frightened goddess Uma with the young Skanda beside her

(fig. 82). The Karanagama mentions the weapons tanka and deer and the pointing-finger-pose (suchi). 1 This last posture of the hand is noticed both in the Tirutturaippundi and the Dharasuram stone images. The former has perhaps five heads (of which three alone are visible on the picture). It has ten hands and more attendant figures (fig. 83).

Gangadhara, " the bearer of Ganga (the Ganges)," is a forrn GANGA- / of Siva which illustrates a well-known Puranic story. The DHAKA / story of the descent of the heavenly Ganges into the earth -*- to purify the ashes of the sinful sons of Sagara, a king of the Solar race, is related in the Rdmdyana. At the prayer of Bhaglratha, a later member of the same family, " the river of the gods " consented to direct her course to the earth, but her force was such that the earth was unable to bear the shock. So Bhagiratha prayed to Siva and the latter con- sented to receive the Ganges on his matted locks. The river, proud of her might, came down with all her force as if to crush Siva, but found herself lost altogether in the tangled maze of Siva's locks. Ganga then became humble and Siva let her flow forth again from his locks in a tiny trickle. The river-goddess, the heavenly Ganges, is believed since then to abide in Siva's matted hair as one of his consorts. This latter subject of letting the Ganges flow out of his matted hair as a tiny rivulet is represented in figures generally known as Gangavisarjanamurti. No distinction, however, has been GANGAVISAR- made in the Agamas between Gangadhara and Ganga- JANAMURTI. visarjana. He stands on a lotus pedestal with the right leg straight and the left slightly bent. The image is represented as embracing the goddess Gaurl, consoling and assuring her that his affections would not be transferred to the river- goddess. 2 One right arm holds up a lock of his hair, on which is seen the goddess Ganga. A left arm holds the antelope. The goddess Gaurl with a dejected face (virahit- anana) is represented in the samabhanga posture with her left leg placed straight on the pedestal and the right leg slightly bent. Her right hand stretches down or is sometimes held

1 The Silparatna defines this as a pose of hand in which the second finger (larjatn) is kept straight while the others are bent inwards. It is also adopted when images are made to hold the goad or other similar weapons.

2 The Silpjsangraka says that the right lower arm of Siva may be in the posture of giving boons. The illustrations, however, show it holding the face of the goddess Gauri.