Desmond Lazaro b. 1968
Purusha IV, 2020-21
Raised gold gild and egg tempera on gesso board
39.37 x 27.5 in | 100 x 70 cm
with frame: 40 x 28.15 x 2 in
with frame: 40 x 28.15 x 2 in
Copyright The Artist
As a cosmological diagram, the Vastu Purusha Mandala recalls the myth wherein “Purusha” or the “Cosmic Man” is pinned into a square grid by the Astha Dikapalakas guardians or by...
As a cosmological diagram, the Vastu Purusha Mandala recalls the myth wherein “Purusha” or the “Cosmic Man” is pinned into a square grid by the Astha Dikapalakas guardians or by deities that reside over space. According to Stella Kramrisch (The Hindu Temple Vol 1 1946), the grid of 9 x 9 (81 squares) corresponds to the seven visible planets with its associated metal (pigment) colour. At the heart of the grid resides the Brahman, and Purusha represents the unmoving principle through which both space and time unfold. Between the Brahman and Purusha lies much metaphysical speculation which has forged our understanding of the cosmos, and inevitably our relationship to it.