Bhairav

Bhairav

 10th -11th Century AD. Kota Museum

              Bhairav was born out of the locks of Lord Shiva. In anger, Lord Shiva had struck a rock with his locks and out came Bhairav.  This character  is recognised  by his hair style.  While the hair of the gods are well kept and are tied in a bun, Bhairav 's hair are loose and  generally go upwards as in this piece. At times he is shown as a bearded person with big eyes. He is an important figure in Tantrism. He represents the destructive  power--the power to kill evil. His "damaru" represents  'Time'. For, Time kills every thing. Although a ferocious  figure, but he is a positive  force which gets rid of the bad elements