2-726-213 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Colossal Head of a Deva, c. 1200. This head is from one of the gods ( devas in Sanskrit) who, according to Hindu myth, churned the primordial Ocean of Milk to extract the nectar of immortality. Using a mountain as a churning rod and a serpent as the rope, the gods on one side and the demons on the other vied to win the nectar. The gods prevailed and achieved immortality.