I'm wondering about deities with 4, 6, 7, 8 .... up to 1000 arms. I know that at one level this is symbolic, each arm usually holding things like a noose, a conch, etc., or showing mudras, or in the case of 1000-armed Avlokiteshvara (only Buddhist?), hinting at infinite capacity to regard the complaints of the world. Do they have or manifest their arms in other senses or realities? What was the earliest that multi-armed images were made? Or --- does anyone have anything at all to offer? Let me add that I believe the deities to be real, with presence, personality, and powers. For me, they are not abstract metaphors for deep philosophical principles.
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