Book Cover with Four Durgas
Devi, manifest in numerous forms, is central to devotion in the Brahmanical world. The goddess has been honored since at least the fifth century CE by a foundational text written in Sanskrit known as both the Devi-Mahatmya (Greatness/Virtues of the Goddess) and Durga-Saptasati (700 Verses to Durga). This text defines the supreme divine force as female, and places her at the center of ultimate reality. This richly painted book cover depicts four forms of the goddess in the act of slaying the demon (asura) Mahisha. The Nepalese painter understood well her power to bring terror to evil and comfort to her devotees.. .
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