Brahmanical Triad

Brahma and Vishnu with personified attributes flank Shiva in lingam form. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva constitute the principle deities of Brahmanism. Traditionally, Brahma is considered to be the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer. Here, at left, the four-armed Brahma is shown as an ascetic Brahmin priest with matted locks and large hoop earrings, wearing monastic robes and carrying a staff and water pot in his left hands. Two geese are shown at his feet. At the center is a lingam, the phallic symbol of Shiva. To the right, stands four-armed Vishnu, accompanied by his personified attributes: the female to the right symbolizing the mace and the male to this left representing the wheel of law. He also carries the conch and lotus in his upper hands. A miniscule image of an earth goddess is shown between his feet.Condition: The surface is abraded along the edges of the relief, but generally it remains in fine condition. The face of the left figure and his two left hands are void and the front of the lingam is rubbed. The top of the relief has been worn unevenly as is the base on which the deities stand, but there are no recent breaks or abrasions.