"In worshipping God, we have been always worshipping our own hidden self," so said Swami Vivekananda. In this statement, Swamiji was perhaps referring to the vast pantheon of Hindu gods and goddesses each one of whom is a divine manifestation of the everlasting values and beliefs cherished by human society since time immemorial. However, any study of Hindu iconography has to go beyond the apparently moral stratum and plunge into the socio-cultural and aesthetic aspects of religion as well as examine the historical perspectives and the philosophical connotations. In Hindu iconography the physical and the metaphysical merge into one another. Hence, none of these elements can be seen in isolation. This book is an attempt to touch upon all the relevant aspects of Hindu iconography, with specific chapters on ten prominent deities. The aim has been to probe into the meanings that are hidden in the myths associated with these deities; to comprehend the philosophical implications of the metaphors that are inherent in these myths; and to delve into the symbols innate in the images of these deities. Efforts have been made to look into the various artistic representations of these deities and realise their all-pervading bearing on both religious and secular traditions of the country. The process has not been merely academic. Instead, the book is a miniscule documentation of the relationship between Hindu iconography and the very socio-cultural polity of the Indian society.

Content - 1. Ganesha, 2. Sun, 3. Mother Goddess, 4. Shiva, 5. Kartikeya, 6. Saraswati, 7. Lakshmi, 8. Ganga, 9. Krishna, 10. Radha, 11. Pranam Mantras, 12. Index