Much Indian art uses a shared visual language, made to be read as well as looked at. A flower, an animal, a hand gesture or the colour of someone’s skin often tells you who is shown and what the picture means. This guide covers the signs you will meet most often.
Symbols you will see everywhere
| Symbol | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Lotus | Purity and spiritual awakening: it grows from mud but flowers clean. Many deities sit or stand on a lotus, and Lakshmi holds one. |
| Peacock | Beauty, love and the monsoon. Its feather is Krishna’s sign, and it is the mount of the war god Kartikeya. India’s national bird. |
| Elephant | Strength, wisdom, royalty and good fortune. Ganesha has an elephant head, and pairs of elephants pour water over Lakshmi. |
| Fish | Fertility and plenty, and a common wedding symbol, especially in Madhubani. Matsya, a fish, is the first form of Vishnu. |
| Tree of life | Growth, family and the link between earth and heaven. Common in Kalamkari and other textiles. |
| Kalash (water pot) | A pot of water topped with mango leaves and a coconut stands for plenty and a good beginning. It appears at weddings and house-warmings. |
| Swastika | An ancient sign of good fortune in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist art, seen on doorways and account books. It has no link to its 20th-century misuse in Europe. |
| Conch and wheel | Vishnu’s emblems: the conch (shankha) for the primal sound, the wheel (chakra) for order and time. |
| Mandala and yantra | Diagrams of the universe used for meditation and ritual, built from circles and squares around a centre. |
| Parrot | Love and desire. It is the mount of Kama, the god of love, and appears in many love scenes. |
| Cow | Abundance and motherly care. Krishna grew up among cowherds, so cows fill paintings of his life, as in Pichwai. |
| Lion and tiger | Power and protection. The goddess Durga rides a lion or a tiger. |
Hand gestures (mudras)
In sculpture, painting and classical dance, artists use set hand positions to show what a figure is doing or feeling. A few to know:
| Gesture | How it looks | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Abhaya | Right hand raised, palm facing out | Do not fear: protection |
| Varada | Hand lowered, palm facing out | Giving blessings or gifts |
| Dhyana | Both hands resting in the lap, one on the other | Meditation |
| Bhumisparsha | Right hand reaching down to touch the ground | The Buddha calling the earth to witness his enlightenment |
| Anjali | Palms pressed together | Greeting and respect, as in namaste |
How to recognise figures in paintings and sculpture
Indian artists identify each figure through fixed visual clues: what they hold, the animal beside them, their colour and their pose, rather than a likeness of the face. Once you know these clues, you can name most figures in a painting or sculpture gallery:
| Figure | Clues |
|---|---|
| Ganesha | Elephant head, round belly, often holding a sweet; a mouse or rat as his mount. |
| Shiva | Matted hair with a crescent moon and the river Ganga, a snake at the neck, a trident and a small drum; the bull Nandi. As Nataraja he dances in a ring of fire. |
| Vishnu | Blue or dark skin, four arms holding a conch, wheel, mace and lotus; often reclining on a great serpent. |
| Krishna | Blue skin, a peacock feather in his crown, playing a flute, often with cows or with Radha. See Krishna in art. |
| Rama | Holding a bow and arrow, with his wife Sita, brother Lakshmana and Hanuman. |
| Hanuman | A monkey god, very strong, often carrying a mountain or kneeling before Rama. |
| Durga | A goddess with many arms holding weapons, riding a lion or tiger, often killing a buffalo demon. |
| Lakshmi | Goddess of wealth, seated on a lotus, coins falling from her hand, sometimes with elephants. |
| Saraswati | Goddess of learning and music, dressed in white, playing a stringed vina, with a swan. |
| The Buddha | Calm face, long earlobes, a bump on top of the head, robes and a mudra. |
Colours
Red is the colour of marriage, energy and good fortune. Saffron stands for renunciation and is worn by monks. White can mean purity, but in many communities it is also the colour of mourning. Blue or dark skin marks Vishnu, Krishna and Rama, and suggests the infinite, like the sky. Yellow is linked with spring and with Krishna’s clothes.
Try it out
Look again at a Pichwai, a Kalighat painting or a Patachitra scroll and see how many signs you can now read. The glossary explains more terms, and Play has quizzes to test yourself.
Sources
Main sources: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History; British Museum, Collection online; Encyclopaedia Britannica entries on mudra and Hindu iconography; Victoria and Albert Museum, South Asia collection; and the stories linked above.
Last checked: November 2026.