A chromolithograph diptych published by the Calcutta Art Studio around 1885 to 1895, the last of a set of five sheets depicting the Ten Mahavidyas, two goddesses to a sheet, named at the base in Bengali, English and Hindi. The left field shows Kamala (Kamalatmika), the tenth and most benign Mahavidya, closely associated with Lakshmi and typically shown seated on a lotus and attended by elephants pouring water over her, a form of auspicious abundance closing the Mahavidya cycle. The right field shows Bhairavi, seated on a lotus above water and wearing a garland of skulls, the fierce feminine counterpart to Bhairava, Shiva's destructive aspect, embodying the principle of destruction as a necessary part of the cosmic order. Part of the same series later exhibited by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in "Household Gods: Hindu Devotional Prints, 1860-1930".
Facts
Custody
Current LocationThe Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2 Current CustodianThe Metropolitan Museum of Art 2 Subject Matter
Depicted SubjectKamala (left field) and Bhairavi (right field), two of the Ten Mahavidyas. 2 Rights and Reproduction
Reproduction and CopyrightThis atlas describes and cites the print rather than reproducing an image of it. 2 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Bengali directly: "to a sheet, named at the base in Bengali, English and Hindi."
This source names Bhairava directly: "the fierce feminine counterpart to Bhairava, Shiva's destructive aspect, embodying the principle of destruction as a necessary part of the cosmic order."
This source names Hindi directly: "at the base in Bengali, English and Hindi."
This source names Lakshmi directly: "Mahavidya, closely associated with Lakshmi and typically shown seated on a lotus and attended by elephants pouring water over her, a form of auspicious abundance closing the Mahavidya cycle."
This source names Lakshmi directly: "Mahavidya, closely associated with Lakshmi and typically shown seated on a lotus and attended by elephants pouring water over her, a form of auspicious abundance closing the Mahavidya cycle."
Depicts
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