Image title: Figure 40: Ascetic figure of Shiva walking

[original] Figure ascétique de Śiva marchant, façade sud, troisième étage du Dharmarāja ratha, Mahābalipuram (cliché G. Ravindran, EFEO, 2009)

[transcription] Ascetic figure of Shiva walking, south facade, third floor of the Dharmaraja ratha , Mahabalipuram (photo G. Ravindran, EFEO, 2009)

Gallery information:

These plates originate from the book The Creation of an Iconography as based on Shaivite narrative (original title: “La création d'une iconographie sivaïte narrative”) which details the sculptures and construction temples of the Pallava dynasty (in the Tamil-speaking Southern India) near the end of the 7th century. Usually, such constructions were dedicated to Shiva having the walls adorned with representations of Siva in various embodiments: some benign, some fierce and sanguinary, others victorious and regal.