Mandakini, also known as the Milky Way, made a journey down towards Earth. She was to descend where earth met the sky - in the peaks of the mountains. That journey, no matter how well-meaning, would have destroyed the world. It was then that Shiva broke her fall by trapping her in his hair. Her struggle, to finally become the river we love and worship, is depicted here through her animal—the crocodile Makara—one of the eight symbols of prosperity. Keeping the evil eye away, it is the force that aids us along the journey, towards our numerous destinations.
