- Title
- Mandala of the Nava Durga (Nine Durgas)
- Date Made
- circa 1375-1400
- Medium
- Mineral pigments on cotton cloth
- Dimensions
- 20 x 20 1/8 in. (50.8 x 51.11 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.72.53.10
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
Differentiated by their complexions, the Nava Durga (Nine Durgas) are depicted in the center and eight petals of the central lotus of the mandala. They represent the nine manifestations of the Hindu goddess Durga. The violent (ugra-chanda) multiarmed form of Durga is depicted in the center. With one hand she grasps the Buffalo Demon, Mahishasura, and with another, drives her trident through his chest. The triangles formed by the corners of two superimposed squares contain sixteen representations of the Mother Goddesses (Matrikas). The outer circle of the mandala contains the Guardians of the Eight Directions (Ashta Dikpalas) seated in T-shaped gateways and flanked by a pair of goddesses. In the lower corners above the bottom register, and presumably also in the analogous locations in the now-lost upper corners, wrathful goddesses are flanked by animal-headed attendants. In the bottom register, a priest officiates at a sacrifice to the goddess in the lower left corner, musicians and dancers perform for the goddess in the center panel, and the donor with his family are seated in the lower right corner.
The Nava Durga were worshipped by both the Hindus and Buddhists in Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley. The same artists and workshops produced paintings for both religious groups. This is among the earliest Nepalese Hindu paintings on cloth known to have survived.
- Selected Bibliography
- Larson, Gerald et al. In Her Image: The Great Goddess in Indian Asia and the Madonna in Christian Culture. Santa Barbara: UCSB Art Museum, University of California, 1980.
- Pal, Pratapaditya. Elephants and Ivories in South Asia. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1981.
- Pal, Pratapaditya. Art of Nepal. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of California Press, 1985.