Recently, a local woman, while walking along the beach in Pedda Rushikonda on the east coast of India in the evening, discovered a 700-year-old statue of Vishnu, the main deity of Hinduism and the creator of the universe.
Wikimedia CommonsKhondalite is a metamorphic rock found throughout India from which many statues of Hindu deities are carved.
He estimated that the sculpture was probably made in the 13th or 14th century, although given that it is made of granite, it most likely did not originate from northern Andhra Pradesh. The idol was also identified as an image of Vishnu in the Janardanaya avatar, one of his 24 divine forms.
The statue was missing one of its hands, which probably held a shankha (conch).
Given the age and condition of the statue, archaeologists have suggested that it may have been part of a temple before being thrown into the Bay of Bengal – a common practice for damaged statues of deities.
“The idol's journey through time and tides is truly captivating,” Rao added.
Symbolic meaning of Vishnu statues in Hinduism
Janardanaya is one of the many epithets of Vishnu in the Hindu tradition, where the term Janardana is divided into: Jana, meaning people or beings, and Ardana, meaning the remover of suffering. This emphasizes Vishnu's role as a protector who relieves his devotees from difficulties and creates problems for evil people.
The shankha, or conch shell, also has deep symbolic significance in the Hindu faith. It is associated with Vishnu and represents one of his four primary attributes (along with the chakra/discus, gada/mace and padma/lotus). His consort Lakshmi is also often depicted holding a shankha.
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