[INDOLOGY] Many-armed gods

[Harry Spier]

This feature is mentioned in brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa 3.43.70. (From GRETIL which
is a transcription of the Bombay edition of Venkatesa Press)

 brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa 3.43.70

atrinetraḥ śivaḥ sākṣād acaturbāhuracyutaḥ /

acaturvadano brahmā śrīguruḥ parikīrtitaḥ //

"Shri Guru is said to indeed  be  Shiva without three eyes,  Vishnu without
four arms and Brahma without four faces".


Harry Spier


On Fri, May 17, 2024 at 8:04 AM Rolf Heinrich Koch via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> One theory resulting from my fieldwork: Remodeling.
>
> According to a Sinhalese mansucript, a handbook for artists in
> non-standard Sanskrit ślokas, I read e.g. Viṣṇu has to be modelled with two
> hands for his two attributes. The artist used the existing sculpture
> depicting an earlier two armed god. He added two arms for the
> Viṣṇu-Attributes. Now we got Viṣṇu with four arms.
> Later, new Viṣṇu-scuptures are modeled with four arms.
>
> Best
>
> Heiner
> Am 17.05.2024 um 13:20 schrieb François Voegeli via INDOLOGY:
>
> Dear Members of the List,
>
> A friend recently asked me a rather disconcerting question (for me at
> least): why do Indian gods have so many arms?
>
> My understanding was that these arms bear attributes of the god (trident,
> discus, severed head, etc.) to remind the devout of some parts of the god's
> gest, but I have not seen such explanation in Indian litterature.
> What is the Indian literature exactly saying about this quite remarkable
> feature and where (Purāṇas, Śilpaśāstras, or elsewhere)?
>
> Your input will be very much appreciated.
> Thanks in advance.
>
> François Voegeli
>
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> --
> Dr. Rolf Heinrich Kochwww.rolfheinrichkoch.wordpress.com
>
>
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