Image title: Figure 24: The god with the banyan tree

[original] Le dieu au banian, musée de Mahābalipuram (cliché Institut Français de Pondichéry/École française d’Extrême-Orient 251–5)

[transcription] The god with the banyan tree, Mahabalipuram museum (photo French Institute of Pondicherry/French School of the Far East 251–5)

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.