The Hindu deity Shiva as divine teacher

Shiva is recognizable by the vertical third eye in his forehead and the small snake, skull, and crescent moon in his elaborate hair locks. Not all depictions of Shiva have all of these characteristics. Here Shiva sits teaching an unseen group of sages, with one of his feet resting on a dwarf representing ignorance. In this form Shiva "is an image of grace which imparts the supreme knowledge that leads to freedom from the bondage of this world." The Sanskrit term by which this form of Shiva is known has as a secondary meaning "south-facing," and, in the region from which this sculpture comes, such sculptures were often placed in a niche in the south walls of temples. (Quotation from a 1982 article on this form of Shiva by Pratapaditya Pal)