Goddess Matangi

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The goddess Matangi is one of the ten Mahavidyas, the tantric personifications of transcendent wisdom which each express a different facet of Devi, the supreme goddess. Matangi is considered as an esoteric form of Sarasvati, the goddess of music and learning, and so governs speech, music, knowledge and the arts. She is invoked to acquire supernatural powers, especially for gaining control over one's enemies, acquiring mastery over the arts and ultimately attaining supreme knowledge. Her complex persona and evolution also associate her with pollution, inauspiciousness and unclean food (according to one myth, scraps from Shiva’s table from which she was born). Matangi’s name suggests a connection with tribal forest dwellers and those who dwell on the peripheries of Hindu society.

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