Vishnu asleep on the serpent in the cosmic ocean

This painting depicts the Hindu god Vishnu reclining on the cosmic serpent Shesha. This multiheaded snake, whose name means "endless" and "eternal," is an animal counterpart to Vishnu and represents the residue that remained after the earth was shaped out of the cosmic ocean. Shesha is king and ancestor of all snakes on earth. Kneeling before Vishnu is his consort, the goddess Lakshmi, who herself is a manifestation of the lotus. The figure that emerges from a lotus growing out of Vishnu's navel is the god Brahma. In two of his hands Brahma holds a string of beads and the Vedas, a collection of ancient hymns and verses sacred to Hinduism.