  
  About the Artwork
  
  
  This action-packed painting represents successive moments in an episode of the Devi Mahatmya, a devotional text centered on Devi, the supreme Goddess of the Hindu traditions. During a long, drawn-out battle, the powerful demon Mahisha (&acirc;&#128;&#156;Buffalo&acirc;&#128;&#157; in Sanskrit) attacks Devi&acirc;&#128;&#153;s lion. When the Goddess traps him, he abandons his buffalo form and changes into a lion &acirc;&#128;&#148; here depicted as a tiger. As soon as Devi slays the demon&acirc;&#128;&#153;s feline form, he changes into a man wielding a sword and shield. When the Goddess conquers this human form, the demon changes into an elephant. Devi severs his trunk with a blow from her sword, at which point he resumes his buffalo form to continue the battle.


Devi is known by many names and takes on many forms; in her fight against the buffalo demon, she is commonly called Durga. Here, the Goddess wears protective armor and wields threatening weapons and other attributes in her eighteen hands.
  
  
  Title
  The Goddess Devi Fights Demon Mahisha as He Changes Forms (illustration to the Devi Mahatmya)
  
  
  Artwork Date
  ca. 1800
  
  Artist
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  Life Dates
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  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  Indian
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
  ----------
  
  
  Medium
  Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
  
  
  Dimensions
  Image: 8 1/8 &Atilde;&#151; 11 7/8 inches (20.6 &Atilde;&#151; 30.2 cm)
  Sheet: 10 3/8 &Atilde;&#151; 14 1/16 inches (26.4 &Atilde;&#151; 35.7 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Paintings
  
  
  Department
  Asian Art
  
  
  Credit
  Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Leo S. Figiel and Dr. and Mrs. Steven J. Figiel
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum&acirc;&#128;&#153;s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems&acirc;&#128;&#148;no longer assigned&acirc;&#128;&#148;that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  69.427
  
  
  Copyright
  Public Domain
  
  
  
