Kshetrapala ( Pronounced: Xetra pala) is a guardian deity in

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global po ...

. According to Hinduism and

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', the Puranas, and r ...

, Kshetrapala, that is, the lord of the farmland, is a deity who was originally a deity of the farmland, particularly in the

south India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...

. Over a period of time, Kshetrapala became a generic name applied to deities associated with a piece or parcel of land, or a particular region (kshetra in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

). His temples are generally constructed on the northeastern corner of temples devoted to

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...

, and he is worshipped prior to each ritual to ensure the efficacy of that particular ritual.

The image

Kshetrapala's images are awe-inspiring; he is generally depicted naked, and is shown with three eyes and untidy hair. He is displayed with wielding a number of weapons and accompanied by shvans (dogs). He is sometimes identified with

Bhairava Bhairava (Sanskrit: भैरव ) or Kala Bhairava is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshiped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva associated with annihilation. In Trika system ''Bhai ...

. Kshetrapala temple is also situated in the village Khadagada, Tehsil Sagwara, district Dungerpur, Rajasthan.

Notes

References

*''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'' () by Anna Dallapiccola {{Hindu-myth-stub Hindu gods Buddhist gods

The image

See also

Notes

References