Vishnu resting on the serpent Shesha (Anantashayana Vishnu)
Indian School
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
Unknown
Materials
Dark green stone
Place of origin
India
Order this imageCollection
Kingston Lacy Estate, Dorset
NT 1257626.2
Summary
Stone, Vishnu resting on the serpent Shesha (Anantashayana Vishnu), India. A sculpture carved of dark green striated stone depicting a cosmological story from the Vaishnava Hindu tradition. Vishnu, crowned with the kiritamukuta, rests blissfully on the coils of the giant many-headed serpent Shesha, a primal being of creation. The heads of Shesha form a protective canopy over Vishnu. Vishnu holds in the lower right hand the Panchajanya (conch shell) and possibly his other attributes in his other hands (the discus, Sudarshana Chakra, and mace, Kaumodaki). The pair of hands resting on Vishnu's legs once belonged to a figure of Lakshmi, his consort, which has since broken off. Brahma is borne of a lotus flower bloomed from Vishnu's navel.
Makers and roles
Indian School, sculptor