Durga Confronts the Army of the Demon Chikshura: Scene from the Devi Mahatmya

Durga Confronts the Army of the Demon Chikshura: Scene from the Devi Mahatmya

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

At the command of Mahisha, the demon general Chikshura approaches Durga with a great army of lesser demons, chariots, horses, and elephants and thus opens the battle between Mahisha and Durga, described in the Devi Mahatmya as lasting one hundred years. Durga is shown seated on her lion mount brandishing the many weapons given to her by Shiva, Krishna, Agni, Indra, Yama, and others. The soft line of the charcoal suggests that this image was transferred from an original drawing that had been pounced (pierced with small holes so that charcoal dust could sift through). The red ocher was then applied to bring this sketch to a more finished state.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Durga Confronts the Army of the Demon Chikshura: Scene from the Devi MahatmyaDurga Confronts the Army of the Demon Chikshura: Scene from the Devi MahatmyaDurga Confronts the Army of the Demon Chikshura: Scene from the Devi MahatmyaDurga Confronts the Army of the Demon Chikshura: Scene from the Devi MahatmyaDurga Confronts the Army of the Demon Chikshura: Scene from the Devi Mahatmya

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.