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Vata or Banyan Tree Image Gallery of Hindu Symbols
By Subhamoy Das, About.com Guide
Endearing images that adorn Hindu art, architecture and iconography, from Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami's Dancing with Siva. Illustrations by A Manivel.
Vata, the banyan tree, Ficus indicus, symbolizes Hinduism, which branches out in all directions, draws from many roots, spreads shade far and wide, yet stems from one great trunk. Siva as Silent Sage sits beneath it.
Reproduced with permission from the Himalayan Academy©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.
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