The Mother Kali is an unusual deity. The hallmarks of the Hindu Devi are all in Her. She is supremely beautiful, a yogini of the highest adhikara, and bears superlative strength. Yet, She is unlike anything, you have ever set eyes on. For one, wrath is an integral part of Her personality. While the rest of the feminine pantheon are depicted as calm and reserved, Devi Kali comes with an iconogr

She is the fairest Devi of the Hindu pantheon. She strums Her veena, cradled on the lap of a divine lotus. She lulls Her devotees with Her music and Her charm. She is the wife and the loved one (‘priya’) of Lord Brahma, who presides over the creative process (termed ‘srshti’ in Indian philosophy). She is the Devi of learning and the arts, crucial to that process. She is Devi Sarasvati, the

Harihara is a lesser-known deity from the Hindu pantheon. He emerges from the amalgamation of Vishnu and Shiva, the preserver and destroyer of the trinity right after Brahma the creator. The sublime serenity of Vishnu meets the fierce stance of Shiva in this composite deity. A number of defining contrasts characterise this composition. Shiva's jaatmukuta to Vishnu's golden crown; Shiva&#

Nara-Narayana, sages who were the incarnations of Bhagavan Vishnu were deep into austerities when Devas alarmed by their powers, sent celestial nymphs to disrupt their effort. Reacting to this nuisance, Narayana placed a lotus flower on his thigh, from which an unmatchable beauty emerged. She was Urvashi, the maiden whose beauty put to shame all the women of the Devlok. Among the many lessons from

Lord Buddha is the embodiment of peace, compassion, and happiness. The variation in the iconography of Buddha statues reflects through various hand gestures and sitting postures. In this idol, Buddha’s right hand is in Vitarka Mudra representing him in the state when he is transmitting teachings to the disciples while his left hand holds a begging bowl for alms. Exotic India presents a brass sta

Garuda 'the devourer' is the mythical 'Lord of birds' in both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. In the Hindu Puranic legends, Garuda is the son of Kashyapa and Vinata. He is said to have emerged, fully grown, from an egg, after incubating for five hundred years. Garuda has always been the sworn enemy of snakes and nagas. The archetypal legend of the enmity that exists between

This image is that of Dakini Vajrayogini. A Dakini is the most important female principle in Tantric Buddhism, representing the ever-changing flow of female energy. They are the guardians of teachings and are considered the supreme embodiments of wisdom. The Dakini can help change human weaknesses into wisdom and understanding, and the concept of self into enlightened energy. There are two kinds o

The primordial female energy, the invisible Shakti (power) that is the basis of all our actions, armed with the power of all the gods, becomes the great goddess, Durga. The slayer of Mahishaur- Mahishasurmardini and the mother of the universe, Jagadamba, Devi Durga is the female element at the peak of its beauty and ferocity. In the terms of Hindu esoteric philosophy, Maa Durga among many things i

A one-of-a-kind bitone Buddha composition. The predominant color is black, which has the unmistakable sheen of marble. The medium captures the otherworldly glamour of the erstwhile Shakyamuni. The complementary color, white, is to be found in the dotted raiment clothing of the seated figure, which makes for a surreal visual experience. Legs gathered in the perfect padmasana - heels together direct

A compactly carved figure of Devi Lakshmi. Poised within a makeshift temple on a double-layered lotus-bloom plinth. From the iconography to the style of the surrounding temple structure, this composition borrows heavily from Hoysala aesthetics. It is the name given to the art and architecture that flourished under the patronage of the Hoysala rulers in South India. The tradition dates back to the

The image of the Sheshashayi Vishnu induces great calm and stability in the mind of the devotee. Shesha is the name of the naga (snake) on whose coils the Lord lies in sleep, which is the Sanskrit word for 'end'; 'shayi' in Sanskrit stands for one who is lain down. It is the volatile moment between destruction and re-projection, the transitional state between two cycles of time

Rendered in Marwar idiom of Rajasthani art style, pursuing the theme, style and everything of an early nineteenth century miniature from Jodhpur, in its exactness except the painting’s size and the background colour of the circle in the centre containing the figures of Radha and Krishna, the painting portrays a grieving Radha for Krishna’s failure to reach there despite the promise he had made

The Tibetan deity Chenrezig is the most untiring of the Bodhisattvas. With His thousand arms and thousand heads, He strives until space and time remains to free those of us in ihaloka (current realm of existence) of existential perpetuation and suffering. In this superb sculpture of the Lord Chenrezig, He is depicted in a rudimentary bhadrasana. The plenitude of limb and head is invisible to us ma

Mahakali, or the great (‘maha’) Kali, is the omnipotent Roopa (form) of Devi Kali. As a manifestation of the wife of Shiva, the otherwise serene Devi Parvati, the wrath of the Kali Goddess knows no bounds. The Kali statue that you see on this page captures the wrathful aspect of the Hindu Mother Goddess with perfection. To begin with, the medium is a jet black marble. It is an expressive, all-

This is a stylized statue of the brass form of Lord Ganesha (the god of remover of obstacles and provider of happiness). The quirky long trunk is forming a ‘C’ and resting on his folded legs. A slight outstretch from the sides at the top represent his artistic ears. There is a small leaf-like texture on the right knee symbolizing his hand blessing people for fearlessness. The sharp eyes are lo

In Sanskrit, Nata means dance and raja means Lord. There is an interesting legend behind the conception of Shiva as Nataraja: In a dense forest in South India, there dwelt multitudes of heretical sages. Thither proceeded Shiva to confute them, accompanied by Vishnu disguised as a beautiful woman. The sages were at first led to violent dispute amongst themselves, but their anger was soon directed a

Shitala Mata is a folk deity and an incarnation of supreme Goddess Durga; cures poxes, sores, ghouls, pustules, and diseases. Shitala literally means ‘one who cools’ and is referred to as ‘ma’ or ‘mata’ as she, just like a mother cures her children of diseases and other evil spirits and ghosts. She is known by various names, Jagrani (queen of the world), Karunamayi (full of mercy), Man

The embodiment of sacrifice and the savior of Earth, Vishnu’s third avatar, Varaha, is presented in a highly charged form in this ‘panchaloha’ bronze sculptural image, along with his consort Varahi, or the Earth goddess Bhudevi. This visual presentation is also symbolic of what Hinduism today celebrates as Varaha Jayanti, which marks the mythological celebration of Varaha defeating Hiranyaks

Jagadguru Shankaracharya or Adi Shankaracharya was an 8th-century Hindu philosopher and theologian who set up four monasteries in North, East, and West India which were known as Mathias. He is also known for the consolidation of the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta. He is also regarded for unifying and forming the ongoing important thoughts in Hinduism. Adi was also the founder of 'Dashanami Sampr

Icons depicting Shiva as the Lord of Dance (Nataraja) seem to have originated in the North in Gupta times, and developed in the South under the post-Gupta Vishnukundin dynasty early in the seventh century. One of the first southern sculptures is a colossal dancing figure carved upon the cliff face above the facade of a cave- temple at Mogallarajapuram on the Krishna river. The Pallavas took up the

Durga-Mahishasurmardini, the Hindu mother goddess who battles the demonic forces and rescues her children is a popular deity not just in India, but in the rest of South Asia as well. Mingling with the local legends and beliefs, Maa Durga took new, magnificent forms, all the while remaining the protector mother. One such form of the great-goddess is known as Bathari Durga or Chandi in the island na

Dharma-Artha-kama-moksha (virtue, finances, pleasure, liberation) - these are the four Purusharthas or pursuits of a person, in Hinduism. Goddess Lakshmi’s four hands, the most common attributes attached to her iconography, represent these four life goals. It is well established that in the pursuit of any of the above-mentioned goals, Ma Lakshmi’s Kripa (regards) is required by the devotee. La

This exceptionally ornate brass statue is an example of highly balanced anatomy with delightfully distributed right and left – a strange symmetry with the center unable to contain its line and mincing to the figure’s overall rhythm: the navel and abdomen tilting to the left, and the little inflated right breast, to further right, represents Lord Ganesha in a posture as if commanding and assuri

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