Durga Mahisamardini

Durga Mahisamardini

This exquisitely carved12^th century Sen dynasty stone sculpture of a beautiful and serene Durga setting out to engage in a cosmic battle to defeat the forces of evil was likely commissioned by a bhakti for their private chapel. 

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  Durga is the woman warrior manifestation that Paravati takes when she must battle evil. As in her manifestations she is represented in the animal world by the lion or tiger on which she rides to battle evil. 

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Traces of red on her lips and a golden yellow on her robe indicate that she, and many of the other sculptures in this museum, may have been brilliantly painted at the time they were worshiped.

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This contemporary sculpture of the Buddhist GreenTara can give you an idea of how magnificent the stone sculptures in this museum may have looked when painted.

The sudden appearance of magnificently carved stone sculptures in the 8^th century when the Buddhist Pala dynasty came to power, raises the question-were there no sculptures in Bangladesh before this time?

 The creation in Bangladesh of unbaked clay images of Durga, that are worshipped for only a brief period and then immersed in sacred rivers and ponds, may answer the question.Mother goddesses, of which Durga is the most important in Bangladesh and their household worship can be traced back more than 3000 years to the ancient urban center of Mohenjo Daro and countless other urban settlements across north India and Bangladesh.

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[red matting round these Durga prints]

Small clay images and prints of Durga, available in village markets and at seasonal fairs, can be found in every Hindu household in north India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. In almost all of these images,Durga is depicted riding on a tiger in deference to folk tradition where the tiger, not the lion, is the most powerful animal in the jungle.These images of Durga are prayed to every day in Hindu households to protect the family.

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In the months leading up to her festival of Sharadiya Durga Puja, traveling artists make images for her festival.Over a bamboo and rice straw core, the artist creates sculptures using smooth clay from sacred rivers and ponds.

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The images are painted with water-based paints and, as in this village puja pandal, often dressed with fabrics donated by villagers. In the center, Durga on her lion kills Mahesh, the evil king, and on each side Durga’s other important manifestations Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, and Saraswathi, the goddess of learning, observe the battle.Ganesha, the elephant-headed remover of obstacles, and Kartikeya, the general of Shiva’s army,are Shiva and Parvati’s children and identify Durga as another manifestation of Parvati.

Last updated by admin at 09 September, 2020