Shiva as Mrityunjaya, the Conquerer of Death

Shiva as Mrityunjaya, the Conquerer of Death

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This is an extremely rare representation of Shiva as Mrityunjaya, the destroyer of death and disease. He is shown deep in meditation in yogic form, as indicated by his interlocked legs and resting hands. The Uttarakamika, a ritual and iconographic text (agama), dictates that he should be represented in a tranquil state with three eyes, six arms, and matted dreadlocks (jatamukuta) adorned with the crescent moon. He displays a rosary and a water vessel, and his two missing hands would have held his trident (trisula) and a skull bowl (kapala), completing the ritually required iconography. A chain garland hangs below his legs (the text speaks of a garland of skulls). He is flanked by female attendants bearing fly-whisks and the hybrid bird-humans kinnara and kinnari, who provide music about his head. Celestial garland bearers hover above. His throne is a lotus pedestal with a makara-finial throne back. His devotee the bull kneels at lower left; the donor figure, at lower right.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Shiva as Mrityunjaya, the Conquerer of DeathShiva as Mrityunjaya, the Conquerer of DeathShiva as Mrityunjaya, the Conquerer of DeathShiva as Mrityunjaya, the Conquerer of DeathShiva as Mrityunjaya, the Conquerer of Death

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.