Virabhadra plaque
Indian
Description
March 28, 2009
Hindu gods are believed to be accessible in natural, carved, painted, printed, and sculpted symbols that anyone can approach without the intercession of a priest. Thus, in addition to stone images carved for grand temples, Hindus may worship a blackened stone under a tree, a baked mud pot at the center of a white design on the floor, a calendar picture, or a small metal image on a home altar. This hammered copper plaque was made in a South Indian workshop for villagers’ private use. Its rich iconography and miniaturized architectural niche echo forms found in monumental stone carvings. Here, they are presented on a smaller scale and in a more affordable format that could potentially be mass produced. This plaque represents Virabhadra, a popular figure among South Indian villagers and an emissary created by Shiva to wreak punishment on his father-in-law.
(Label for UMMA South and Southeast Asia Gallery Opening Rotation, March 2009)
Subject Matter:
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 two hands. His sword and necklace of human heads indicate his wrathful nature. 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.
Physical Description:
Shiva as Virabhadra stand in a relaxed posture under an elaborate arch placed above a goose form on either side. The arch curves inward and forms a heart shape at the center meeting in a mask of glory, a kirtimukha. Against the pillars holding up the arch are figures of the goat-headed Daksha on his right and saintly figure on his right. Both are in posed of devotion with their hands in a prayer pose, namaskara. Virabhadra has four arms (reading clockwise from his front right hand) holding a sword, an axe, a trident and resting on a club. He wears a lower garment covered by a series of belts and a multi-tiered necklace coving much of his chest. He also wears a long garland decorated with small human heads at the bottom across his thighs. A five-headed snake hood is spread behind his crown and coils of the snake project above each of his shoulders.
Usage Rights:
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.