Virabhadra plaque

Description

Virabhadra was an emissary created by Shiva to wreak punishment on his father-in-law, Daksha, who had refused to render him offerings when performing a great ceremony of sacrifice. Virabhadra carries Shiva’s standard attributes of the drum and trident in his back hands. His wrathful nature is indicated by his sword and necklace of human heads. The sun and the moon are above his head, and he is crowned with a high topknot and a snake hood. He stands before a flaming aureole, surmounted by a kirtimukha, or “face of glory.” With his left hand he gestures toward the goddess Parvati, while at his lower right stands the ram-headed Daksha, now submissive. Virabhadra was widely worshipped in the villages of south India, and inexpensive hammered metal plaques such as these were readily available from local smiths.
Exhibited in "Divine Encounters, Earthly Pleasures: Twenty Centuries of Indian Art," 12/12/03-2/22/04.