Chapter 4 - Anthropomorphic forms of Shiva in Kerala Tantric works

Anthropomorphic forms of Śiva in Kerala Tāntric
Works
The anthropomorphic forms of Śiva is not seen in PM and
TS, the two important Tantric texts. In SN some such forms are
simply mentioned.¹ ISGP and SR are the two Kerala Tāntric texts
where the anthropomorphic forms of Śiva are discussed in detail.
In ISGP, there are sixteen forms of Śiva described. Some of them
are Umāskandayuktaḥ, Candrasekharaḥ, Gaṃgādharaḥ,
Bhikṣāṭanamūrtiḥ etc. While describing these Rūpapratimās, the
author gives the measures of them also. In addition to the sixteen
forms, four more Rūpapratimās are seen described in SR, thus the
number increasing to twenty. Sukhāsana, Gajahāmūrti, Yogamūrti
and Jñānamūrti are the added forms in SR.
In Kerala, the worship of anthropomorphic forms of Śiva is
very rare even though it is reported that there are such forms in
some places. In Trissur district, near Mala, there is a temple
Tiruvairāṇikkulam or Airāṇikkulam where the central shrine is
decorated with the Siva image. It weighs about thousand kilograms
and is in a sitting pose with two hands, the righthand in Jñānamudrā