the third has the conch and the fourth is pointed towards Brahmā seated on the lotus. This Brahmā has four hands and four faces (?). He reverently touches with one of his hands the toe of the uplifted leg of Trivikrama and with another touches the finger of the god pointed towards him. On the corresponding right side of Trivikrama is found apparently Siva, also on a lotus-seat. The Sun and Moon, with circles of light behind their heads, perhaps to distinguish their respective functions, are seen flying in the air half way down the high face of the god. Two other heavenly beings, one of which is on a level with the head of Trivikrama and has a horse-face,[1] are also flying in the air. The seated figures at the foot of Trivikrama are apparently Bali and his retinue who are struck with amazement at the sudden transformation of the stunted Vamana into the all-pervading Trivikrama. In the Rāmasvāmin temple at Kumbakōnam is a sculptured pillar (fig. 21) on which the story of the Vāmana-avatār is well represented. The lower section shows Bali and his wife granting boons to Brāhmanas. In the upper section is the god Trivikrama under a floral arch. His right foot is placed in the two open palms of the Earth. On his right is the image of the Dwarf. His vehicle Garuda is behind him. On the left side are evidently Bali and his wife standing. This description of Trivikrama exactly coincides with what has been given above, except that the hand supporting the lintel in the Mahābalipuram panel is here shown as offering protection. Tumburu is also seen above on the floral arch, flying in the air.
The exact form of Vāmana, prior to his manifestation as Trivikrama, is, according to Hēmādri, that of a fat young student of the Vēdas with crooked joints, holding a staff in his hand and wearing on his back the skin of a black buck (krishnājina) (fig. 22). Representations of Vāmana figures with water-pot in one hand and an umbrella in the other[2] on demarcation stones of fields granted in charity, were quite common even down to the end of the nineteenth century. This auspicious figure evidently denoted fortune and was appropriately connected with boundary stones and the measurement of land. A festival in honour of Bali is still observed by the people of Mysore on the first day after the Dīpāvali-Amāvāsyā. In Malabar people connect Bali withPage:South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses.djvu/52
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SOUTH-INDIAN IMAGES
