Door guardian (dvarapala)

Hindu temples in southern India often had a pair of door guardians like this flanking their entrances. This guardian would have been at the right side of an entrance twisting toward the door. Door guardians carry weapons like this club, and they have fierce features such as fangs and wild hair to suggest their power to ward off evil. This door guardian is a major example of the early sculpture of the great Chola kingdom of southeastern India (862–1310).