Many are familiar with the three faces of Siva, called
Trimurthi, where He is depicted as Creator, Preserver and
Dissolutioner (Yes, it’s in the Fictionary.) Fewer know the Five
Faces of Sadasiva, also called Pancha Brahma. It is a
mysterious, profound depiction of the Divine One, which the
monks are preparing a major article in Hinduism Today for
Twenty-Eleven. The faces are named Isana, Tatpurusha, Agora,
Vamadeva and Sadyojata. This form of Siva adds two faces to the
better-known Trimurthi, and two cosmic powers or potencies:
Concealing Grace and Revealing Grace. These five faces are often
seen on lingams, with four facing the cardinal directions and
the fifth facing upward. These five faces and powers are central
to the Agamas’ understanding of the cosmos, a hidden key to
worship and puja, and our sculptors in India are just finishing
making five of them in metal, to adorn the five niches
surrounding the Iraivan sanctum. Here is the architectís drawing
of Vamadeva, and the resulting metal murthi. Bodhinat