18-handed Durga

Description: The illustration shows 18-handed Durga. In the depiction of 18-handed Durga, the goddess is shown with 18 arms, each holding a different weapon or symbol of power. These include a trident, a sword, a conch shell, a bow, a shield, a mace, a lotus, a thunderbolt, and a snake, among others. The weapons symbolize her power to fight evil and protect her devotees.
Contents note: This folio (18) belongs to the Devi Mahatmya manuscript that was housed in Bharat Kala Bhavan located in Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India at the time of photography in 1966. The Devi Mahatmya is a Hindu text that describes the story of the goddess Durga and her battle against the demon Mahishasura. This copy of the manuscript was painted between 1200-1299 CE with gouache on palm leaf. The dimensions of the illustration are 6 (H) x 5 (W) cm. It has been painted in the style of Nepalese school of painting, possibly in Nepal. The museum number for the object at the time of photography was 4893.

Repository: American Institute of Indian Studies, Center for Art and Archaeology, Gurugram, Haryana, India
Local Identifier: 11521
ARK: ark:/21198/z10g97m3
Archival Collection: (3.1-3.100), Box 3.75
Manifest url

Rights statement: public domain
Rights Holder: caa.archives@aiis.edu.in
Funding Note: Digitization for the AIIS Center for Art & Archaeology Negatives & Slides Collection was sponsored by the Modern Endangered Archives Program with funding from Arcadia.