Beyond Śiva: Morphological Evidence of Śiva–Buddha Syncretism in Java (14th-15th Centuries CE)

Ashar Murdihastomo1* and Atina Winaya2

This article examines a statue from the National Museum of Indonesia (inventory no. 5621), long identified as a representation of the Hindu deity Śiva, an identification that warrants reconsideration due to the ambiguous attribute (laksana) held in the rear right hand. Although commonly interpreted as a trident (triśūla), a typical Śiva attribute, the object’s morphology more closely resembles a vajra, a key symbol in Buddhist iconography. Using a descriptive–analytical approach, this study analyses the statue’s visual and formal characteristics and compares them with other sculptures from fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Java. Archaeological and textual sources from this period indicate that deceased rulers and royal figures were frequently commemorated as deities such as Buddha, Śiva, Harihara, or Pārvatī, reflecting specific religious affiliations. However, sculptural representations that explicitly merge Śaiva and Buddhist identities within a single figure remain rare and insufficiently studied. Based on the ambiguous iconographic features observed, this article proposes that statue no. 5621 may represent a Śiva–Buddha syncretic figure rather than a purely Śaiva image. This case highlights the complexity of religious visual expression in late classical Javanese art and suggests the need for further systematic reassessment of statues that have been classified exclusively within a single religious tradition despite exhibiting syncretic characteristics.