In both cases these figures originally would have been brightly colored. Originally, the dhoti would have been brilliantly painted—often with decorative roundels or other painted patterns that served to suggest foreign fabric. And their skin also would have been pigmented: red for the figure on the right, and green for the figure on the left. They're in very active postures, and the sculptors carved the dhoti as if they were fluttering about—activated by the guardian's cosmic fury. Typically too, each guardian would have held a weapon in his hand—usually a staff with avajra-shaped (pronunciation: "VAHJ-rah"), or stylized thunderbolt, finial.