The Gaṅgādhara image of Tiruccirāppaḷḷi, and the inscription in kāvya style engraved in the same monument, set a pattern for a dialogue between visual arts and poetry that enlightens us on the many implicit meanings that iconographical choices and variations may assume. Just as the eulogies of the different dynasties of India used to borrow from each other certain expressions and metaphors, the figures they chose to represent in their monuments echo one another. The article focuses on this parallel process. It analyses the interplay between inscriptions and images, and tries to highlight their connection to earlier and later examples.