Deity Note / Representation

if you have a picture or idol of Dakshinamurthy, make sure it has the following characteristics: Sitting, usually beneath a Pipal tree. surrounded by seven or four sages.That is because he is "Mrityunjaya", conquerer of death. And South is the direction of Yama, the God of Death.

http://www.adi-shankara.org/2008/02/lord-dakshinamurthy.html