This elegant representation of a tantric goddess, its possible set mate M.82.42.2, and a now-dispersed group of more than a dozen additional mother goddesses, as well as images of Ganesha, Karttikeya, and possibly Shiva, were reportedly discovered around 1957 by R. C. Agrawala (b. 1926) near the modern Tanesar (Thaneshvara) Mahadeva Temple near Udaipur, Rajasthan. The goddesses were from more than one set originally and some may represent the mythological mothers of Skanda (Skandamatas or Krittikas). The dispersed sculptures are now located in the National Museum, New Delhi; City Palace Museum, Udaipur (147); Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College (69.62); British Museum, London (1963,1112.1); Cleveland Museum of Art (1970.12); and formerly the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
The tantric goddess is nimbate. Her hair is worn in a topknot with long braids streaming out behind her (kaparda). She wears a serpent as a necklace and a stylized form of the Brahmanical sacred thread (valayopavita) that has a prominent ring-like loop or fastener (valaya) attached at waist level. The goddess has full breasts and is pot-bellied. Her protuberance is not an indication of obesity or pregnancy, but rather a representation of the cosmic breath of life (prana) and the physical swelling of maternal, generative earth energy. She is four-armed. Her upper left arm cradles and carries a three-pointed spear or Shiva’s trident (trishula) with an hourglass-shaped ritual drum (damaru) mounted onto the shaft below the spearhead. The instrument is played during tantric dances or rituals to symbolize the primal sound of creation (nada or Om) alongside the destructive/protective power of the trident and its mastery over time (the three blades symbolize the past, present, and future). Her lower left hand carries an ascetic’s waterpot in the form of a bucket (udanchana). It was used during public offerings and sacrifices (shrauta rituals) to scoop a ritual invigorating juice (soma) out of a larger storage trough (dronakalasa) for the purpose of making oblations and libations. Her lower left hand carries a ritual bull horn (gaumukhi shringi) suspended by two decorative cords that was used during ceremonial bathing (abhisheka). Her upper left arm is missing. The back of the sculpture is fully finished, unlike M.82.42.2, which may suggest that the two works are from different sets.
