Goddess Jagadhatri

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Jagadhatri represents an aspect of the Hindu goddess Durga (Parvati) widely worshipped in West Bengal and Odisha, and most lavishly in the annual puja held in the Hooghly district of Kolkata, celebrated in the month of Kartik (mid-November). The goddess rides a lion which has slain an elephant—visible between the lion’s forelegs—while it holds the trunk in its jaws. She is dressed in red and seen in four-armed form, displaying a discus and conch in her upper hands (acknowledging Vishnu) and a bow and arrow in her lower hands. A third eye in her forehead and a snake rising above her left shoulder signal her higher allegiance to Shiva.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art