Durga as Mahisasuramardini (circa 1240-60) Hoysala period. The goddess Durga represents the shakti or female energy of the god Shiva. Her eight arms would wield sacred weapons against the forces of evil. Here she is shown in her ferocious form as the slayer of the shape-shifting demon Mahishasura. She killed him as he emerges from his buffalo guise.

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Durga as Mahisasuramardini (circa 1240-60) Hoysala period. The goddess Durga represents the shakti or female energy of the god Shiva. Her eight arms would wield sacred weapons against the forces of evil. Here she is shown in her ferocious form as the slayer of the shape-shifting demon Mahishasura. She killed him as he emerges from his buffalo guise.

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Photo credit: © World History Archive / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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