A GRANITE FIGURE OF BHAIRAVA

Bhairava is a wrathful manifestation of Shiva associated with battle and death. In southern India, his appearance and attributes are closely related to the ferocious goddess Kali. While the trident associates Bhairava with Shiva, and the fierce deity is worshipped in Shaiva contexts, the inclusion of a dog rather than a bull vahana suggests Bhairava may originally have been an independent local god that was later incorporated into the Shaiva pantheon in Tamil Nadu. For a related example at Los Angelest County Museum of Art, see Pratapaditya Pal, Indian Sculpture, Vol. 2, 1988, Berkeley, p.289, cat. no. 154a.