A local transform of Vishnu

As becomes obvious from another painting of Shambhu Acharya included in this book as Deity-pata, this image, though quite queer, is in all probabilities a local transform of Vishnu, or a deity sharing his character of sustaining the world. In one of his hands he is carrying a paddy stem, the symbol of life which he sustained, and in the other, a wheel-symbol, Vishnu’s principal attribute. Considering costume-styles of European rulers as superior to its, the folk mind, especially around Bengal, clad even its deities in European costumes.