[INDOLOGY] Iconography of Brahmā

[Fabrice Duvinage]

Dear Sir,

The  *pātram* and the  *kamaṇḍaluḥ* show Brahma as an ascetic, a
mendicant.  *sūciḥ*  could be meant as a *mudr**ā*  . It indicates 'One
Supreme Brahman’ in the Natyashastra. What does the text exactly say?

Sincerely yours,

Fabrice Duvinage
Fabrice Duvinage
52, rue Clémenceau
57360 Amnéville
0652825128
https://uni-tuebingen.academia.edu/FDuvinage


Le lun. 13 juil. 2026 à 14:34, Paul Thomas via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> a écrit :

> Hello Colleagues,
>
> I have three questions about the iconography of Brahmā.
>
> First, in the Buddhist *Laghukālacakratantra *and its commentary the
> *Vimalaprabhā*, Brahmā and Brahmāṇī are consistently described as holding
> a *śūciḥ *in one of their hands.  This is translated by the Tibetans as
> *khab*, which means "needle," so they, possibly with the input of Indian
> scholars, understood it as *sūciḥ* (all the mss. I am using are Bengali
> or Nepalese).  Along with the editors of these texts, I wonder if this is
> some kind of obscure form of *sruk*, as that makes sense as something
> Brahmā or Brahmāṇī would be holding.  I'm not sure why they would be
> holding a needle.
>
> Second, they are also described as holding a *pātram*.  What kind of
> vessel would this be, a platter of some kind?  Would it contain anything?
> Why carry an empty vessel?
>
> Finally—and this one should be easy—they are of course also sometimes
> described as carrying a *kamaṇḍaluḥ*/*kuṇḍī*/*kuṇḍikā*.  Thus is of
> course more well-known.  I have seen this translated as "water-pot" or
> "water-pitcher," but was this vessel really only intended to carry water?
> Also is it more of a "pitcher" or "flask" (*kalaśaḥ*), or is it something
> else?
>
> Thank you and best wishes,
> Paul
>
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