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Lot Essay
According to S. Kramrisch, Manifestations of Shiva, 1981, p. 50, Andhaka was the blind son of Shiva and Parvati created from the sweat of her hands and Shiva's subsequent anger when Parvati playfully covered his eyes thus plunging the world into darkness. Andhaka was given to the King of the Demons and later became king himself. Not knowing of his heritage, he set out with his army to win Parvati as his queen. Shiva defeated Andhaka by spearing him with his trident over a period of 1000 years.
The depiction of this esoteric 10-armed form of Shiva is relatively rare in Pala sculpture. Compare to an 8-armed form in the Dacca Museum published by S. Huntington, The 'Pala-Sena' Schools of Sculpture, 1984, fig. 212, where Shiva is identified as Aghora. Also compare with another 10-armed Pala example in the Asutosh Museum, Calcutta, in R. Linrothe, Ruthless Compassion, Wrathful Deities in Early Indo-Tibetan Esoteric Buddhist Art, 1999, fig. 217, where the author relates the image to the development of Samvara imagery in Buddhism.
The depiction of this esoteric 10-armed form of Shiva is relatively rare in Pala sculpture. Compare to an 8-armed form in the Dacca Museum published by S. Huntington, The 'Pala-Sena' Schools of Sculpture, 1984, fig. 212, where Shiva is identified as Aghora. Also compare with another 10-armed Pala example in the Asutosh Museum, Calcutta, in R. Linrothe, Ruthless Compassion, Wrathful Deities in Early Indo-Tibetan Esoteric Buddhist Art, 1999, fig. 217, where the author relates the image to the development of Samvara imagery in Buddhism.