Manikkavacakar (Colombo National Museum)
The bronze representing Manikkavacakar or Manikka Vachaka Swami (Tamil: மாணிக்கவாசகர்; Sinhala: මාාණික්කවාසගර්), is presently on display in the Gallery of Polonnaruwa Period in Colombo National Museum , Sri Lanka. It was discovered from the premises of Siva Devale No. 1 in Polonnaruwa Ancient City (Coomaraswamy, 1914). Saiva devotees in South India played a singular role in the development of Saivism between the period 6-10th centuries A.D. and Manikkavacakar was one of them. He was a 9th-century Tamil saint and poet who wrote Tiruvasakam, a book of Shaiva hymns. He was also the prime minister of the Pandiyan King [Varagunavarman II (c. 862-885 A.D.)] of Madurai (Arunachalam, 2004). The elegantly modeled solid cast copper bronze with a lotus pedestal is 54.2 cm in height (Arunachalam, 2004; Coomaraswamy, 1914). The upper body of it is naked but ornamented with necklaces and Upavita (sacred thread). The hair is matted and the upper parts of the legs are covered tightly by a short cloth. T…
