Description
Looking meditatively below his eye level, Vishnu reminds us that he is the protector of all living beings, and we all live under his parental gaze. He looks larger than life wearing a gorgeously bejewelled Kiritamukuta, the shape of its aura a cue to the omnipresent, thousand hooded Adi-Shesha who flanks Sri Vishnu. Around his beautiful neck Vishnu wears a kanthi (choker), a Haar made exquisite by the precious stones studded in it, and a long mala of gold beads with an eye-catching pendant, probably made of the mythical Kaustubha jewel. Jewels are graciously used in his Udarbandh (belly-belt), Yajnopavita (sacred thread), Keyura (armbands), bracelets, and Skandamala (jewelled strings on the shoulders). A brilliantly designed kayabandh (waistband) rests over his short dhoti, wreathed with floral and ethnic motifs. Chaturbhuja (four-armed) Vishnu holds conch, mace, and discus in three hands, and with his lotus-like main right hand, he forms the gesture of fearlessness. A long and gem-studded Vaijayanti mala (the garland of victory) provides a flowing frame to the divine presence of Bhagwan Vishnu in this fine brass murti. The preserver lord stands on a small platform of a blossoming lotus, naturalistically depicted in the idol.
