NARRATOR:
The Hindu goddess Durga is usually depicted as a wrathful incarnation of the Great Goddess Devi. But in this rare and majestic form, Durga appears as a benevolent, almost smiling, figure. Three of her four hands hold objects that identify her: a bell, a vase on the right side, and a staff on the left.
Durga’s mount is the lion, and here two of them support the lotus she stands on. On either side, female attendants hold lotuses. Their names—Jaya and Vijaya—both mean “victory” in Sanskrit.
As Uma or Parvati, Durga is the spouse of Shiva. But she is also regarded as the personification of cosmic energy that pervades the universe.
An ancient poem to the Great Goddess is recited daily in her temples. Believed to have been sung by the goddess herself, the poem is 700 verses long.
Details
- Title: Durga with Attendants
- Date: 8th century
- Medium: Schist
- Dimensions: 56-1/2 x 23-1/2 in. (143.5 x 59.7 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1975.15.3.S
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
Durga: Avenging Goddess, Nurturing Mother
- Norton Simon Museum, 2005-10-07 to 2006-03-27
- Newman, Richard, The Stone Sculpture of India: A Study of the Materials Used by Indian Sculptors from circa Second Century B. C. to the Sixteenth Century, 1984, p. 91
- Pal, Pratapaditya, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, Volume 1: Art from the Indian Subcontinent, 2003, no. 104 p. 146
- Pal, Pratapaditya, Durga: Avenging Goddess, Nurturing Mother, 2005, fig. 13 pp. 2, 20-21
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 1190 p. 381
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