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and the fact that in the lists of the 32 bodily marks (laksanas) of a mahāpuruşa, which we shall now discuss, the feet are dealt with first, gods as well as great men (like kings) being looked up to from below, for, the viewer is lying at their feet. This begins already in AV 10,2. Ordinary humans, however, are looked at the other way around. The 84 anulaksanas ('secondary marks') follow the main bodily characteristics and, as it were, comment upon them.
One remark may yet be made in this context. Indian scholastics know of four postures, viz. walking, standing, sitting and reclining.144 The latter posture is unheroic, because it is the posture of the dead and of sleeping people, though after his transition into parinirvana the Buddha is depicted and worshipped in the reclining position.145 Indra, however, in his fight against Vstra, is moving in an upright position - the erect divine hero against the horizontal animal (tiryak),146 for Vrtra is lying in 99 coils around the cosmic mountain (RV 5,29,6).
In RV 10,90, Purusa, the thousand-footed Cosmic Man whom the gods sacrifice, in my opinion stands ten fingers over the earth without touching it. His mouth becomes the brahmin (10,90,12), yet out of his mouth emerges Indra (10, 90,13). This creation hymn, which stresses sacrifice, brahmin primacy, and the secondary rank of Indra, and thereby of the warrior class, already shows clear evidence of a transition toward the Brāhmaṇa literature. Furthermore, the cosmic giant reminds one of course of the Jainist concept of the universe as an erect human-woman or man - as well as of erect Jain ascetics like Bahubali in Sravaņabelgo!a.
Indra's successor, Prajāpati, is standing when the Brahman strikes the Evil off him which is perhaps represented by the hair on his head.147 This, then, would be a Vedic justification for the tonsure of the Buddhist monks and for the Jaina monks' even pulling out their hair. The hair is also a substitute for the head, which the hero has to sacrifice before he can be reborn in a higher state ?118
The Bodhisatta defends himself in an upright position in meditation against Māra, who wishes to prevent him from reaching final emancipation.149 This yogic posture, which is visible already on seal
144 E.g. AiB 7,15,3. See also Bollée 1983a: 112 sqq. and cf. RB 1912: col. 1142 line
10 sq. 145 Cf. Hiltebeitel 1978: 775 note 27; 783 note 47, and 787 note 64. Filliozat 1967: 75
stresses the meaning of the direction of the head toward the north. 146 The Rgveda uses the word mrga only. 147 JB 2,369 (Caland 1919 $160). In Baudhés 17,40 hair is equated to Evil. See also
Onians 1954: 108. 148 Neumann 1962: 159; 59 sq. 149 Cf. Bollée 1977: 377.