The Hindu deity Shiva

Shiva is one of the most important Hindu deities. His divine character is complex. He is seen as both a family man and as a figure who has left the everyday world to live as a religious hermit. He has both creative and destructive aspects.

Shiva is often shown with four arms. He has a third eye in his forehead. Instead of wearing a crown-like headdress as Vishnu does, he usually wears a pile of matted locks arranged in an elaborate hairdo decorated with a crescent moon. He may hold a trident, an axe, or other symbols, depending on his particular form or the region of India where the sculpture was made.

Here the fingers of Shiva's upper hands and the symbols they held are broken, but the third eye and matted hairdo with crescent moon still identify the figure. His lower right hand is held in the symbolic gesture of reassurance. The parallel holes running through the base of the sculpture are for carrying poles used during religious processions.