Collection record · Objects & craft
Trikala Bhairava
The collection record classifies this work as sculpture. It is dated 1000s–1100s. Recorded culture or place: Eastern India, Orissa.
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Trikala Bhairava
- Date
- 1000s–1100s
- Culture / origin
- Eastern India, Orissa
- Materials and technique
- stone
- Dimensions
- Overall: 21.8 x 19.1 cm (8 9/16 x 7 1/2 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1958.208
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
Bhairava is the name of the wrathful aspect of the Hindu god Shiva. His ferocity and fearsome attributes include the crown of skulls and cobras, bulging eyes, fangs, and hair that stands on end. His three heads are indicative of the passing of time from past through present to the future, which is the meaning of his epithet Trikala, or "triple time." The ferocity of this figure reminds devotees not to waste a moment in striving to reach liberation from the relentless passage of time that ultimately leads to death and destruction. In the Hindu tradition, liberation can be achieved through devotion to god, which may attract his merciful decision to bring the devotee to eternal blissful union with him.
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Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift of Louise Hawley Stone, In Memory of Louis Severance Higgins · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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