Architectural Relief with Chamunda

With ten arms and an array of weapons to express her supernatural and ferocious nature, the goddess Chamunda dances before a backdrop teeming with creatures both natural and fantastic. Chamunda is a wrathful emanation of the Hindu goddess Kali and has both destructive and protective aspects. As related in the sixth-century text the Devi-Mahatmya, Chamunda takes her name from two demons, Chanda and Munda, whom she vanquishes in a great war. Here an emaciated body with an exaggerated rib cage conveys the insatiable hunger of the goddess, while human skulls and entwined snakes testify to her terrifying power. Sometimes the goddess stands on Shiva, who subdues her anger. But in this case the recumbent figure beneath her feet may represent one of the vanquished demons.