Carved wood vahanas in National Museum

Vahanas or "vehicles" of Hindu Gods are mythical characters having significant religious value. Temples in India use depictions of these vehicles in many forms during temple processions. National Museum, New Delhi houses a collection of Carved Wood Vahanas in the gallery of decorative arts. This collection at the National Museum is unique among museums in India, which includes large images of Garuda, Hanuman, elephant, horse, swan and lion and these artefacts are mostly from the period between the 17th and 20th century.^[1] Ancient Indian temples house numerous kinds of wood carvings having religious context to be used for various temple activities. The majority of Vahanas are made of wood and decorated with designs made with varied techniques. Vahanas have been mentioned in temple inscriptions dating back to the 13th century.^[2]