Richly Coloured Devi Sarasvati Mandir

For the devotee of Devi Sarasvati, this murti comes with its own temple built around the pratima. The handiwork is distinctly South Indian. A rich colour palette of pastels makes a statement of absolute joy, while the wooden medium betrays the great skill and devotion on the part of the artist. Indeed, such are the characteristics of the gorgeous temples of the South, from the kind that has stood for centuries to the one you see on this page, made for modern spaces.

The beautiful Devi is seated in Her altar on a pale pink lotus. In Her four hands She holds a rosary, a pothi (spiritual manuscript), and of course the veena. She is the deity of intellectual pursuits - learning and music and the arts - which explains the elements of Her iconography. Despite the fact that the work put into the mandir dominates the composition and the pratima is relatively tiny, She has been carved in beauteous detail: the composure of Her countenance, the shringar of Her neck cascading over the stem of Her instrument, and the one-of-a-kind blue-winged crown on Her head.

Natural, traditional motifs grace Her mandir. She is flanked by blue-lotus pillars, sandwiched between platforms engraved with coloured lotus petals. An unconventional templetop characterises the composition. A pair of large, young peacocks are seemingly holding the entire arrangement up on their heads.