NORTHEASTERN INDIA, PALA PERIOD, 12TH CENTURY

Compare to a similar Pala sculpture in S. Kramrisch, Manifestations of Shiva, 1981, p. 83, where the author identifies the scene as Shiva Grahapati (Lord of the House), one of Shiva's avatars. A sage and his wife, Suchismati, worshipped a lingam in the hopes of producing a son with Shiva's qualities. Shiva, hearing the prayers, appeared above the lingam reborn as a young child. S. Huntington illustrates another example in The "Pala-Sena" Schools of Sculpture, 1984, p. 185, fig. 248, and notes that the correct identification of the figures has been subject to debate. Epigraphic evidence also suggests that the scene depicted is Gauri with Sadyojata Shiva.