Mask of Vaikuntha Vishnu, late 5th century. Learn more about 5th century masks
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The vahana (mount) of the Hindu deity, Shiva, he is represented in the form of a white bull. In Hindu mythology, he is the chief attendant of Shiva. Within temples dedicated to Shiva, he appears as a sculpture of a seated bull, which faces the sanctum sanctorum. In the anthropomorphic form, he is known as Nandikesvara and is depicted with a bull’s head and a human body with four arms.