Many Heads, Arms and Eyes: Origin, Meaning and Form of Multiplicity in Indian Art

One of the first things that strike the Western viewer of Indian art is the multiplicity of heads, arms and eyes. This convention gows out of imagery conceived by Vedic sages to explain creation. This volume investigates the meaning of this convention. The author concentrates on its origins in Hindu art and on preceeding textual references to the phenomenon of multiplicity. The first part of the book establishes a general definition for the convention, while the second part applies this literary information mainly to icons of Yaksa, Siva, Vasudeva-Krsna and the goddess, and indicates how Brahmanical cultural norms can transmit textual symbols. Both part one and two provide an iconic modules and a methodology to generate interpretations for icons through to the Gupta age.