The concept of Divinity as a power above humanity and beyond full human comprehension, intangible but none the less vividly experienced intuitively, has been a major source of inspiration for the visual arts. It prompted, over the millennia, emanations of the spiritual that were often great and memorable works of art. Aspects of the divine could be represented in diverse ways ranging from abstract symbols to images in human, animal or combined human and animal forms. The ancient Greeks conceived their gods and goddesses in idealized human forms with attributes to indicate their divinity as Aphrodite or Apollo, for instance and this practice was taken over by the Christians for their saints. The prohibition of graven images in the Second Commandment however, prevented them using it as regards God the Father except in narra tive scenes where the image could not be mistaken for an idol to be worshipped Muslims also abominated idolatry and were rigorous as Christians in their respect for the prohibition and even more so in destroying the religious art of the countries they over-ran, notably in the Indian sub-continent. Yet nowhere have the possibilities of giving concrete form to the abstract concept of divinity been more subtly explored than in Hindu sculpture The earliest Indian scriptures, the Vedas (c. Bc 130o-60o) and the Upanishads (c. Bo 8oo-50o), embody lofty metaphysical doctrines that could be fully understood only by the initiated. They make no concessions to the common human demand for divinities that can be visualized. In the later and more accessible Bhagavad Gita of the second century BC, however, the warrior Arjuna asks Krishna, avatar of Vishnu, god of gods, to show himself in his Supreme Being: he was vouchsafed countless visions of wonder: eyes from innumerable faces, numerous celestial ornaments, celestial garlands and vestures, forms anointed with heavenly perfumes. The infinite divinity was facing all sides, all marvels in him containing. If the light of a thousand suns rose in the sky that splendour might be compared to the radiance of the Supreme Spirit. And Arjuna saw in that radiance the whole universe in its variety, standing in a vast unity in the body of the god of gods Trembling with awe and wonder Aruna bowed his head, and joining his hands in adoration he thus spoke to his god: I see in thee all the gods, O my God, and the infinity the power of thy innumerable arms, the visions from thy innumerable eyes I rejoice in exultation, and yet my heart trembles with fear Have mercy on me Lord of gods, Refuge of the whole universe, show me again thine own human form yearn to see thee again in thine own four-armed form, thou of arms infinite' The god of all gave peace to his fears and showed himself in this peaceful beauty The Bhagavad Gita is the earliest Indian text in which the idea of a personal relationship between a mortal and a god is found. The first images of Hindu gods appear to have been carved at about the same time. Their distin guishing features were presumably determined initially by priests and knowledge of them handed down from one generation of sculptors to another.Manasara Silpasastra which the that, ruled they were such as century treatises AD codified By the sixth in for instance, an image of Shiva should be furnished with four arms, three eyes and be crowned with matted hair the upper right hand should be in the refuge offering pose, the upper left hand in the boon giving pose; the other left and right hand should hold the antelope and the drum respectively Saravati (consort of Brahma and goddess of learning] should be placed on a lotus pedestal and seated in the cross-legged posture Similarly, rules were also laid down for a scale of bodily proportions distinguishing deities from mortals. It was assumed, though not stated, tiat more than two arms were necessary to express divine omnipotence, and more than two eyes to suggest all seeing Omniscience. Such sculptures were easily misunder stood as objects of worship in them selves, rather than representations that could be consecrated or charged with divine spirit by ritual. According to the eighth-century AD philosopher and mystic Shankara, the Supreme Lord may if he wishes form as a favour to his devout worshippers Theologians interpreted the popular cult of statues of Vishnu as proof of the god's compassion in manifesting himself to devotees and allowing himself to be perceived by the senses even at the risk of being transformed into an idol and of being confused with the material objects he had sanctified with his presence. For Hindus, truth lies beyond the world of appearances and their images of deities are thus illusory manifestations of a single ultimate reality.