Manmatha, the god of love

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Manmatha, the god of love, riding on an elephant formed by nine female figures, referred to as navanari kunjara. The women are all dressed in long trousers and bodices. Of these, four constitute the animal’s legs. One, at the front, carries two swords as the elephant’s tusks. The plait of a fifth represents its tail, and the sixth, in an acrobatic pose, forms its trunk. The remaining three, one of whom is seated and playing the mridanga, are its rump, back and belly respectively. The god is shown here with an ankusha (elephant goad) in his right hand.

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Size: 2850px × 3672px
Location: India
Photo credit: © The Protected Art Archive / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: elephant, hindu, india, kunjara, manmatha, mridanga, swords, trunk