Patralata

Patralata, decorative motif in Indian art, consisting of a lotus rhizome (underground plant stem). A cosmology that identifies water as the source of all life had a great influence on early Indian art, and, of its visual symbols, the lotus is the most important and has been a dominant motif in Indian decoration from the earliest times. The patralatā, with flowers issuing from a central undulating stem, is found carved on monuments at Bhārhut (2nd...