An Illustration depicting the Goddess Bagalamukhi The Goddess Bagalamukhi (lit. crane-faced one) is one of the ten Mahavidyas or Wisdom Goddesses in the Tantric Hindu pantheon. Together the spectrum of these ten Goddesses covers the whole range of feminine divinity, from the horrific to the beauteous and their worship enables the practitioner to break away from conventional, established ideas into an awareness of essential spiritual truths. Goddess Bagalamukhi occupies a place of prominence as she is vested with special occult powers and her worship is believed to grant the devotee dominance over enemies. Her color is turmeric yellow and she is seated on a lion throne set amidst an ocean of nectar. In one hand she carries a cudgel with which she smashes misconceptions and delusions while in the other she holds the tongue of the demon Madan whom she vanquished. The most important temple dedicated to Bagalamukhi is in Guma in the Mandi district of the Punjab Hills and the present illustration is also possibly from the Mandi atelier. Compare with an illustration of Mahakalika, also from the same album, offered in Sotheby's New York, March 19, 2008, lot 219, with identical spandrels and folio borders. Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper image 6 3/4 by 5 in. (17.2 by 12 .2 cm.) folio 10 by 7 3/4 in. (25.4 by 19.7 cm.) unframed circa 1820 India, Punjab Hills
An Illustration depicting the Goddess Bagalamukhi The Goddess Bagalamukhi (lit. crane-faced one) is one of the ten Mahavidyas or Wisdom Goddesses in the Tantric Hindu pantheon. Together the spectrum of these ten Goddesses covers the whole range of feminine divinity, from the horrific to the beauteous and their worship enables the practitioner to break away from conventional, established ideas into an awareness of essential spiritual truths. Goddess Bagalamukhi occupies a place of prominence as she is vested with special occult powers and her worship is believed to grant the devotee dominance over enemies. Her color is turmeric yellow and she is seated on a lion throne set amidst an ocean of nectar. In one hand she carries a cudgel with which she smashes misconceptions and delusions while in the other she holds the tongue of the demon Madan whom she vanquished. The most important temple dedicated to Bagalamukhi is in Guma in the Mandi district of the Punjab Hills and the present illustration is also possibly from the Mandi atelier. Compare with an illustration of Mahakalika, also from the same album, offered in Sotheby's New York, March 19, 2008, lot 219, with identical spandrels and folio borders. Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper image 6 3/4 by 5 in. (17.2 by 12 .2 cm.) folio 10 by 7 3/4 in. (25.4 by 19.7 cm.) unframed circa 1820 India, Punjab Hills
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
