The Hindu goddess Durga (Unconquerable) is one of the most widely worshipped deities of Hinduism, especially among the warrior classes. Although she can assume many guises, the most popular, and the form most often encountered in art, is that of the slayer of Mahisha, the buffalo demon. When the gods were unable to conquer the powerful Mahisha, Durga was created from the energy of their combined anger to fight for them. Each god gave her a portion of his powers, and she carries their various weapons in her multiple arms, including the discus of Vishnu, the trident of Shiva, and the spear of Karttikeya.
The myth of Durga' s slaying of the buffalo demon may be interpreted primarily in sectarian terms, as proclaiming the powers of the goddess over those of the gods; anthropologically, however, it may also represent the assimilation into mainstream Hinduism of a totemistic buffalo cult. Variances in the artistic depictions of the myth may also reveal additional layers of
interpretation and inherent cultural symbolism. Here, the medium is the message. The sculpture's lavish ornamentation and richness of detail aptly convey the spiritual glory of the triumphant goddess. In contrast, in a 9th-century sculpture of Durga from Rajasthan (M.77.19.27), the visual emphasis is on the act of slaying the buffalo demon. The medium of the stone is subservient to the image's religious meaning, and its spiritual intensity is conveyed through its powerfully stark forms and relative lack of surface embellishment.
