The Maharaja of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wodeyar III (b. 1794 - d. 1868) was a great patron of art and learning and was himself a scholar and writer. There are around 50 works ascribed to him. The Maharaja funded an effort to put together in one work all available information concerning the iconography and iconometry of divine figures in South India. The resulting manuscript, which he titled Sritattvanidhi, brings together several forms of Shiva, Subramanya, Ganapathy, different goddesses, the nine planets (Navagrahas) and the eight protectors of the cardinal points (aṣṭadikpālas). The sculptural representations of these forms can be found in Sri Srikanteshwara temple, Nanjangudu. In the outer precincts of the temple, on the Eastern side we have stucco sculptures of Bramha, four dikpalakas on one side and the remaining four dikpalakas, Vishnu and Bhairava on the other side of the entrance, installed around the 20-ft high wall .
