An Illustration depicting the Goddess Mahakalika

The Goddess Mahakali is the principal deity in the Tantric pantheon. She is worshipped as the savior of good in its continual struggle against evil and Her divine presence signifies the birth of supreme conscience and intelligence. In her rudra or angry form, she saves both the Gods and humankind innumerable times from the destruction wrought by demons. Her fearsome form is meant to strike terror at heart of all dark forces.



The artist effectively captures Kalika's fierce aspect as he portrays her dancing the tandava, the eternal dance of creation and destruction, clad in a girdle and a garland of severed human heads. The inclusion of the heads of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, the three principal and most powerful deities in the Hindu pantheon, encircling the Goddess' waist, effectively establishes her supremacy and announces her status as the repository of absolute and universal power.

Acquired from the Royal Library of Mandi in 1969