Bhikshatana - I

Bhikshatana is an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva, as the 'supreme beggar'. He is depicted as a nude man with a headdress and a cobra coiled around his legs, resting on his hips. He has four arms, and he holds a begging bowl in one of them, and a 'damru' or drum in another. Bhikshatana is seen wearing a woman's earring in one ear, and a man's earring in the other, which is an attribute from Shiva's synthesis with Parvati. A dog is seated next to him, reaching up to his right hand. This highly detailed sculpture is made using the lost wax process.