Indian Bronze Laksamana

Bronze Image of Laksamana

This small, fine image of Laksmana, Rama’s brother, shows the deity standing, with hands in anjali mudra, and a quiver with arrows slung over his right shoulder. He wears a tall conical crown, a short dhoti, heavy earrings and a small hair disc.

The image has a chocolate patina and softened contours from

puja use. Overall, this is a finely rendered bronze of a deity that is less commonly seen.

Rama, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu, is a relatively minor deity whose task was to kill a demon king who held his wife captive. But from this story, Rama – and this his brother – has entered into the mainstream of Indian mythology and is a major figure in Indian epic poetry, particularly in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.