ObjectIconography
Kaustubha: Meaning
कौस्तुभ मणिThe Kaustubha is the brilliant gem that Vishnu wears on his chest. It rose from the ocean of milk during the Samudra Manthan, together with Lakshmi, and Vishnu took it as his ornament. The Vishnu Purana explains the gem as the atman, the pure soul of the world.
Borne byविVishnu
What does it symbolise?
Tradition holds
The Vishnu Purana (1.22) says that Vishnu wears the Kaustubha as the atman of the world, the pure and unstained soul, while the Srivatsa mark beside it is pradhana, the primal matter. The god thus carries both spirit and nature upon his chest.
Popular devotion sees the gem's light as the radiance of the divine, too bright to be held by anyone else.
Continue exploring
Open the explorer