Lakshmi
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Lakshmi, Vishnu’s Shakti, or female counterpart, is the goddess of wealth and prosperity. She is worshiped to ensure the blessing of affluence to her followers. Like Durga and Parvati, Lakshmi is a form of the Great Goddess, and like Vishnu she represents stable happiness in the human world. Because of the common human desire for wealth, she has a definite cult of her own.
Temple Jewelry in India
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Temples held vast wealth in gold and gems, much of it in the form of jewelry given to deities over the centuries by devotees. Adornment is part of the act of worship, performed along with feeding, bathing, and entertaining a deity. Priests clothe, crown, and adorn icons according to the time of day and season, and jewelry is an expression of the greatness of a deity. It is believed that an icon’s power increases when it is more splendidly dressed.
Buddhism
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Buddhism emerged in India in the 6th and 5th centuries B.C.E.
Mara
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The earth-touching (bhumisparsha) mudra recalls the Maravijaya or the historical Buddha Shakyamuni’s victory over the demon Mara. In the story of Buddha subduing Mara, the demon of desire and death, Mara taunts the Buddha as he meditates under the Bodhi tree. Mara, representing ignorance and unable to understand enlightenment, sneers at the Buddha and questions his enlightenment.
Buddhism in Southeast Asia
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The beliefs and ways of life in South Asia significantly influenced the states and kingdoms of Southeast Asia, which adopted many Indian customs and adapted Indian styles of sculpture and architecture, as well as literature, dance, religious rituals, and court ceremonies to their native beliefs.
Indian Jewelry
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The fundamental Mughal design form is the arabesque. Eschewing figurative and narrative art as demanded by Islam, this visual element was originally a purely geometric pattern.
Japanese Painting and Calligraphy
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Japanese painting and calligraphy are deeply entwined arts; their unique relationship results from sharing the same tools: brushes, ink, paper, and silk.
Parvati
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Parvati is the wife of the Hindu deity Shiva. She is a daughter of the Himalayas, who is also called Uma, “the shining one.” Shiva and Parvati are often shown as a loving couple embracing each other. Their children, Ganesha, the elephant-headed god, and Skanda, a great warrior, often appear with the couple.
Ganesha
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Shiva’s son Ganesha is the elephant-headed deity. He is a god who brings success and prosperity to his worshippers.
Japanese Scroll Painting
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Scroll paintings, created on silk or paper, appear in two formats: handscrolls and hanging scrolls.