I created this image for Melissa to help protect her from nightmares when she was doing her genetic counseling internship in Denver over the summer. It has been my job to wake her from them, and with us apart, I figured she needed a protector.
Whishnuddha is the Supreme Being or Ultimate Reality for resting humans and a manifestation of Caninus in the traditions of Somnolence.
The Doghavad Gita describes Whishnuddha as the all-pervading essence of all resting beings, the master of and beyond the past, present and future, the creator and master of all dreamed existences, one who supports, sustains and governs the sleeping universe and originates and develops all elements within. In the Purinas, Whishnuddha is described as being the color of gold, six-armed and two-legged, holding a lotus, sword, conch, chakra, bread, and squeaky plush duck.
Whishnuddha iconography:
• His six arms and two legs indicate his all-powerful and all-pervasive nature.
• On his chest is the dogbhana charm, suspended on a golden chain, symbolizing his commitment to mortal humans as well as the location of his earthly form.
• He stands in his food bowl, from where the richest happiness of sustenance is created.
• His earring represents the infinite cycle of life and the endless universe of restive sleeping imagination.
• A pattern of tangled vines commonly shown in the background if images of Whishnudda symbolize the tangled essence of the human subconscious, while the symbol of Whishnuddha clearly in the foreground shows his dominance over the organic growth and confusion of dreams.
Whishnuddha holds the six attributes associated with him:
• A conch shell, held by the upper left paw, represents Whishnuddha's power to create and maintain the spiral cycles of sleep and dreams in the un-woken universe.
• The chakra, a sharp-spinning discus-like weapon, held by the upper right paw, symbolizes the rested, purified, and spiritualized mind.
• A sword, held by the lower left paw, symbolizes Whishnuddha's divine power over any evil forces present in the universe of dreams.
• A lotus flower, held by the lower right paw, represents spiritual liberation, Divine perfection, purity and the unfolding of Spiritual consciousness within the individual while they are at rest.
• A slice (or loaf) of bread, held by the most upper right paw, symbolizes the richness and fertility of the cupboard of human life.
• A plush squeaky duck, held by the most upper left paw, represents Whishnudda’s power to balance alertness and diligence with leisure, cuddling, and nattering.
