In this devotional image the creator god Brahma holds in his upper hands the Vedas (the earliest Hindu scriptures) and sacred kusa grass, used in ritual. In his lower hands he holds prayer beads and a water vessel, representing the earth. He rides astride his vahana or personal vehicle, the auspicious hamsa or goose.
Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2nd February-22nd April 2012, Visions of Mughal India: The Collection of Howard Hodgkin, Andrew Topsfield, ed. (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2012), no. 52 on p. 128, p. 18, illus. p. 129
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