Goddess Ganga, the most popular and revered river goddess in Hinduism is depicted by the artists of Swamimalai as a young and gorgeous woman of the woods in this intricately carved bronze. Maa Ganga relieves the soul of its sins and ensures that one reaches the adobe of the Gods. As a celestial stream, her waters are considered divinely purifying, so much so that her mere presence on Hindu temple entrances ensured that the physical and mental aspects of the devotee were purified. While being carved on the doorways, Ganga was accompanied by her dwarfish attendants and another river goddess the Yamuna, who stood opposite to her.
Surrounded by the arch of the mythical Kalpvriksha (wish-fulfilling tree), which is depicted as the home of several life forms, receiving life-sustaining essence from the proximity of Ganga, the mother goddess wears her hair in a high bun, with a Naga’s hood rising from it. Nagas, the residents of the underworld are closely associated with the water element and share the ability to bestow boons of fecundity with rivers, mother-goddesses, yakshas, and other semi-divine beings. As a part of Ganga’s ornamentation (as her Bajuband or armband on the right arm), they highlight her role as the prime mover of life and nurturer of lands. Ganga’s large hoop earrings reach her lean shoulders, her ethnic jewellery adorns her flawless physique, and her short dhoti effortlessly brings out the beauty of her slender legs. The fertility element intrinsic in the iconography of mother-goddesses is underlined in this Ganga murti through the freshly picked lotuses in her hands, with their stems pleasingly coiling around her hands and her round breasts emphasized by a breast-band. On her left stands an attendant, small in size, looking up to the mother-goddess with devotion. Ganga stands on a Makara, an amalgamation of an elephant, a crocodile, and other animals. The composite animal represents the variety of life forms supported by the divine mother Ganga and her waters, who surrounded by some of them, stands majestically on the Makara.
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