Cleveland Museum of Art
Nine Celestial Bodies (Navagraha)
- Date
- 700s
- Medium
- Sandstone
- Culture
- Central India
- Department
- Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
Near temple entrances, the nine celestial bodies were depicted in an orderly row, often in figural form. From left to right they are: Sun with a tall crown and the female Dawn in front of him. The next five figures are nearly identical: Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. As a portent of doom, Saturn was wounded by a goddess to prevent him from moving swiftly, so he stands on one leg. The bodiless head is Rahu, the eclipse, who swallows the moon until it falls out his neck. The serpent-tailed figure is a comet. The Sun (Surya) is the only figure who wears boots and holds fully open lotus flowers.
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