Hindu Goddesses

These three goddesses powerfully embody "shakti," the divine feminine energy that activates the cosmos, according to many traditions of Hindu thought. The central goddess, with a pyramid of animal heads, is an esoteric form of Kali, squatting on a jackal and dominating over a prostrate Bhairava, an angry form of the god Shiva. On the left is another form of the dark blue Kali, standing atop a male corpse. To the right is Durga, vanquishing the buffalo demon with the help of her lion.

Below each goddess is a "yantra," a sacred diagram that functions as a tool to focus the mind during meditation. In Hindu Tantra, each goddess is associated with a specific yantra that serves as her geometric representation. Devotees worship a goddess both in her figural form and as her yantra. The clothing that these devotees wear marks them as members of Nepali royalty.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Tsarong Dundul Namgyal (“George Tsarong”), Washington, DC, by 1980, [mode of acquisition unknown]; John G. and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, 1980, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 2024, by gift.