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The Saivaite Deity Ksetrapala

By Chintaharan Chakravarti

Vol. 9 · No. 1March - 1933pp. 237–243English

Summary

This essay examines the figure of Kṣetrapāla, a protective deity in Śaiva tradition. Kṣetrapāla, literally ‘guardian of the field’, appears in the Agamas and Tantras as a fierce form of Śiva who defends sacred spaces and boundary lands. The author describes the iconography of Kṣetrapāla: he is often depicted naked or clad in a tiger skin, with matted hair, holding a skull bowl, trident and drum, and accompanied by goblins. The article surveys references in the Brahmayāmala and Kularṇava Tantras that prescribe rituals to Kṣetrapāla for protection against malevolent spirits and for the safeguarding of temples and cremation grounds. It discusses regional variations, noting that in Tamil Nadu Kṣetrapāla shrines are found at the edges of villages and are associated with folk deities. The author argues that Kṣetrapāla represents the liminal aspect of Śiva and embodies the idea that the sacred requires guardianship.

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Conclusion

By tracing textual references and iconographic evidence, the article shows that Kṣetrapāla is a distinctive Śaiva deity embodying protection and boundary keeping. Understanding his role enhances our appreciation of the ritual geography of Hindu temples and villages.

Key passages

Chosen by AI from the article's text. Each one is checked word for word against the text before it is shown.

  • “The deity Ksetrapila, whicli is at present 11105 transferred to the domain of folk-deilies and little known to students of Hindu religion, appears 10 have at one 11036 ocenpied દ position of no menn importance in the Hindu pantheon.”
  • “Ksetrapala appears 10 be a Saivite deity from the descriptions that are 1121 with in various works. In aone place 8૯ 15 definitely called a son 01 Siva (§ambhu-tanaya)® According to the Linge Purana® Ksetrapila is an incornation कई Siva.”
  • “11૯ deity enjoys immense popularity all over Iundia and is worshipped under diflerent popular names and forms, Nhetpal (1'ru- tecior of the fields), Khera (the homestead wound), Bliuniyi (the”

Works cited in this article

  1. Catalogus Catalogorum (1. p. i34, 111. 1. 29)
  2. Asefredapiijona
  3. Keetrapidlapaddhats
  4. ANsetrapilatantra
  5. Kularadamani (Notices of Sonskrit Mss., H. 2. Sastri, 1, 70)

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In this issue

Vol. 9 · No. 1
1–10Notes on the Guhyasamaja‑Tantra and the Age of the TantrasMaurice Winternitz11–17The Kingdom of KiraRamesh Chandra Majumdar18–21Maha‑Pralaya and Last JudgmentAnanda Kentish Coomaraswamy22–29Mepputtur Narayana BhattatiriK. Rama Pisharoti30–31The Madhyamikas and the TathataLouis de La Vallée Poussin32–36Avadana and ApadanaEdward J. Thomas37–39The Karddamaka KingsHem Chandra Raychaudhuri40–45What a Deity RepresentsBiswanath Bhattacharya46–48On some Tibetan names of the BuddhaF. Otto Schneider49–62Muhammad Bakhtyar's Expedition to TibetNalini Kanta Bhattasali63–75The Tamil Sangam in a Pandyan Charter of the early Tenth Century A.D.S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar76–87Remarks on the Fourth Rock Edict of AsokaJarl Charpentier88–91Satvant, Satvata and NasatyaJean Przyluski92–97The Nagavamsis of CakrakotyaHiralal Jain98–102A Note on Krsnadasa Kaviraja’s Caitanya‑CaritamrtaSushil Kumar De103The Phalius Worship in the VedaVidhushekhara Bhattacharya104–106TapasVidhushekhara Bhattacharya107–112New Contributions to the Interpretation of the MahavamsaWilhelm Geiger113–120The Yerragudi Copy of Asoka’s Minor Rock EdictB. M. Barua121–130The Pratihara AdministrationRamashankar Tripathi131Indo‑European 'kh' in Sanskrit and AvestanMuhammad Shahidullah132–136Did Tailapa II Defeat a Cedi King?V. V. Mirashi137–140Akbar as a Sun‑WorshipperHirananda Sastri141–144Note on a Newly‑Discovered Taxila InscriptionHarit Krishna Deb145–148A Note on the Girdharpur Brahmi Inscription of the Year 28Sten Konow149–153Notion of Time in Hindu PhilosophySukumar Ranjan Das154–156The Nati of PataliputraA. Banerji - Sastri157–160The Monetary System of the Mughal TimesGottlieb L. Schanzlin161–169Identification of some Brahmanical SculpturesDhirendra Chandra Ganguly170–187A Study of the Twenty Aspects of SunyataEugéne Obermiller188–196Sri Krsna and the Source of the BhagavadgitaAmar Nath Roy197–201Who was the Gupta contemporary of the Kadamba King Kakusthavarman?N. Lakshminarayan Rao202–207Two Saura Images from the District of 24-ParganasKalidas Datta208–214Epigraphic Notes – Genealogy of the SalankayanasDineshchandra Sircar215–226Formal Elements in Indian InscriptionsOtto Stein227–236The Buddhist Manuscripts at GilgitNalinaksha Dutt237–243The Saivaite Deity KsetrapalaChintaharan ChakravartiCurrent article244–252Some political Ideas in the Tamil Work (Kural)C. S. Srinivasachari253–265Some Linguistic NotesP. C. Bagchi266–272HetucakranirnayaDurgacharan Chatterji273–278Epigraphic Notes – Genealogy of the VisnukundinsDineshchandra Sircar279–281Some Technical Terms of Sanskrit GrammarKshitish Chandra Chatterjee282–289The Mainamati Copper‑plate Ranavankamalla Harikaladeva (1i41 SSaka).Dinesh Chandra Bhattacharya290–299The Samkarṣa Kāṇḍa—A genuine Supplement to the Pūrva-mimāmsā ŚāstraV. A. Ramaswami Sastri300–306The Pusti‑marga of VallabhaG. H. Bhatt307–416Dr. Haraprasad Sastri (1853–1931) and ApendixNarendra Nath Law—An Image from Bodh Gaya and Appendix

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