Sculpture of a six-handed Bhairava in a devakoshtha (niche) on the right-side wall of the entrance gateway to the Mahanaleshwar complex. The attributes that Bhairava holds include a kapala (human skull), a khatvanga (staff with a human skull), a damru (hourglass-shaped drum), a khadga (dagger), a dhal (shield), and a talwar (a type of sword). The Bhairava sculpture is flanked by a dog and a skeletal figure.
Pictured here is the north-facing view of the two-storeyed entrance gateway of the Mahanaleshwar temple complex. It is a semi-open space with a porch on the ground floor, a plain balcony with dwarf walls on the first floor, and a canopy with a pyramidical spire on the top.