Description
This statue of Perumal is one amongst the so many other marvelous masterpiece bronze statues of Vishnu on Cottage9. This one is quite a traditional, beautiful statue of four-armed Vishnu, or Perumal as he is known in Tamil Nadu. Perumal is a Tamil word that means ‘The Great One”.
Perumal stands on a double pedestal of lotus on top of the square, both beautifully crafted. He bears Chakra and Shankha in his two upper hands and holds a Gada in one of his lower hands. Vishnu’s free hand is raised in abhaya mudra, gesturing to the beings of the universe that they have nothing to fear and that he is always there to protect them.
Chakra is a revolving disc called Sudarshana, which is a terrible weapon and is conceived as Time personified. Sudarshana moves and launches at Perumal’s will. Shankha is a conch called Panchajanya. It personifies pure knowledge or the Vedas. Gada is a club called Kaumodaki. Vishnu is relentless in using Kaumodaki in vanquishing Adharma.
Vishnu is seen wearing a rich, beautiful crown. His upper ears are decorated with ear shields around and he wears fish-shaped earrings, the ends of which are hooked with the tip of ear shields. He smiles pleasantly.
He wears three types of short necklaces and one long. A Yagnopavitam (sacred thread) is seen running from his left shoulder and across his chest, disappearing behind his waist. A jeweled belt is tied around his body, a little below his chest. The small triangle seen a little above his right nipple represents Devi Lakshmi, who is Vishnu’s consort and united with him eternally.
His upper arms are decorated with beautiful armlets and all four wrists support well carved bangles. The cloth that drapes his lower body is called Pitambar. It is supposed to be very bright and Vaishnava shastras compare its luster with the golden-yellow hue of early sunlight. Pitambar is held in place with a belt like strip which is a beautiful, royal combination of interlocked jewellery and clothing.
This statue of Perumal, crafted using Madhuchishtavidhana is one amongst the so many other marvelous masterpiece bronze statues of Vishnu on Cottage9.
Special Comments
This idol is cast hollow so it does not become unnecessarily heavy.