Kshetrapala

Tutelary guardian deity in Indian religions

Kshetrapala (Sanskrit: क्षेत्रपाल, romanized: Kṣetrapāla) is a guardian deity featured in Indian religions. In Hindu belief, a kshetrapala is the guardian deity of consecrated land or farmland.^[1] Kshetrapala became a generic name applied to deities associated with a piece or parcel of land, or a particular region (Sanskrit: Kṣetra).

Description

Kshetrapalas are generally found in South India, the Himalyas and in various other part of India. It is worshipped as village deity. Their shrines are commonly present in the north-east corner of a village or a town. Associated with the deity Bhairava, they are portrayed in the nude and accompanied by a dog. They are depicted with three or six eyes, and an even number of hands, which are regarded to be representative of different gunas. They possess fangs in their mouths and wear a sacred thread composed of snakes. They carry a sword and a shield, and are often featured with Shaiva iconography.^[2]

References

^ Williams, Monier (1872). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and philologically arranged with special reference to Greek, Latin, Gothic, German, Anglo-Saxon, and other cognate Indo-European Languages By Monier Williams. At the Clarendon Press Sold by Macmillan. p. 270.
^ Stutley, Margaret (9 April 2019). The Illustrated Dictionary of Hindu Iconography. Routledge. p. 205. ISBN 978-0-429-62425-4.