The ancient and medieval architecture of India: a study of Indo-Aryan civilisation

62 SYMBOLISM

OF VISHNU'S

PILLAR

eithersideofit. Behind thethrone

isthestandard, the shaft

builtupofsixfruitsofthe

blueorwhite

water-lilycombinedwith

mythicalanimals and

figures. Five pairsof

mounted figures,

threepairson lionsandtwoon

horseback,arerangedoneither

side ofthe shaft. Theyareprobablythe

tenVisva-devas, or

the

ten

chief powers controlling the forces

of the universe.

Abovethese

deities, on either side of the shaft,

a half-opened

water-lilygrowingfrom it

affordsfoothold toa femaledancer,

who, like the dancing Siva,

probably symbolises the cosmic

rhythm.^

Theexplanation of the symbolism ofthe

wholestambha

is no doubt that given in the

Mahanirvana Tantra of the

SevenUpperSpheres,describedas arevelationofSiva. First,

risingabovethesevennetherspheresofPatala,theunder-world,

is the Brahma Lotus,withits fourpetalsturned downwards,

thefruitofwhich is

"

thebeautiful circleofearth."

Over this is the blessed lotus, Bhima the Terrible, with

six petalsand aninnercircle havingfouropenings. Thefruit

ofit is Bhuvaloka, theregion oftheair.

Nextabove itistherarefloweroftenpetals, Mahapadma,

theheavenlylotus, containingwithinits fruitthe fireelement.

Thefourth isthetransparent lotus ofthe Ether, with sixteen

petals

:

itsfruitis

theabodeofViyu—Wind-force{vajra,elec-

tricpower).

The fifth

lotus is also

transparent, with sixteen

petals

enclosing

the fruit which is

Jnana-loka, the abode of

pure

knowledge.

The

sixthisGajna-padma,

veryrare,withtwo

petalsround

'

Incidentallytheconnectionofthesetwo

water-lilieswiththisstambha

provesthat

themelon-shaped

formswhich helptocomposeit,

technicallyknownas

amalakas(from

amala,pure),

arereally

the

fruit

ofNymphaa, whichwasalso takenfor

Lakshmi'sjar

holdingtheamrita

ofimmortality.

Theimportance ofthisfactfor

elucidatingthesym-

bolismofthe

sikharaofVishnu's

shrinewill be seenbelow

(p.-

63).

Theamalaka

afld

Lakshmi'sjarareusedgenerallyasinterchangeablesymbols,

astheyareinthis

stambha.