This is Shatrughna, Rama’s half-brother and twin brother of Lakshman. The identification is based on a similar example in the book Hindu Gods and Goddesses, by A. G. Mitchell. So far I have not come across any other book with positive identification. Some of the later books on calendar art show one male with a Chamara standing behind Rama in the coronation paintings.

 Not quite sure as to why Shatrughna was given Chamara, and that too two of them, as in this example. Shatrughna means destroyer of enemies, and he does that only after Rama returns to Ayodhya.  Some see him as an incarnation of Vishnu’s attribute, Shankha, the conch shell.

Despite his being a minor character, there are at least three temples where he is worshipped. They are in Paymmal in Kerala, in Rishikesh and in Mathura.

This bronze is about 9 cm in height. It is most likely from Karnataka and may date to the eighteenth century.