Elements of Hindu Iconography v2.c16.s8.t3.8

v2.c16.s8.t3.8

The second form is illustrated by Pl. LXXVII. The original of this photograph is in the Kailāsanāthasvāmin temple at Conjeevaram. In this sculpture Śiva has his left leg bent and rested vertically on the seat and this leg and the body are bound together by the *yōgapaṭṭa*. The front right hand is held in the *yōgamudrā* pose, while the front left hand is in the *abhaya* pose. The back right hand keeps an *akṣamālā*, and the back left hand *agni* or a lotus flower.[*] The right leg is hanging down the seat. Śiva is as in the previous instances, seated under the shade of a banyan tree and below his seat are deer lying, with their heads lifted up to Śiva. Below his right elbow is a cobra with an uplifted hood, also gazing at the enchanting figure of Śiva. Above the head of Śiva are seen seated a pair of *bhūtas* on either side. On three niches situated on either side respectively of Dakshiṇāmūrti (not shown in the picture) are *rishis* sitting