Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization

The book is organized into six main chapters. Chapter I, “Eternity and Time,” introduces Indian cosmological imagination through “The Parade of Ants,” “The Wheel of Rebirth,” and “The Wisdom of Life,” explaining cyclical time, rebirth, cosmic recurrence, and the symbolic scale of Hindu metaphysics. Chapter II, “The Mythology of Vishnu,” studies Vishnu’s māyā, the waters of existence and non-existence, and the artistic expression of māyā in Indian art. Chapter III, “The Guardians of Life,” examines symbolic guardians and life-supporting powers, including the serpent, Vishnu and the Buddha, divine vehicles, the serpent and bird, Vishnu as conqueror of the serpent, the lotus, the elephant, and sacred rivers. Chapter IV, “The Cosmic Delight of Shiva,” analyzes Shiva’s fundamental form, playful manifestations, expanding form, Shiva-Shakti, Shiva as the Great Lord, the dance of Shiva, the face of glory, and Shiva as destroyer of the three towns. Chapter V, “The Goddess,” presents the origin of the Goddess and the Island of Jewels, showing the role of feminine divine power in Indian symbolic imagination. Chapter VI concludes the work by synthesizing the symbolic, mythological, artistic, and philosophical patterns that structure Indian civilization.