This bronze 13th to 14th century sculpture is from southern India. It depicts the Hindu god Shiva in one of his benign forms despite being known as the great destoyer. It would once have had a small deer representing Shiva's role as the lord over wild animals.
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"Shiva ... meaning "The Auspicious" is one of the three major deities of Hinduism. He is the chief within Shaivism, one of the three most influential denominations in contemporary Hinduism. He is one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta Tradition, and "the Destroyer".
At the highest level, Shiva is regarded as formless, limitless, transcendent, and unchanging as well. Shiva also has many benevolent and fearsome depictions. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash, as well as a householder with wife Parvati and his two children, Ganesha and Kartikeya, and in fierce aspects, he is often depicted slaying demons. Shiva is also regarded as the patron god of yoga, meditation, and arts.
The main iconographical attributes of Shiva are the third eye on his forehead, the snake Vasuki around his neck, the adorning crescent moon, the holy river Ganga flowing from his matted hair, the trishula as his weapon and the damaru as his musical instrument. Shiva is usually worshiped in the aniconic form of Lingam.
The worship of Shiva is a pan-Hindu tradition, practiced widely across all of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and parts of Pakistan."