Brahma and Brahmani

ca. 11th century

Brahma the Creator is one of the gods that make up the Hindu trimurti, or trinity. He was born out of Vishnu's navel in the cosmic ocean at the dawn of creation. His role is that of life-giver and creator of the world. Brahma is often shown with a beard, a reference to time and age, for the Hindu concept of time is measured in great cycles of creation and destruction, which are the days and nights of Brahma. These cycles are part of an eternal process that keeps the universe in constant flux.

Seated with his consort, Brahmani, and surrounded by a host of attendants, the divine couple is a recurrent theme in Indian art, symbolizing the union of opposites, and may also be a metaphor for an individual's desire to join with the divine.

Sandstone

30 7/8 x 23 1/8 x 6 3/4 in. (78.5 x 58.7 x 17.2 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

70.63

Not currently on view

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