Kirtimukha at Kasivisvesvara Temple at Lakkundi, Gadag district, Karnataka, India
Kirtimukha (Sanskrit: कीर्तिमुख ,kīrtimukha, also kīrttimukha, a bahuvrihi compound translating to "glorious face") is the name of a swallowing fierce monster face with huge fangs, and gaping mouth, very common in the iconography of Hindu temple architecture in Nepal, India and Southeast Asia, and often also found in Buddhist architecture.[1]
Unlike other Hindu legendary creatures, for example the makara sea-monster, the kirtimukha is essentially an ornamental motif in art, which has its origin in a legend from the Skanda Purana and the Shiva Purana.
Kirtimukha (Sanskrit: कीर्तिमुख ,kīrtimukha, also kīrttimukha, a bahuvrihi compound translating to "glorious face") is the name of a swallowing fierce...
a thunderous sound and a great lion-like monster from his brow named Kirtimukha. The monster chased and seized Rahu with the intention of devouring him...
The arch emerges up from the jaws of one Makara, rises to its peak, the Kirtimukha (the 'Face of Glory'), and descends into the gaping jaws of another Makara...
drawn because the image of the Sun God Surya exists below the little Kirtimukhas (gargoyle faces) on the temple's eastern wall (back wall). However, a...
his four hands. He is well adorned with a crown engraved with multiple Kirtimukha images which can often be seen being overlapped by a silver crown. The...
jaliwork, scrollwork, sikshadana scene (sages teaching disciples) and kirtimukha (a monster face) motifs, along with the figurines of eight Dikpalas (guardian...
earth or something related to the earth. Bhoma is basically the Balinese kirtimukha. In Balinese temple architecture, Bhoma has the same function as the Javanese...
children born out of wedlock. Batara Kala's function, especially as a Kirtimukha, has been considered similar to Bhoma in Indian and Balinese Hinduism...
sixteen sided shaft and then a circular shaft decorated with a band of the kirtimukhas. It is crowned by the capital with dripping leaves ornamentation separated...
from the Hindu epics and deities or in their use of motifs such as yali, kirtimukha (gargoyles), aedicula (miniature decorative towers) on pilaster, makara...
mouldings with well-decorated friezes. The decorations can be floral, Kirtimukha shapes (demon faces), geese, elephants and occasionally human figures...
all-devouring aspect and associated with the destructive side of the god Shiva. Kirtimukha is the name of a swallowing fierce monster face with huge fangs, and gaping...
that dominate the facades of Hindu and Buddhist temples. These faces or Kirtimukhas, 'Visages of Glory', are intended to ward off evil and are associated...
idiom in later Hoysala temples. They popularised the use of decorative Kirtimukha (demon faces) in their sculptures. Famous architects in the Hoysala kingdom...
jagamohana hall of this temple a peculiar Kirtimukha head is carved on brick. From the mouth of this kirtimukha a bunches of leaves are flowing down. Such...
metres in height and 0.88 metres in width. A broken amalaka and stone carved with kirtimukha are in front of the temple. List of Shiva temples in India...
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