Untitled

Sasadhar Banarjee

ca. 1875–85 · Lithograph printed in black with hand-coloring with watercolor and selectively applied glaze · Asian Art

The goddess Bagala is the eighth of the ten personifications of transcendent wisdom of tantric Hinduism, the Mahavidya or the wisdom goddesses. Her full name is Bagalamukhi, which translates as “the one who checks the mouth” to silence speech and still the mind. In later tantric yoga she is associated with the practice of meditative breath control (pranayama). The goddess is shown as both regal and martial, wearing a chain mail vest over her upper body, with a pleated blue skirt and a loose-fitting gown. A garland, likely of white jasmine, hands around her neck. Jasmine (chameli) is a fragrant flower much loved by Shiva, and also linked in ayurvedic medicine with the calming of the mind, one of the wisdom goddess Bagala’s powers.

Artist

Sasadhar Banarjee

Date

ca. 1875–85

Medium

Lithograph printed in black with hand-coloring with watercolor and selectively applied glaze

Culture

West Bengal, Calcutta

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, Barbara and David Kipper Gift, 2021