Goddess Dhumavati

Sasadhar Banarjee

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Mahavidya goddess Dhumavati, literally "the smoky one," is one of the ten wisdom goddesses of Hinduism, and is associated with things inauspicious and unpleasing. Depicted as an aged widow with disheveled, unbound hair and wearing ragged clothing, Dhumavati is also associated with the four months of the rainy season (Chaturmas) when no auspicious celebrations should be held.S he is represented holding a winnowing tray of woven bamboo that, along with her haggard physique, are her principal identifiers. She typically rides a black crow as her vehicle (vahana), but here her crows circle overhead as she rides atop a monumental towering temple car, a four-storied structure modelled after later medieval Bengali brick temple architecture. The goddess is credited with rescuing devotees from life’s troubles and aiding in the defeat of one’s enemies.

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