This elegant Vigraha defies immediate identification. He is regally clad, two-armed and standing in tribhanga. The right hand gesture is as-if he is holding something and the left hand is resting on something. Is he resting his left hand on his consort? Possibly not as the consorts, in South Indian tradition, are taller than the suggested height.

Well, it is Rajamannar, the presiding deity of the temple town Mannargudi, in Tamil Nadu, India. It is Krishna as a cow shepherd, holding shepherd’s croak in his right hand and his left arm resting on a cow.

Here Krishna is wearing the sacred thread, whole set of ornaments, short lower garment and with a tall chignon. The casting is fine and it is a typical Tamil Nadu bronze. Always sought after.

What makes the identification even more challenging is the depiction of Shiva (Vrishavahana) and Sundaramutrthy Nayanar in similar pose. See below.

Siva , the middle one, is identified by the crescent moon on his jatamakuta. Sundaramurthy Nayanar by his hair arrangement. As Sundaramurthy Nayanar is an ascetic, devoted to Shiva, he is not decorated with a crown. According to R Nagaswamy ‘ such iconographic transference are common during the Chola period’.

The Vigraha is about 9 cm tall. The base is a later addition and is done with sensitivity. It is quite likely this dates to the 16th century. It is around that time, the Tanjore Nayakas, vassals of Vijayanagar empire, made Rajamannar their primary deity.

Photo courtesy:

Vrishavahana: From the book Masterpieces of Early South Indian Bronzes by R Nagaswamy. Cat no 3, figure 32 and page 58.

Sundaramurthy Nayyanar: Unknown. From the Internet, a pin by S Murugan.