Shiva Saint: Manikkavachakar
Unknown Artist
1100s–1200s
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
33.5 × 9.1 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1967.148
About this artwork
During the 7th through 9th centuries in south India there was a devotional movement of saints who experienced personal mystical encounters with their god. They then composed poems and songs in their native language of Tamil that described the ecstasy and experiences of the interaction. Manikkavachakar was one of these saints; he lived during the 9th century and composed some of the most popular Tamil devotional hymns about his visions of Shiva. In his left hand he holds the pages of texts that r...