Kalyanasundara

The Kalyanasundara icon is not the object of popular worship and is usually used only in the celebrations of the divine wedding in annual temple festivals.

Taking advantage of the situation, the asura (demon) king Tarakasura secured from the god Brahma the boon that he could be killed only by the son of Shiva.

As an angry Parvati was about to leave, Shiva revealed his true form to her and promised to marry her, pleased with her love and devotion.

Shiva wears a jata-mukuta (a headdress formed of piled, matted hair) on his head, adorned with a crescent moon.

[3] The god Vishnu and his consorts Lakshmi and Bhudevi should be represented as taking the place of Parvati's parents in the ceremony.

He holds his usual attributes, the Sudarshana Chakra (discus) and the Panchajanya (conch), in his back arms.

Vishnu's wives, dressed in royal finery, stand behind Parvati and hold her waist, symbolising the handing over.

[3] The four-headed god Brahma should be shown seated on the ground in the foreground officiating as the wedding priest and making offerings to the homa (sacred fire) in the kunda (fire-altar).

Sometimes as in the Elephanta Caves, Parvati's biological father Himavan, instead of Vishnu, is depicted giving away his daughter to Shiva.

The vahanas (mounts) of the couple, Shiva's bull Nandi and Parvati's lion, are sometimes pictured in the scene.

[6][7] An anachronism found in a few Kalyanasundara scenes is the presence of the yet-unborn children of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha and Kartikeya.

Examples of this anachronism are found at the Rameshvara Cave of Ellora, and in a 9th-century sculpture from Uttar Pradesh now housed in Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

[4][6] Though Kalyanasundara icons are found across India in caves, sculptures and temple walls, no sect is centred on their worship.