What is the symbolic representation of the headless warrior riding a horse or standing beside Goddess Palaghat in the Warli painting?

Guardian of the fields (Khetrapal)

Answer: Guardian of the fields (Khetrapal)
The headless warrior in the Warli painting symbolizes the guardian of the fields, known as Khetrapal.

Closely associated with the rituals of marriage, fertility, harvest and new season of sowing, Chowk is dominated by the figure of mother goddess, Palaghat, who is chiefly worshipped as the goddess of fertility and represents the corn goddess, Kansari. She is enclosed in a small square frame decorated with ‘pointed’ chevrons along the outer edges that symbolise Hariyali Deva, i.e., the God of Plants. Her escort and guardian is visualised as a headless warrior, riding a horse or standing beside her with five shoots of corn springing from his neck, and hence, called Panch Sirya Devata (five-headed god). He also symbolises the guardian of the fields, Khetrapal. The central motif of Palaghat is surrounded by scenes of everyday life, portraying acts of hunting, fishing, farming, dancing, mythological stories of animals, where the tiger is conspicuously visible, scenes of buses plying and the busy urban life of Mumbai as people of Warli see around them.