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PLATE VI
Brahmā
In the presence of the sacred fire a worshipper presents an offering to Brahmā. The four faces of the god are said to have come into being from his desire to behold the loveliness of his daughter, who sought in vain to escape his amorous gaze. He originally had a fifth head, due to the same cause, but this was removed by Śiva, either because of wrath or because the head acquired such splendour through knowledge of the Vedas that neither gods nor demons could endure it. From an Indian painting of a rāginī ("sub-mode" of Indian music) in the collection of the Editor.
