| There is another
panel with an inscription, which says: "This
is the place where the bridegroom was brought to be shown to Himavanta."
This has a reference to the marriage of Goddess Parvati as the
daughter of Himavanta with Lord Siva. Lord Siva in order to test the strength of the
devotion of Parvati appeared before her in the disguise of a tottering old man, supported
by Brahma and Vishnu, and presented himself to Parvati and her parents. In spite of this
disguise of the Lord, Parvati was able to recognise the Lord of her dreams and worshipped
him. The panel intone depicts Himavanta, with a tall head-dress, and with one hand on his
daughter's shoulder, calling her attention to the distress of her mother at the prospect
of her marriage with such a decrepit old man. In another inscribed panel, the bas-relief
portrays Vishwakarma, the architect of the universe, with a pair of scales weighing Lord
Siva in one pan, against the other entire God & in the other. |
