https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=KshetrapalaKshetrapala - Revision history2026-07-30T20:38:35ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Kshetrapala&diff=454932&oldid=prevEvajzp at 10:31, 28 January 20262026-01-28T10:31:52Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>[[File:Kshetrapala (bhikshatana), proenienza sconosciuta, ix secolo ca.jpg|thumb|348x348px|Sculpture of a kshetrapala]]<br />
{{Short description|Tutelary guardian deity in Indian religions}}<br />
{{use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}{{use Indian English|date=April 2016}}<br />
'''Kshetrapala''' ({{Langx|sa|क्षेत्रपाल|translit=Kṣetrapāla}}) is a guardian deity featured in [[Indian religions]]. In [[Hindu]] belief, a kshetrapala is the guardian deity of consecrated land or farmland.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Monier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uqlRAAAAcAAJ&dq=kshetrapala+tutelary&pg=PA270 |title=A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and philologically arranged with special reference to Greek, Latin, Gothic, German, Anglo-Saxon, and other cognate Indo-European Languages By Monier Williams |date=1872 |publisher=At the Clarendon Press Sold by Macmillan |pages=270 |language=en}}</ref> Kshetrapala became a generic name applied to deities associated with a piece or parcel of land, or a particular region (Sanskrit: {{Lang|sa|Kṣetra}}).<br />
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==Description==<br />
Kshetrapalas are generally found in [[South India]], the Himalayas and in various other part of India like villages of [[Gujarat]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Uttar Pradesh]]. It is worshipped as village deity. Their shrines are commonly present in the north-east corner of a village or a town. Associated with the deity [[Bhairava]], they are portrayed in the nude and accompanied by a [[Shvana|dog]]. They are depicted with three or six eyes, and an even number of hands, which are regarded to be representative of different [[Guṇa|gunas]]. They possess fangs in their mouths and wear a [[Upanayana|sacred thread]] composed of snakes. They carry a sword and a shield, and are often featured with [[Shaivism|Shaiva]] iconography.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stutley |first=Margaret |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vQWQDwAAQBAJ&dq=K%E1%B9%A3etrap%C4%81la&pg=PT205 |title=The Illustrated Dictionary of Hindu Iconography |date=2019-04-09 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-62425-4 |pages=205 |language=en}}</ref><br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[Dharmapala]]<br />
* [[Guardians of the directions|Dikpala]]<br />
* [[Aiyanar|Ayyanar]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==Sources==<br />
*''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'' ({{ISBN|0-500-51088-1}}) by Anna Dallapiccola<br />
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{{HinduMythology}}<br />
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[[Category:Hindu gods]]<br />
[[Category:Buddhist gods]]<br />
[[Category:Tutelary deities]]<br />
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