NARRATOR:
According to Hindu mythology, Devi, the Great Goddess, created this terrifying form of herself to combat the demon generals Chanda and Munda. She took the name Chamunda to memorialize their defeat.
In this characteristic rendition, Chamunda is an emaciated crone with sagging breasts and sunken eyes. Her gaping mouth bares her fangs. She sits on a lotus above a naked male, who supports her toes with his hand. Behind her left leg you can see the upturned head of a howling dog or jackal, a creature which roams the cremation grounds, her favorite habitat. Her ornaments are snakes and a garland of the severed heads of her enemies.
Her eight hands grasp items characterizing her powers, each adding to the fearsomeness of her image as a warrior goddess.
Chamunda raises one hand to the corner of her mouth, as if she’s biting the little finger, a gesture probably associated with the removal of obstacles.
Chamunda
9th century
Asia: India, Rajasthan
On View
Details
- Title: Chamunda
- Date: 9th century
- Medium: Marble
- Dimensions: 38 x 19 x 9 in. (96.5 x 48.3 x 22.9 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1978.07.S
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
Durga: Avenging Goddess, Nurturing Mother
- Norton Simon Museum, 2005-10-07 to 2006-03-27
- Pal, Pratapaditya, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, Volume 1: Art from the Indian Subcontinent, 2003, no. 106 p. 148
- Pal, Pratapaditya, Durga: Avenging Goddess, Nurturing Mother, 2005, fig. 31 p. 32
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