Vishnu and Lakshmi (Sri Laxmi Narayan)

In this image, Vishnu and the goddess Lakshmi, his consort, emerge from the ocean supported by Shesha, the divine serpent. Vishnu on Shesha references a creation myth in which Narayana, the primordial form of Vishnu, enters a divine sleep on the coils of the serpent while they float on the cosmic ocean. In the earliest sculptural depictions of this subject, Lakshmi is shown at Vishnu’s feet, typically massaging them. This print’s vision of the divine couple is a modern one, asserting Lakshmi’s status as a supreme goddess to be worshipped alongside Vishnu. The otherworldly idealization of the gods reflects the romantic imagery of the western Indian Nathdwara tradition, which has its roots in Vishnu devotionalism (bhakti).