This
small bronze is devoted to the goddess Durga, who pervades the cosmos and creates,
maintains, and periodically destroys it. In this she is like a female Vishnu,
descending to the world when it is necessary to restore cosmic balance. She personifies
maya; creating the world and bewitching the creatures she has created, but she
also hears her devotees and attends to their needs.
Born
from the mouths of the gods as jets of fire that united into a blazing sphere
which took the shape of the goddess, she rides out on a lion to defeat the armies
of the antigods, restoring the gods to heaven. Her image may take many forms;
here she has three eyes and four arms and holds in her hands a trident, dagger,
wine cup, and possibly a bell or other missing attribute. Despite its small size
the work is complete with many details; the goddess’s jewels and the royal ease
asana, the dotting of the garment, and texturing of the animal’s fur, which gathers
into winglike locks at the shoulders and loins; even the lion’s genitals are clearly
defined.
