Devimahatmya manuscript page: The Goddess Ambika fights a host of demons

Description

The Devimahatmya is a religious text that explains the origins and powers of Devi—an all-encompassing term for the goddess in her many forms. When the world was threatened by hordes of demons and the gods found themselves overwhelmed, they implored the goddess to come to their defense. The gods endowed her with their own attributes and weapons, so that she became greater than the sum of them all and invincible in combat. In this scene from a Nepali manuscript, the ten-armed goddess Ambika is shown astride her lion, subduing demons who attack on foot and in chariots.
Exhibited in "Divine Encounters, Earthly Pleasures: Twenty Centuries of Indian Art," 12/12/03-2/22/04.