Shiva, Uma, and Their Son Skanda (Somaskandamurti)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Somaskandamurti is one of the most popular religious images in South India. The four-armed Shiva holds a battle-ax and a deer in his upper hands and a citron in his lower left hand. His lower right hand is raised in abhayamudra (the gesture that allays fear). His consort, Parvati, clasps a water lily in her right hand. Between them stands Skanda, their infant son, bejeweled and with a lotus in his right hand. Four rings at the lower corners of the pedestal allowed the sculpture to be secured to a platform in order to be carried in processions.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art