Manikkavachaka (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
In addition to images of deities, South Indian sculptors also created depictions of important Hindu saints-men and women whose exemplary lives and compelling teachings inspired devotees. The subject of this sublime imageis Manikkavachaka, a singer-saint whose rhapsodic devotional hymns proclaim his deep love for the god Shiva. He raises his right hand in a teaching gesture, and in his left he holds a manuscript (presumably of his hymns) that is inscribed "Namashivaya" or "Hail to Shiva."
Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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