# Vishnu on Ananta, the Endless Serpent

- Date: c. 1700
- Medium: Gum tempera and gold on paper
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Page: 17.8 x 17.6 cm (7 x 6 15/16 in.); Image: 17.1 x 16.7 cm (6 3/4 x 6 9/16 in.)
- Culture: Northern India, Himachal Pradesh, Pahari Region, Rajput Kingdom of Chamba
- Credit line: Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/2018.155)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/cma/2018.155/2018.155_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Before the creation of the world, the god Vishnu was asleep on the serpent Ananta, floating on the cosmic ocean. When the time came for him to create the world, Vishnu’s wife Lakshmi woke him gently by massaging his feet. Then, out of his navel emerged a lotus flower, and Vishnu gave birth to Brahma, the god of creation.

As plants that grow in water, lotus flowers indicate the presence of the waters and their life-affirming capacity. In this painting they are boldly distributed over a deep brown background with basket-weave patterning.