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Source Description
These three goddesses powerfully embody "shakti," the divine feminine energy that activates the cosmos, according to many traditions of Hindu thought. The central goddess, with a pyramid of animal heads, is an esoteric form of Kali, squatting on a jackal and dominating over a prostrate Bhairava, an angry form of the god Shiva. On the left is another form of the dark blue Kali, standing atop a male corpse. To the right is Durga, vanquishing the buffalo demon with the help of her lion. Below each goddess is a "yantra," a sacred diagram that functions as a tool to focus the mind during meditation. In Hindu Tantra, each goddess is associated with a specific yantra that serves as her geometric representation. Devotees worship a goddess both in her figural form and as her yantra. The clothing that these devotees wear marks them as members of Nepali royalty.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
9790
label
Hindu Goddesses
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
9790
sourceUrl
contentType
drawing
stage
normalized
title
Hindu Goddesses
description
These three goddesses powerfully embody "shakti," the divine feminine energy that activates the cosmos, according to many traditions of Hindu thought. The central goddess, with a pyramid of animal heads, is an esoteric form of Kali, squatting on a jackal and dominating over a prostrate Bhairava, an angry form of the god Shiva. On the left is another form of the dark blue Kali, standing atop a male corpse. To the right is Durga, vanquishing the buffalo demon with the help of her lion. Below each goddess is a "yantra," a sacred diagram that functions as a tool to focus the mind during meditation. In Hindu Tantra, each goddess is associated with a specific yantra that serves as her geometric representation. Devotees worship a goddess both in her figural form and as her yantra. The clothing that these devotees wear marks them as members of Nepali royalty.
provenance
Mr. Tsarong, Washington, D.C. [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, July 1980, by purchase.
date
ca. 1800
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Painting & Drawing
paintings
tangkas
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
98.8
height
91
depth
6.8
dimensionsRaw
Framed H: 38 7/8 × W: 35 13/16 × D: 2 11/16 in. (98.8 × 91 × 6.8 cm)
Source extras
med
tempera on cloth
creator_ids
15526
collection_ids
INT
exhibition_ids
2219
2071
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
6f97e0694d4a8bbc
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
83a8a797637e61f9
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no