The Great Goddess Durga Slaying the Buffalo Demon (Mahishasuramardini)

Currently not on view

The Great Goddess Durga Slaying the Buffalo Demon (Mahishasuramardini)

c. 1750

Artist/maker unknown, Indian

This painting, which originated in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, far from Nepal, demonstrates the popularity of the iconic form of Mahishasuramardini across the subcontinent. In this colorful illustration, the many-armed goddess leaps from her feline vehicle and slices through the neck of the buffalo demon. Splashing out through the blood, the demon emerges in his human form, although green and with horns. Across South Asia, the water buffalo is thought to embody ignorance, laziness, and pollution; it is associated with blood and is the vahana (vehicle) of Yama, God of Death. Although domestic water buffalo have long provided milk and agricultural power, ancient texts describe them as a nondomesticated species, representing the chaos of wilderness and the absence of cosmic order.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

The Great Goddess Durga Slaying the Buffalo Demon (Mahishasuramardini)

Date:

c. 1750

Artist:

Artist/maker unknown, Indian

Medium:

Opaque watercolor and gold- and silver-colored metallic paint on paper

Dimensions:

Image: 9 7/8 × 11 inches (25.1 × 27.9 cm) Sheet: 10 11/16 × 12 3/8 inches (27.1 × 31.4 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

Stella Kramrisch Collection, 1994

Accession Number:

1994-148-390

Geography:

Made in Kota, Rajasthan, India, Asia

Context:

Dynasty: Hada Chauhan Dynasty, Kota (1631-1948/1949?)

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Currently not on view