PLATE IV
Indra
The deity appears crowned as king of the gods and enthroned on his vāhana ("vehicle"), the elephant Airāvata. The middle one of his left hands holds the thunderbolt. He is further characterized by the multitude of marks on his body, which originally represented the yoni (possibly because of the fertility which the rain brings to earth), though later they were changed into eyes. The heavy beard shows the Persian influence in the painting. From an oil-painting of the Indo-Mughal school in the collection of the Editor. See pp. 32-35.
