SOLD Shiva Flying from the Heavens with Ganga 18" (#57b68): Lotus Sculpture
My Cart: 0 item(s)

Product Search
FREE UPS GROUND SHIPPING - SAME DAY SHIPPING DIRECTLY FROM CALIFORNIA FREE UPS GROUND SHIPPING*
Product Search
Product Search

Secure Checkout
SOLD Shiva Flying from the Heavens with Ganga 18"
Item# 57b68

SOLD Shiva Flying from the Heavens with Ganga 18"

Purchase SOLD Shiva Flying from the Heavens with Ganga 18"
  • Sold This statue is sold. We may have another statue that is similar or we may be able to commission another for you. Please contact us at [email protected] or 760-994-4455 if you are interested in learning more.
  • View Your Wishlist

Statue Details
Materials: South Indian Bronze
Total Height Including Base: 18 inches
Base Width & Depth: 10 x 6 inches
Weight: 16 pounds
This is a contemporary take on Shiva guiding the river Ganga down from the heavens to safely fall on earth.  It shows Shiva falling downward out of the sky towards earth.   In Shiva's hand he holds Agni, the fire god and a dhamru or a drum.   The front right hand is in the abhaya-mudra (the "fear not" gesture, made by holding the palm outward with fingers pointing up).  His left hand is firmly planted on the dwarf of Ignorance, apasmara.  There is a prahabhamandala or fiery arch surrounding Shiva.  This piece was not made during Chola times.  It was first made in Tamil Nadu in the late 1980's.  The design has inspired many artisans to copy this murti.  It is both a beautiful and inspiring design.

The story of the river Ganga and Shiva:  The river Ganges that flows in  Nataraja's hair originally flowed in heaven. When the heavenly Ganges was needed on earth, she was unwilling to fall to earth because she realized that her fall from heaven would be too much for the earth to withstand.  Shiva as  Nataraja agreed to break the violent power of the sacred Ganga's fall by catching her in his tangled hair, breaking the fall with his hair on its way to the Himalayas and Northern India. 

Lost Wax Method:  This sculpture is a one of a kind, lost wax method bronze statue hand made by the artists of South India.  The sculpture pictured is the only sculpture Lotus Sculpture has like this in our store.  When you order this piece you will receive this exact sculpture.  It is truly one of a kind as there is only one made exactly like this!  Each bronze is hand made by a group of bronze artists whose families have been crafting bronze sculptures for centuries with the art being passed on by each generation.  The hand crafted bronzes statues have an incredible amount of detail which many other mass produced, brass Hindu statues lack.  Lost Wax South Indian bronze statues are the only sculptures used by Hindu temples throughout India and the world.  Click here to learn more about the Lost Wax Method.

I always say to our customers; The sculpture chooses you, you do not choose the sculpture.
You just know when you find the right piece to bring into your home and into your heart.
- Kyle Tortora, Founder of Lotus Sculpture
Shiva the Destroyer (Sanskrit: Auspicious One), or Siva, is one of the main Deities of Hinduism, worshipped as the paramount lord by the Saivite sects of India. Shiva is one of the most complex gods of India, embodying seemingly contradictory qualities. He is the destroyer and the restorer, the great ascetic and the symbol of sensuality, the benevolent herdsman of souls and the wrathful avenger.
Shiva was originally known as Rudra, a minor deity addressed only three times in the Rig Veda.  He gained importance after absorbing some of the characteristics of an earlier fertility god and became Shiva, part of the trinity, or trimurti, with Vishnu and Brahma.
Shiva wears a snake coiled around his upper arms and neck symbolizing the power he has over the most deadly of creatures. Snakes are also used to symbolize the Hindu dogma of reincarnation. Their natural process of molting or shedding their skin is symbolic of the human soul's transmigration of bodies from one life to another.
Shiva's female consort and wife is Parvati; because of his generosity and reverence towards Parvati, Shiva is considered an ideal role model for a husband. The divine couple together with their sons - the six-headed Skanda and the elephant headed Ganesh - reside on Mount Kailasa in the Himalayas. 
His guardian is Nandi (the white bull), whose statue can often be seen watching over the main shrine.  The bull is said to embody sexual energy, fertility.  Riding on its back, Shiva is in control of these impulses.
He often holds a trident, which represents the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu.  It is also said to represent the threefold qualities of nature: creation, preservation and destruction, although preservation is usually attributed to Vishnu.
As the destroyer, Shiva is dark and terrible, encircled with serpents and a crown of skulls.
Shiva often wears sacred Rudaksha beads, perhaps a reference to his earlier name Rudra.
The crescent moon Shiva wears on his crown, besides being a symbol of Kama the goddess of nightly love, also represents the bull, Nandi, a fertility symbol.
Shiva holds a skull that represents samsara, the cycle of life, death and rebirth.  Samsara is a central belief in Hinduism.  Shiva himself also represents this complete cycle because he is Mahakala, the Lord of Time, destroying and creating all things.
Shiva is represented in a variety of forms.  One such form is as a lingam.  The ovoid shape is a representation of the absolute perfection of Lord Shiva - if that which is beyond form had to be given form, the lingam would be the closest form to the mystical experience of the absolute perfection of Shiva.   Shiva is often pictured in a pacific mood with his consort Parvati, as the cosmic dancer Nataraja, as a naked ascetic, as a mendicant beggar, as a yogi, and as the androgynous union of Shiva and Parvati in one body (Ardhanarisvara).
Another example of Shiva's apparent synthesis of male and female attributes is seen in his earrings.  He wears one earring in the style of a man and the other as a female.
Shiva's third eye is a symbol of higher consciousness.  It is also a weapon he uses to destroy his enemies by emitting a fire missile which has the power to incinerate the three worlds.  He can also kill all the gods and other creatures during the periodic destruction of the universe.  Shiva's third eye first appeared when Parvati, his wife, playfully covered his other two eyes, so Shiva opened his third eye emitting his destructive missile endangering the three worlds.

USA Shipping

This sculpture is in our Oceanside, California store and ready for immediate shipping. The shipping charge is automatically calculated by UPS for shipping within the United States. Each sculpture is usually shipped within 24 hours of the order with the exception of the weekend.
You can obtain a shipping quote for any statue by clicking the link, Calculate Shipping beneath to the Add To Cart button on every statues' page.  Besides the shipping price, the results will also display the date the statue will arrive at your home. Lotus Sculpture uses Instapak foam injection packing system or bubble wrap and recycled peanuts to ensure that all our pieces arrive undamaged. Click here to learn more about Lotus Sculptures packing.


International Shipping

This sculpture is in our Oceanside, California store and ready for immediate shipping to anywhere in the world. ​International shipping charges will be calculated automatically upon checkout. ​
You can obtain a shipping quote for any statue by clicking the link, Calculate Shipping beneath to the Add To Cart button on every statues' page.  Or you can email [email protected] or call us 760-994-4455 to receive a shipping quote. Please include the item number of the statue you are interested in purchasing as well as your country and postal code.​ Lotus Sculpture uses Instapak foam injection packing system or bubble wrap and recycled peanuts to ensure that all our pieces arrive undamaged. Click here to learn more about Lotus Sculptures packing.

SOLD Shiva Flying from the Heavens with Ganga 18"

Free UPS Ground Shipping SALE!

For a limited time we are offering free UPS Ground shipping on all orders within the 48 States. International customers will receive a 40% discount off the price of shipping. This discount will be extended to our Canadian customers as well!

Items weighing over 150 pounds including packing materials will be shipped using a freight service. Domestic Freight will be discounted by 35%!

Your message has been sent. Thank you for sharing!

SOLD Shiva Flying from the Heavens with Ganga 18"

*The rate given above is an approximate conversion rate and does not represent an exact conversion from your currency to $USD.