Lakshmi-Narayana. Northern India (Rajasthan), 10th century. Sandstone, 46 x 23 x 11 in. (110.5 x 57.2 x 17.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchase Gift of the Charles Bloom Foundation, Inc., 86.191
When Vishnu is shown with one wife, the pair is usually called Lakshmi-Narayana: Lakshmi is the goddess of good fortune, and Narayana is another name for Vishnu. In most representations of divine couples, the goddess is much smaller than the god, but in this image Lakshmi is almost the same size as Vishnu. Their embrace, their exchange of gazes, and the synchronized sway of their bodies (a rare feature for Vishnu) all point to the happiness that can be achieved when male and female qualities meet in a balanced union.
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