, aggression, promiscuity, waywardness, ignorance, and delusion.
The cow symbolizes wealth, compassion, righteousness (dharma), motherhood, divinity, sacrifice, service, purity, and auspiciousness. In ancient India, a person’s social and economic status depended upon the number of cattle he possessed. Lord Krishna grew up in a family of cowherds and personally tended the cows and other domestic animals in his childhood. Shiva is known as the lord of the cows.
If there is interest, I will provide other details/information available prior to purchase.
Antiques.co.uk Ref: NGHYQP7B
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