In the Shaiva shrines of South India, the wife of Mahadeva Shiva- Parvati, resides as Shivakamasundari – the beautiful woman who is the sole focus of Shiva’s passionate love. Resonating with her descriptions in the Hindu textual traditions, Devi Parvati in her sculptures appears as a divine amalgamation of yoga (spiritual attainment) and Bhoga (material fulfilments). Maa Parvati’s standing i

The art historian Partha Mitter, when writing his oft-cited masterpiece ‘Many Maligned Monsters,’ explained that European and Victorian sensibilities wrongly assumed the significance of Indian art – when they came across depictions of four or eight-armed gods and goddesses, often in striking and fierce moments vanquishing demons, Westerners thought that we had an underdeveloped sense of real

Gaja Samhara is a ferocious form of Lord Shiva popularized during the Chola period. Gaja Samhara Shiva means the slayer of elephant and represents him as ego annihilator and soul emancipator. Legends tell of an asura who in the guise of an elephant, Gajasura, became so strong in time that he began to torture and kill even the devas. There was none left in the three realms who would stand before Ga

Goddess Durga created seven Matrikas from her own self and battled against the demon Raktabija. Devi Varahi, one of them is the female counterpart of Varaha, the boar Avatar of Lord Vishnu. The Goddess who is the regent of the southern direction and protector of the age is sometimes described as the Goddess of darkness and the ideal time for worshipping her is after sunset and midnight. Some templ

The episode of the battle of the great goddess and the demon Raktabija as mentioned in the Vamana Purana describes the powerful expansions of the Adi-Shakti, which took the form of warring goddesses, each one of them originating from the other, assisting the Adi Devi Durga in slaying the demon. These goddesses came to be known as Sapta-Matrikas, “seven mothers”, and are associated with the mal

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

Rajarajeshwari is one of the most beautiful female figures in all of the three worlds. She is a royal manifestation of Shakti and personifies grace and balance. Trailokya Sundari or Tripura Sundari, as she is often named, is the presiding deity of Sri Chakra. Hers is the path of transcendence through the material world of senses. She presides over the Sahasrara as well the Swadhisthan Chakra. Her

As the bronze in the mould cools down and the wax surrounding it is melted away in the traditional style of the lost wax art form, what remains is an elaborate statuette of Lord Shiva in his dancing form as Nataraja. Body twisted in a graceful pose that came straight out of the pages of the Natyashastra, Nataraja dances away divinely, feet trampling a demon. From the two aspects of Natraja’s per

The five (‘pancha’) faces (‘mukha’) of Panchamukha Hanuman stand for the five means of worship that the great yogi extended to Lord Rama: naman, smaran, keerthanam, yacham, and arpanam. The faces are (from left to right) Lakshmi Varaha, Mahaveera Garuda, Anjaneya, Karala Ugraveera Narasimha, and Hayagriva. The Panchamukha on this page is possessed of eight arms (the ashtabhujadhari). The m

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

The vitarka mudra is of great importance in Buddhist iconography. The enlightened one sits in a stable padmasana and raises the right hand in the stance of dispensing vidya (awareness). This is called vitarka in Sanskrit; while ‘mudra’ refers to the stance of the hands in particular. As you could see in the murti on this page, the forefinger curves forward to touch the tips with the thumb, and

Salutations to Lord Ganesha -son of Uma-Mahadev, who has an elephant-head, being attended by the band of his followers (GANANATHA), dines his favourite wood-apple and rose–apple fruits, who is the cause of the destruction of all sorrows, Whose feet are like lotus. One should observe Ganesha with full devotion, feel his qualities and waves such as immensity, pride and fearlessness, immense streng

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

Devi Mariamman is the name given in South India to the more recognisable Sheetala Mata. She is known to infuse Her devotees with divine cool and calm ('sheetal' in Sanskrit means 'cool'). In Tamil, the suffix 'amma' stands for 'mother', denoting the nature of the people's devotion to Her. She has been traditionally worshipped as the curer and eradicator

Salutations to Lord Ganesha -son of Uma-Mahadev, who has an elephant-head, being attended by the band of his followers (GANANATHA), dines his favourite wood-apple and rose–apple fruits, who is the cause of the destruction of all sorrows, Whose feet are like lotus. One should observe Ganesha with full devotion, feel his qualities and waves such as immensity, pride and fearlessness, immense streng

An ancient South Indian legend tells of Deva Guru Brihaspati and Lord of Winds Vayu, descending to Earth to build a Bhuloka Vaikuntam, in the Thrissur district of Kerala. It was to be a holy abode for Vishnu in the mortal realm. That town was named Guruvayur after its two celestial architects and the temple came to be called the Guruvayur Temple. Guruvayurappan is the Lord of Guruvayur or the Unni

The Kalinga Nardhana Krishna is the quintessential image of the triumph of dharma over adharma. When the wicked serpent, Kalinga or Kaliya, had made a home for itself in the Yamuna and none of the inhabitants of Braj could access its beauty and nourishment due to his presence, it was the great Lord Krishna who acted as savior. In a brutal battle between the divine and the serpentine, the conqueror

The Hindu deity, Bhagwan Krishna is famous for his naughty leelas with Radha and other gopis of Gokul, the intense charm of his face, and the Madhur (melodious) tunes arousing from his flute. This sculpture of Krishna depicts him as standing on a rectangular thick brass block etched in a realistic stone-like pattern. He is postured in his iconic tribhanga posture with the left leg bent forward and

This youthful, valiant posture of Ganesha, the epitome of achievement and self-mastery, sits in Utkutakasana pose on a throne having a rectangular brick-like base with two white mice carved on it, facing opposite directions, holding a laddoo and a long back curved at the top, orange in color, bordered with thick gold color. The chaturbhuja Ganesha holds laddoos (his favorite sweet) and radish, as

Buddhism was first very important solely among the people of Tibet, but it gradually increased in popularity all over the world. Gautama Buddha, the first Buddha to achieve enlightenment, founded it. Tibet worships Buddha as a supernatural being rather than a deity and his teachings are a significant source of positivity and harmony among his followers. Buddha mudras and postures are examples of s

The Skanda Purana, one of the 18 Puranas paints a word picture for the devotee and the seeker – of the marriage of Shiva and Parvati. As a part of the Hindu marriage ceremony, Lord Shiva was asked to name his lineage. But who could know about the family of “Svayambhu”- he who originated from the earth, thus had no parentage? To soothe the anxious heart of the parents of Parvati- Himalaya and

This large mythical bird is a representation of birth and heaven and an enemy of snakes, carrying amalgamated features of an eagle and human. Here it sits on a large stylized throne crowned with long and fancy peacock feathers and two peacock torsos heading out at the seat from either side. Garuda is the vahana of Lord Vishnu and appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology. It is carved here

A many-layered Ganesha idol, designed for the finest home or office temple. A traditional-style plinth carved with elongated lotus petals. Featuring a simple floral structure down the frontal midline. The mouse vahana of gigantic proportions, on all four on its surface. It is craning its head back to glance at the Lord Ganesha statue on its back. This Ganesha murti depicts the chaturbhujadhari Lor

Off the flute of the young and handsome Lord Venugopala, emerges divine music. The kind that perpetrated the woods and alleyways of Vrindavan not so long ago. The kind that uplifts and cleanses and elevates, makes space in the heart for bhakti. The desi cow that supports the figure of Lord Krishna in this composition is the very picture of bhakti. He looks up at his friend, the neck at a sharp ang

The emergence of goddess Durga marked the power of feminism; she was created by the cosmic powers of the trinity and other gods to defeat the Buffalo demon Mahishasura. Goddess Durga is revered as Durga Nashini, which translates as ‘the one who eliminates suffering’, as she is the Shakti or Mother goddess in Hinduism. She is sculpted here with a single piece of white marble in lalitasana postu