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The sky, in turn, showers rain, fertilising the earth represented by the goddess herself and the lotus on which she stands. This act is a kind of conception, and is similar to the conception of Māyādevi, mother of the Buddha, who dreamed that the future emancipator had entered her womb as white elephant. Immediately after his birth the infant and the mother were bathed by two nagas, which refers to both 'serpent' and 'elephant'.
The lotus also symbolises, as Pal eloquently outlines, the firmament, or middle space antariksa - which is why the gods are frequently placed on lotuses. The idea is first expressed in Rgveda in connection with the births of the fire god, Agni, and sage Vasistha, which the gods are said to have watched while seated on lotuses. Vişņu's navel, from which a lotus emerges, is the centre of the universe; the navel of the world form of Prajapati, an appellation of the Supreme Being, is said to be the firmament.10
Lakani on a south portico calling in the Vimalavashi temple. The celling is shallow domical consisting of four circular courses. The fourth course is flat and has a graceful image of four-armed Gaja-Lakami, seated in padmasana on a pedestal supported by stemmed lotus and water vases. In upper hands, she holds lotus plants, with elephants engraved in them; her lower hands are in dhyanamudra. Two caurf-bearers stand on her either side, and two vidyadhares hover in the upper section with garlands.
