Image of lord Shiva

Bihar is home to very elaborate figurative terracotta sculptures. The most striking terracottas of Bihar come from Darbhanga where large, painted figures of elephants, horses and mythological characters, related to the cult of Raja Salhesh , are produced for installation at Salhesh shrines of the Paswans, a community of service-rendering groups. Uttam Paswan of Jitwarpur village in Madhubani District narrates one of several versions of the local legend that suggests that Raja Salhesh and his two brothers were divine beings incarnated as princes. Collecting flowers for their daily worship, one morning, they were approached by three flower girls of celestial beauty, named Reshma, Kushma and Dauna. The girls came with offers of matrimony, but the brothers refused as they had taken a vow of celibacy. The three sisters were offended and as vengeance captured Salhesh by using their magical powers. They plotted to get him arrested under the false charge of kidnapping a princess and stealing her golden bed. Salhesh's sister Banspati, an incarnation of goddess Durga, freed her brother and his companions from prison. Eventually, Salhesh and his brothers, their guard, the three flower girls and Banspati formed a divine pantheon, and are worshipped in Bihar by the Dusadh, Paswan and other communities.

The figure represented here is that of Mahadev/Shiva as found in the shrines dedicated to Raja Salhesh.