NEPAL, 16TH-17TH CENTURY

Indra is a Vedic god known as the king of all other gods, as well as the deity of war, and of the sky, adopted into the Newar Hindu pantheon and exalted as the giver of rain. As such, images like this are rarely found in India, but common in Nepal. His horizontal third eye distinguishes him from other Hindu deities, as does his distinctive single-crested crown. The present example shows Indra seated in the posture of royal ease or rajalilasana with a vajra symbolizing his ability to wield lightning as a weapon atop a lotus that wraps around his proper-left arm.