Divine bodies: imagining the anatomy of God

In my office at home I have two statuettes of Hindu gods. One is a bronze I bought many years ago in Varanasi on the banks of the Ganges. It depicts Shiva the Destroyer with his three eyes and four arms. The other is a small marble image that one of my patients once gave me, to bring me good luck. It shows the elephant-headed god Ganesh, with his pot belly. I also currently have on my desk a catalogue from a recent exhibition at the British Museum. On its cover there is a photo of a scary but magnificent effigy of Kali, one of many forms of the mother goddess. In her left hand there is a severed head., and she has a garland of skulls around her neck. Her husband Shiva lies naked and submissive under her feet, symbolising how powerless he would be without her creative...
Source: Postgraduate Medical Journal - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: On reflection Source Type: research