Candi Mendut, Java

Note makara crocodiles at his shoulders.


Note corbelled arch.

Ajanta Caves - India

Ajanta caves - India, note the double-headed "makara" caiman behind the throne of Buddha at his shoulders. (Click on image to enlarge).

Mayan Double-Headed Serpent Bar

Copan, Honduras - ruler holding a ceremonial double-headed serpent bar.


Maya King and the Double-Headed Serpent Bar of Authority

"The double-headed Serpent Bar is the iconographic equivalent of the arc of the ecliptic. Most any Maya king featured on carved stone stela will be shown wearing a double-headed serpent pendant or holding up a double-headed serpent bar. Here we see an image of Stela D from the Maya site of Copán, depicting ruler Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil (18 Rabbit). The king is shown wearing an elaborate headdress and holding a double-headed serpent bar that represents his divine connection to the sun. The serpents’ heads represent the arc of the ecliptic. The pathway involves the sun and its movement from sunrise to sunset, descending into the underworld each night and emerging from the underworld each morning."

The double-headed serpent bar can also symbolize the cycle of the eclipses of the sun and moon when they are swallowed up by the serpent and then reappear.

Compare the double-headed serpent bar to the Buddhist throne below. There is often a double-headed caiman bar behing the seat of the Buddha.

SOMAPURA VIHARA, PAHARPUR, BANGLADESH

Peten Priest - Ballcourt Player

Maya figurine with removable helmet.

Jaina figurine - Semitic type

Mayan figurine from Jaina Island - Semitic bearded type.

Olmec Mask

Granite Olmec funerary mask - private collection.