Manuscript Cover with Vishnu Flanked by Lakshmi and Sarasvati

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This cover depicts a standing four-armed Vishnu mounted on Garuda, his half-man, half-bird vehicle. Vishnu is flanked on the right by his wife Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, and on the left by Sarasvati, the goddess of learning and wisdom, who sometimes appears as Vishnu's consort. Three of Vishnu's four hands hold his usual martial attributes, which he uses when he aids devotees in need: the discus, club, and conch shell (used to call troops). His fourth hand makes the gesture of teaching (dharmachakramudra). Lakshmi can be identified by the vase and lotus she holds. The four-armed Sarasvati can be identified by the rosary and book she holds in her upper hands and by the musical instrument she cradles in her lower hands. The deities' round faces and pronounced chins as well as the tone-on-tone scrolling vines between each deity are stylistically typically Nepalese.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art