1848.] Description of the Antiquities at Kdlinjar. 195 



pillars at v. (MS.) PI. III. ; part of it is broken off; it represents the 

 churning of the ocean with the mountain Mandara ; on the right is Indra 

 with his Chhatabardar ; the mountain is represented by a human figure. 

 Some of the wonderful emanations caused by this churning are shown in 

 the sculpture : Sri, the goddess of plenty — seated near the tortoise, 

 the Jewel Kaustabh, the white horse Uchaisrava. The brahmans say 

 that originally all that are mentioned in the legend were represented in 

 the sculpture. It is 4|- feet long and 1 \\ inches high. 



Underneath this is another bass-relief of the 10 avatars of Vishnu — 

 in two rows. He is represented in all his incarnations ; several of the 

 figures are represented standing and sitting on lotus thrones, and above 

 the heads of the upper row is a kind of arched foliage (94). 



The side entrance C. D. is flanked by small pillars, y. y. ; on the 

 lower part of which are figures in high relief : one is a skeleton Bhairon 

 and the other Ganesh, (PI. XVII.) he is attended by his vahan the rat, 

 and has six arms. 



Another of these small pillars at E. has a figure of Brahma ; the 

 upper portions of these pillars are divided into compartments contain- 

 ing small figures, mostly in indecent attitudes ; scattered about near 

 these pillars are several fragments and mutilated figures, comprising a 

 seated Brahma with his vahan the goose ; a seated female figure with a 

 goose or swan, probably Saraswati with her vahan the Hansa, emblema- 



(94) The Avatars of Vishnu seem to have had beneficent objects, in which they offer 

 a strong contrast to the incarnation of the Greek and Roman deities, which were usually 

 for vicious or selfish ends. 



The Machh or fish was to restore the lost Veda which had been stolen from Brahma 

 by the demon Hayagriva, or according- to some, to warn king 1 Satyavrata of the 

 approaching- deluge. The Kurma or Tortoise, to support the world during- the churning* 

 of the ocean ; the Varah or hog, to recover the world which had been submerged by 

 the demon Mahasir ; Narsingha, to punish the tyranny and unbelief of Hirankasipa : 

 Vamana the dwarf, to humble the pride and reduce the power of Mahabali ; Parusram, 

 to avenge the wrongs of his earthly parents upon the Kshetriya race ; Ramchandra, to 

 recover Sita and dethrone Ravan the king of Lanka. 



As Krishna he introduced the elegant arts, overthrew demons and wicked monarchs : 

 as Budha he reformed and humanized the Hindu religion ; as Kalki, which avatar is still 

 unaccomplished, he will appear at the end of the world mounted upon a white horse 

 and annihilate time and space. The horse in the Kalki avatar is usually shown with his 

 right foreleg raised and the belief is that the signal for universal destruction will be the 

 stamp of that foot, 



2 c 



