The above photo is from Chennakesava temple, Somnathpur.  When you visit the temple, the exuberance, details and the number of sculptures cause sensory overload.  Very quickly you get to the stage where you see it but not notice it. An example.

The above photo is Lakshminarayana. See the blog Lakshminarayana for details. Here Lakhsmi is sitting on Vishnu’s lap and with her right leg pendant and the leg is resting on a lotus.

Not able to take the weight of Lakshmi’s leg the lotus sags. The elephant realizing that sagging footrest (lotus) may cause discomfort to Lakshmi, comes to the rescue. It props up the lotus with its trunk, supporting  Lakshmi’s feet.

Once you notice this a classic display of imagination, creativity and skills, it is hard to ‘unsee’ it.