This is a dancing image of the Shaivite saint Sambandar, one of the 64 Nayanmars, devotional (bhakti) saints from Tamil Nadu, South India. The pose is similar to that of Krishna dancing with a butterball (Navaneeta Krishna) or as Krishna dancing on the hoods of the serpent Kaliya (Kaliya Mardana). Both images strike a dance-like pose with a raised leg and a relaxed hand gesture. The pointed right finger in this figure represents kevala gnana (knowledge of the Supreme Being). This bronze in particular is a very beautiful example of classic Chola (9th–13th centuries) art.
