Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Aramat Baithak Murti (4 inch) – Multicolour Car Dashboard Idol

Almost every Shivaji Maharaj murti you will find shows the warrior. Sword out, horse running, face set for battle.

This one shows the king resting.

He is sitting back on the gadi, one knee up, shela loose over the shoulder. Same Maharaj — just not in the middle of a fight. On a dashboard or a mandir shelf it feels different. Calmer. More like he is actually sitting there with you.

Look closely and you will see where the price sits: small tulip work across the cream angarkha, three strands of pearls at the throat, the blue kalgi in the jiretop, gold banding on every bolster. Full colour, not single-tone.

4 inches tall on a 4.9 inch base — wide and flat, so it stays steady on a dashboard and still holds its own as a centrepiece on a shelf.

• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in a relaxed baithak (aramat) pose on bolster cushions
• 4 inch height · 4.9 inch width · 4 inch depth
• Full multicolour with fine detail on the angarkha, pearls, kalgi and bolsters
• Wide flat base — car dashboard, home mandir, study desk or office
• Selected from artisan clusters across India

A good gift for Shiv Jayanti, a new car, or someone shifting into a new home.

The face decides it. Most idols in the market come from a small number of moulds that have been copied and re-copied until the jawline softens and the eyes lose their definition. We list a murti only when its face still looks like someone you can recognise from across a room.

The base decides where it can live. Most of these murtis end up on a car dashboard rather than on a shelf, so we look for a base that is wide enough and flat enough to sit steady on a slope.

The finish has to survive a parked car. One afternoon behind glass in May is harder on a finish than years on a mandir shelf. If a murti looks tired after that, we do not list it.

We do not discount what we reject. If a murti is not good enough to send you, we do not sell it at a lower price instead. We simply do not sell it.

On a car dashboard. The base matters more than the height. A wide, flat base stays steady on a sloping dashboard, while a narrow one shifts and topples the first time you brake hard. Check the height against your windscreen line before you choose a larger size.

Heat. A parked car in May becomes hot enough to soften a poor finish. The finishes we choose hold their colour, but a sunshade is still worth using on hot afternoons.

At home. Most mandir shelves are 8 to 12 inches deep, so measure the depth rather than the width. Height is rarely the constraint; depth almost always is.

Light. An antique finish looks best when the light falls from the front and slightly above. A diya at the base does this naturally, while a ceiling light directly overhead flattens the detail.

Dispatch. We dispatch six days a week. Most orders arrive in three to eight days, and the exact day depends on where the order is going.

Packing. Every murti is double-boxed and held in a foam cradle cut to its shape. This is the most expensive part of fulfilling an order, and it is the reason breakages are rare.

If it arrives damaged. Record a video while you open the parcel, starting before you cut the tape. Send us that video on WhatsApp and we will send a replacement. You will not have to argue with the courier, fill in a form, or pay anything to return the damaged murti. We cannot process a claim without the video.

What a replacement covers. Damage in transit. We are not able to take a murti back once it has reached you undamaged, so please check the size on this page before you order. If you are unsure, send us a photo of the space on WhatsApp and we will tell you which size fits.

Cash on delivery. Available anywhere in India. You pay ₹59 online to confirm the order and the balance at your door.

Dust the murti with a dry, soft cloth. For the crown and the jewellery detail, a shaving brush reaches further than a duster.

Do not use soap, alcohol or metal polish. The antique layer is deliberately thin, and these solvents lift it.

Kumkum and oil marks come off with a slightly damp cloth if you clean them the same day.

Indoors, the colour holds indefinitely. On a dashboard, a sunshade on hot afternoons will keep it that way.