  About the Artwork
  
  
  This painting illustrates the story of Devi, the supreme Goddess in Hindu traditions, fighting the powerful demon Mahisha (“Buffalo” in Sanskrit), whom no god could conquer. The imagery closely follows the plot narrated in the Devi Mahatmya, a devotional text about the heroic feats of Devi. Preparing for another round of combat, the Goddess drinks a cup of nectar and continues to fight. The buffalo demon opens his mouth in a loud roar and hurls mountains — here, represented as boulders — at her. Devi shatters the rocks with her arrows, then eventually goes on to defeat Mahisha.


Devi is known by many names and takes on many forms; in her battle against the buffalo demon, she is commonly called Durga. Riding her lion, she wears both protective armor and beautiful clothing and jewelry, and wields weapons and other attributes in her eighteen henna-dyed hands.
  
  
  Title
  The Goddess Devi Fights the Buffalo Demon, Mahisha
  
  
  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.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
  
  
  Dimensions
  Image: 8 × 12 inches (20.3 × 30.5 cm)
  Sheet: 10 1/4 × 14 1/8 inches (26 × 35.9 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’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—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  69.428
  
  
  Copyright
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