Providing convincing explanations for objects that areunique to Dvaravati is particularly challenginggiven that our knowledge of the polity is sketchy tosay the least. One particularly fascinating group ofsuch objects comprises a number of stelae depictingthe Buddha apparently standing on the head of somebeast or “monster”. The central Buddha figure isusually flanked by two gods, probably Indra andBrahma, or two bodhisattvas, orjust two attendants. The “monster” has beeninterpreted as some combination of the vehicles ofVisnu (Garuda), Siva (bull) and/or Brahma (hamsa orgoose), or as Garuda, or Surya, the Sun God. Thereare no Indian prototypes for these objects, whichare found only in the Dvaravati sculpturalstyle.