Krishna's Holi - Paata Painting

The beautiful brass figure of Maharshi Patanjali is given a detail and refine treatment.  
Patañjali is known to be an incarnation of Adi S'esha who is the first ego-expansion of Vishnu, Sankarshana. Sankarshana, the manifestation of Vishnu His primeval energies and opulences, is part of the so-called catur vyuha, the fourfold manifestation of Vishnu. Thus may Patañjali be considered as the one incarnation of God defending the ego of yoga.
There is an interesting story about his birth. 
There was a great Yogini called Gonika, who was praying for a worthy son to transmit her knowledge. Patanjali, as a tiny snake, fell from the heavens into her palms as her reward. So he came to be known as Patanjali. 'Pata' means to fall and 'Anjali' is hands cupped in prayer. 
Yoga Sutra is also credited to Patanjali. He is always depicted as a four-armed man up to the waist, after which his body becomes a great serpentine triple coil. The triple coil of the body represents the dormant Kundalini Shakti, the primal energy of creation. Two hands in the rear, symbolizing spiritual attributes, hold up the emblems of Vishnu, the conch and the discus. His front hands are folded in Anjali mudra more commonly known as the Namaste, India's ancient and powerful spiritual greeting. The serpent hoods forming a royal umbrella over his head are normally seven in number, signifying his transcendence of the Five Elements and the achievement of Enlightenment and Liberation. The snake rises along the back of the spine as the Kundalini energy does when it is activated. When the Kundalini reaches the chakra above the head in the etheric body, full Enlightenment and Liberation is achieved.

The artist has chiseled Patañjali, the compiler of the Yoga Sutra, a major work containing aphorisms on the practical and philosophical wisdom regarding practice of Raja Yoga, out of metal brass with masterly elegance. Patañjali is the reputed author of the Yoga Sutra, as well as commentary on Panini's Sanskrit grammar (Astyadhyayi). There are also many ayurvedic texts attributed to him. Desirous of teaching yoga to the world, he is said to have fallen (pat) from heaven into the open palms (anjali) of a woman, hence the name Patanjali. The Yoga Sutra is a treatise on Raja Yoga, built on the Samkhya School and the Hindu scripture of the Bhagavad Gita. Yoga is also found in the Puranas, Vedas and Upanishads. Still, this work is certainly a major work among the great Hindu scriptures and certainly is the basis of Raja Yoga. Patañjali's Yoga is one of the six schools of Hindu Philosophy. They give us the earliest reference to the popular term Ashtanga Yoga that translates literally as the eight limbs of yoga. They are yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi.

Goddess Lakshmi is extremely popular among the women and is widely worshipped for wealth and prosperity. She is often depicted as a beautiful woman of golden complexion, with four hands. Laksmi's four hands represent the four ends of human life: dharma or righteousness, "kama" or desires, "artha" or wealth, and "moksha" or liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Cascades of gold coins are seen flowing from her hands, suggesting that those who worship her gain wealth. She is often depicted wearing gold embroidered red clothes.