makara

Hindu water monster

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June 30, 2026

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The term "makara" refers to a water monster in Hindu mythology. It is depicted in religious art as having the body of a crocodile and the head of an antelope. The makara is associated with the god Varuna and is the emblem of Kamadeva. In Hindu mythology, a vahana is a creature that serves as the vehicle or carrier for a deity and is also their sign. The makara is one such vahana, often represented as a sea creature.12

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Makar Sankranti
Date
…Sun into the sign of makara (a mythological crocodile-like creature), which roughly corresponds to the sign of Capricorn, is considered particularly auspicious, because it is popularly regarded as marking the beginning of the Sun’s northward course.
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…Sun into the sign of makara (a mythological crocodile-like creature), which roughly corresponds to the sign of Capricorn, is considered particularly auspicious, because it is popularly regarded as marking the beginning of the Sun’s northward course.
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Central Asian arts
Sculpture and painting
Water spouts forth from makara (Hindu water monster with the body of a crocodile and the head of an elephant) snouts sheathed in gilt copper into reservoirs laid out with architectural dignity. As far as present knowledge goes, Newari sculpture was dominated from the 8th century into the 18th…
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Water spouts forth from makara (Hindu water monster with the body of a crocodile and the head of an elephant) snouts sheathed in gilt copper into reservoirs laid out with architectural dignity. As far as present knowledge goes, Newari sculpture was dominated from the 8th century into the 18th…
Read More