Champa cultural artifact recognized as national treasure

The Kala relief is found in a relic excavation site at Ba Mountain in Phu Yen Province.

The artifact, dating back 700 years, was found in a relic excavation site at Ba Mountain in My Thanh Dong Hamlet, Hoa Phong Commune, Tay Hoa District in the central coastal province of Phu Yen in 1993.

The Kala Tympanum relief from Ba Mountain is a stone sculpture that weighs 105 kilograms, measuring 60 centimeters in height, 44 centimeters in width at its base, and 17 centimeters in thickness.

The relief was carved with the face of Kala Bhairava, which is considered one of the manifestations or forms of Lord Shiva, the supreme deity in Hinduism. She is the goddess of death, time, and transformation, a force of nature who embodies destruction and creation in their most primal forms. The Kala's head is often placed on top of the temples and towers in the holy sites of the Cham people.

According to archaeologists, the Kala relief from Ba Mountain showcases Thap Mam sculpture style, also referred to as Binh Dinh sculpture, which dates back to the 14th century.

By Ngoc Oai—Translated by Kim Khanh