Indian divinity presented in its full glory

The Mother India: The Goddess in Indian Paintingh at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Florence & Herbert Irving Galleries for the Arts of South-Southeast Asia) features works from its collection, which depict Devi in all her intriguing aspects. The goddess is the source as well as the affirmation of life. The concept is deified in various forms in early Indian religions. Though we lack a historical understanding and perspective of the quasi-magical-religious function of the primitive images of the female form on view, we still identify them as goddesses.

An accompanying note elaborates:”We witness a bit later, the emergence of deified females who have identifiable roles associated with the protection of children and with the life-affirming powers of water. The former finds expression in goddesses who originally may have been devourers of children—that is, the bearers of disease. Over time some were placated and thus acquired more benign aspects. The enthroned goddess with a cornucopia and children, from northwestern India, represents this tradition. A second association is with the creation of life..”

Another powerful expression as the source of life is the personification of the subcontinent’s great rivers—the Ganges, the Yamuna, and Saraswati—worshiped as the ancient deities. Sri Gaja-Lakshmi or the benign goddess being bathed by a pair of elephants was a metaphor for the monsoons’ life-giving powers, and denoted virtues of prosperity, good fortune, and auspiciousness. Saraswati was revered as the embodiment of wisdom and knowledge. Ambika, the Jain mother goddess, embodies the maternal principal.

A variety of early sources on devi in her myriad forms were collated in the seminal text the Devi Mahatmya about the sixth century. The text primarily devoted to narrating the origins of Durga and her relationship to the pantheon of male deities, represents Durga as the ultimate destroyer of evil forces. It also introduces the awesome forms that emerge from her being, Kali and Chamumda, who give expression to Durga's terrible aspect. The worship of the goddess continues to shape Hindu practice today, with Sri Lakshmi pouring down golden coins as its most popular expression.