He is the all-annihilating Hindu deva. Umapati (‘pati’ is Sanskrt for husband) and the patriarch of the divine household. Dancer of the cosmic tandava. A warrior. An ascetic of the highest order.
These are the many aspects of Lord Shiva, as loved and adored by devotees as He is venerated and feared. A little-known aspect of His is the bhikshatana or of the one prone to begging and seeking.
The Shiva murti that you see on this page depicts the Lord in His bhikshatana roopa (form). On a mound of earth stands the irresistibly handsome, stark naked Deva.
The body of a snake barely covers His loins and minimal adornments clasp His neck and wrists. He is chaturbhujadhari, or the one possessed of (‘dhari’) four (‘chatur’) arms (‘bhuja’). To His right, He holds out to a cervine animal a handful of grass, emphasising on the importance of both the receiving and the giving of alms. In the other anterior hand He bears the almsbowl in which He receives.
To the left of Shiva is a little bhoota, a superhuman creature devoted to the Lord. As naked as His master, He bears atop His head a basketful of the alms received by the bhikshatana. Fashioned from bronze, this bhikshatana Shiva conforms to the textual iconography as expounded in the Shiva Agamic texts. Both the handiwork and the subject to which it has been applied are a heritage of South India.
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