Going by the Akshamala (prayer beads) and holding a bowl in his hands he is ascetic. But with a difference. He is crowned and is sitting in Virasana, a posture commonly adopted by the Royalty. Of course, Vyakyana Dakshinamoorthy adopts this form.

He is sitting on a plain pedestal and is framed by a ridged Prabhavali. The ornamentation is minimal crown. neckwear, wrist band, waist belt and anklets.

Leaves you wondering who this could be. Going by the alloy’s colour, plain look pedestal and Prabhavali design, this bronze is from Kerala.

One possibility, this is Kulasekhara Alwar, one of the twelve Alvars from Vaishnavism faith. Kulasekhara Alvar was a royalty from Kerala and was devoted to Vishnu. He gave away his wealth to the SriRagam temple when he got his daughter married to Sri Ranganatha.

This Vigraha is about 9.5 cm in height and has some age to it. Kerala bronzes, in general, do not show much wear. This is likely to be about 150 years old.