Shri Sheshanarayana

Here we see Vishnu Narayana—the primordial god who resides in water (nara)—stirring from his slumber on the cosmic ocean supported by the divine serpent Shesha, a celebrated moment that simultaneously marks the end of the monsoon season and the beginning of a new age (kalpa). This is one of the five cosmic emanations of the Divine Vishnu, distinct from his celebrated appearances on earth, most famously the ten avatars (Das-avatars). The cosmic snake Shesha coils his body to form a bed for the recumbent Vishnu and his multiple hoods—ten are shown—form a protective canopy. Vishnu, Brahma and Lakshmi are richly dressed in silken robes and wear elaborate pointed crowns. Vishnu is further adorned with strings of large pearls, the treasure of the cosmic ocean over which he presides, the riches of which he shares with the wife, the goddess Lakshmi. Both are depicted as youthful and beautiful. Brahma, seen aloft in the sky seated on a red-lotus bloom, by contrast is shown as an aged and bearded sage, holding the holy books of Brahmanism, the Vedas. As the father of dharma, Brahma created the Vedas through divine thought, laying down the principles governing correct behavior and social order.