🕉️ Iconography Guide

How to identify a deity in sculpture: attributes (ayudha), vahana (mount), shakti (consort), and major forms.

Deity Identification Table

Deity	Vahana	Shakti	Key Attributes

Featured Form Deep-Dives

Shiva as Lord of Dance — 4-arm cosmic dance analysis

Ardhanarishvara

The half-male half-female form — union of Shiva and Shakti

Aniconic form — cosmic pillar, yoni-pitha, tripartite division