The Mukhalingas: Transcendental Images of Shiva Including Bhairava

From the Preface: The Mukhalingas were first of all appreciated, systematically documented, collected in 60’s and published by late Sri  K. C Aryan and brought into the limelight through his magnum opus, Folk Bronzes of North-Western India in 1973. Prior to that, they were lying in obscurity, utter negligence. The most unfortunate part is that several of these priceless bronzes were being melted by scrap dealers due to minor damages. As the demand for the Mukhalingas constantly grew, many were replaced with replicas for devotees to worship and sold to antique hunters by the unethical trustees of the privately managed temples.

Utmost efforts have been expended on the selection of the most representative specimens from extremely vast collection of our museum.  This has also been an arduous task for us.