The 'festival image': the portable (usually bronze) form of a temple deity, carried out of the sanctum in procession during festivals, as distinct from the fixed stone image (mula-murti) in the shrine. The Chola lost-wax bronzes, including the Nataraja, are the supreme examples.

Where this term appears

• The Chola Age and the Temple as Institution History →

  They cast these as utsava-murtis , "festival images," the portable form of the god that is carried out of the dark sanctum in procession through the streets, dressed and garlanded and shown to the people — the …

← All terms · Search the site