Goddess Bagala

Sasadhar Banarjee

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The goddess Bagala is the eighth of the ten personifications of transcendent wisdom of tantric Hinduism, the Mahavidya or the wisdom goddesses. Her full name is Bagalamukhi, which translates as “the one who checks the mouth” to silence speech and still the mind. In later tantric yoga she is associated with the practice of meditative breath control (pranayama). The goddess is shown as both regal and martial, wearing a chain mail vest over her upper body, with a pleated blue skirt and a loose-fitting gown. A garland, likely of white jasmine, hands around her neck. Jasmine (chameli) is a fragrant flower much loved by Shiva, and also linked in ayurvedic medicine with the calming of the mind, one of the wisdom goddess Bagala’s powers.

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