- Title
- The Hindu God Vishnu with Shri Lakshmi and Bhudevi on His Mount Garuda
- Date Made
- 14th century
- Medium
- Stone with traces of red devotional paint
- Dimensions
- 14 7/8 x 12 1/8 x 5 1/4 in. (37.78 x 30.8 x 13.34 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.86.247.2
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
This representation of the Hindu God of Preservation Vishnu flanked by his wives Shri Lakshmi (or Shridevi) and the earth goddess Bhudevi form a Vaishnava matrimonial triad (see also M.70.5.1-.3). They are enthroned on lotus bases and being borne aloft by the sunbird Garuda, Vishnu’s half-avian, half-human mount (vahana). The nimbate Vishnu is crowned and four-armed. He has a third eye and wears a Brahmanical sacred thread (yajñopavita) over his left shoulder. His upper right hand holds a lotus (padma), while his upper left carries his mace (gada). His lower right hand holds a discus (chakra), while his lower left is now damaged but likely originally held a conch (shankha). He sits in the meditation posture (padma asana). Shri Lakshmi and Bhudevi are nimbate and crowned. They both hold their right hand in the gesture of reassurance (abhaya mudra) and rest their left hand on their knee (one hand is now missing). They both sit in the relaxed posture (lalita asana). Behind the triad is a flaming aureola (prabhavali). Garuda squats beneath them on a lotus base with his arms and wings outstretched. He wears a cross-hatched jacket, perhaps quilted, and a long serpent necklace (sarpa-hara). See also M.73.4.10.
An iconographically comparable Nepalese gilt copper repoussé plaque of Vishnu and his wives on Garuda, dated 1004, is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2012.463). See Kerry Lucinda Brown, "Divine Kingship in Nepal Mandala," Project Himalayan Art, New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2023, https://rubinmuseum.org/projecthimalayanart/essays/vishnu-riding-on-garuda/
