Nav-Durga
In many temples, homes and calendars, this image is prevalent. It is well known, yet many may not know the meaning behind it. This is an image of the nine forms of the goddess Durga, often called Nav Durga, with ‘nav’ being the word for nine. Together, the symbols and emblems show Nav Durga is a very significant group of goddesses for Hindus.
This image shows the goddess Durga in nine of her forms. The goddess in the middle is the main form, Durga. This is evident because she is in the center and is largest, suggesting that she is more important, or that the entire image has to do with her. It looks a lot like the image of Vishnu and his avataras. Durga, often referred to as Durga Maa (‘Maa’ meaning mother), is associated with many things. Her vehicle is a tiger, she is extremely beautiful, and she carries weapons in each of her hand except one in which she holds a lotus. The weapons and her vehicle refer to her creation. Durga was created by the Gods when they were overthrown by a demon that could not be killed by them. Since a woman could only kill this demon, the gods put their angry energies together and from each of those energies stemmed a body part of Durga. Each of the gods gave her his weapon, which is why she carries weapons such as Shiva’s trishul, Vishnu’s discus, and the lion from Himalaya. These weapons are the key symbols to look for when recognizing an image of Durga Maa, along with the tiger. The other eight forms of Durga are formed each day of her battle with this demon. Since this battle took nine days, there are nine total parts of Durga. The first form is Shailputri. ‘Shail’ comes from the Sanskrit word meaning mountain, which explains that she was incarnated from Himalaya. She is recognizable in the image as the one on the bottom left corner. Her mount is a bull. She has a trishul in one hand and a lotus in another. She is known for wearing colored apparel. The second phase is Brahmacharni. In this content, Brahma means penance. In this image, she is located right above Shailputri. She is the part of Durga that practices penance. Brahmacharni is easily recognized because she is the only form of Durga that does not have a vehicle.
The Lord is wearing to Christian symbols. The first symbol is his headwear. Mary Elizabeth Podles expounds that the deity’s tiara is similar to the pope, which represents the trinity (54). The trinity is the Christian expression that God is made up of the Father (God), Son (Jesus), and Spirit (Holy Spirt), and all three figures are connected to one another. This is shown in the headwear, which is made up of three layers.
...clouds above refer to traditional Japanese screen paintings and provide a softening side to the water. They create a balance symbolising hope and good luck. Four wind symbols are used as a devise to balance the composition – all are blowing air gently into the picture. The cartoon like face with its puffed out, red cheeks expelling air. All suggest a positive, natural energy.
Gods presence within the synagogue is symbolised by the Ner Tamid - the everlasting light, positioned above the Arkis never extinguished, this helps the Jews to feel God at all times and also shows respect for the holiness of the Torah scrolls. It represents the Menorah the oil light of the tabernacle. Many modern synagogues use an electric light but a few still have the traditional oil lamp. Placed near to this above the Ark, plaques made of stone or bronze are engraved with
The subject of this piece is also the Tara but in this one she is represented in eight different circumstances. The centre of the piece however is a larger representation of her while the others are a lot smaller and scattered. The various representations of the Tara show her in various circumstances which portray the Eight Fears. She is siting on a lotus and is wearing a similar type of head piece and jewellery as on the sculpture. The painting is colourful but is predominately deep green and blue with a little bit of red and orange on the figures. The expression on the bodhisattvas face is peaceful just like the sculpture but the painting overall is fairly crowded and filled with movement. It allows the eye to wander around in all directions. It has a mystical effect due to the clouds and rainbows on the upper half of the
Selvadurai uses an allusion to demonstrate his grandmother’s role as a negative mentor in Shivan’s life. His dream of seeing his grandmother “incarnated as the demoness Kali” running after him (in the body of his mother) is very telling of what Shivan subconsciously thinks of his grandmother. (Selvadurai 371) The demoness Kali is the Hindu goddess of destruction. Though she is seen as a god, her physical appearance is quite appalling. Her dark skin, red eyes, fangs and necklace made of human heads are all quite terrifying. When portrayed, she is often seen standing on top of the Hindu god Shiva as well. Kali’s frightful appearance, paired with her relationship with the god Shiva is very telling of Shivan’s relationship with his aachi. He fears her with every fibre of his being. In said dream, he imagines himself as his mother, carrying a child, running from his grandmother, but proving to be unfruitful when Kali, “snatches the infant from [his] arms and opens her mouth wide to consume him”. (Selvadurai 371) This baby is Shivan, and Kali eating the baby shows how as a mentor, she has taken away all the innocence from Shivan and taken him away from his mother. Shivan’s ammi shows how even negative mentors can push their mentees into
Lines are one of the fundamentals of all drawings. The lines in this drawing represent shape, form, structure, growth, depth, distance, movement and a range of emotions. In “Three Mile Island” Jacquette uses a mixture of horizontal lines to suggest distance and calm, through his use of thick and thin lines he shows delicacy and strength.
...ic meanings that still are puzzling art historians today. Some of the key symbols that Stokstad points out in the text is the dove, representing the Holy Spirit; the white lilies as a symbol of the Virgin Mary. She also points out, two rather unknown symbols to the sacrilegious, the date of the Annunciation in signs of the zodiac on the floor, as well as the lone stained glass window that is symbolizing God rising above the three windows that are placed in the background behind Mary. These three windows represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The African mask tattoo represents the egwugwu, or the nine masked Umuofia elders. They are seen as ancestral gods and are judges in the community. “And when, as on that day, nine of the greatest masked spirits in the clan came out together it was a terrifying spectacle”. They
The composition of this painting forces the eye to the woman, and specifically to her face. Although the white wedding dress is large and takes up most of the woman’s figure, the white contrasts with her face and dark hair, forcing the viewer to look more closely into the woman’s face. She smokes a cigarette and rests her chin on her hands. She does not appear to be a very young woman and her eyes are cast down and seem sad. In general, her face appears to show a sense of disillusionment with life and specifically with her own life. Although this is apparently her wedding day, she does not seem to be happy.
The imagery will consist of Nintuda, Hunabatum, and Kullasina-Bel. First, Nintuda a great friend of Hunabatum and she does whatever she can to help Hunabatum out. Nintuda is always dressed properly, has a near perfect body, and comes from a very respected and good family. Nintuda has chosen to be celibate and she does her best to help Hunabatum find the right man for her as Hunabatum takes good care of Nintuda and treats her well. Nintuda just by herself in the video is a piece of valuable imagery because she represents the priestesses that worked in Sumer. Her aspects of devotion to Hunabatum, celibacy, and mesmerizing qualities allude to her being a priestess in relation to the cultural metanarrative of Sumerian culture. There is a clip in the video where we see Nintuda admire Hunabatum from afar as she proclaims her as “mighty, majestic, radiant, and ever youthful” (Hymns 110). These words are part of the song lyrics and refer to the Hymns of Inanna that were sung during the festive celebration of Inanna and Dumuzi’s coming together. Now we move on to Hunabatum and her imagery. During the video, it is shown that Hunabatum’s favorite food is gug-bread with date syrup. This bread is instrumental in creating the video because it suggests that Hunabatum is an extension of Inanna because this also alludes to the Hymns of Inanna where the people of Sumer prepare various types of meals which include gug-bread with date syrup.
...s burning herself” (Wecker). The symbol is also associated with the Islamic word “Khasma” which means five- a number identified with fighting off the evil eye. As one can see the stories and opinions of these three important women may be disputed and theories challenged. However, regardless of the circumstances, some similarities still remain.
This maraculous artifact is a wood with pigment scultupre of the Buddha showcasing each signifcant event in his life. The first figurine of Buddha starting from the lower left corner depicts his mother Queen Maya, we can infer that this depecits the gift of life as she is the one who ultimatly allows him to have a place on earth. The second depiction of Buddha, he is in the iconic pose, sitting down, looking downwards in complete serenity. Here we can infer that he has reached englightment as his graciously has one hand to the ground connecting his being with earth. Additionally, the third depiction of Buddha exemplifies his first sermon, discussing the doctrine of the Middle Path. Furthermore, the fourth figurine describes his powers that managed to calm a raging elephant that was about to trample him. Buddha visited his mother who died very shortly after he was born, in heaven to preach to her, as depiected in the fifth figurine. Figurine 6 depeicts the series of miracles, including levitation, that occured in Sravasti in response to the people who questioned his powers. Additiionaly, figurine 7 depiects a mokey giving Buddha honey as an offering thereafter was so overwhemled with joy that it caused him to fall into a well. Finally, the last figurine the Buddha is laying down peacefully inidicating the final
Sati is defined as “a Hindu practice whereby a widow immolates herself on the pyre of her husband” (Dictonary.com). Sati also means righteous, women throughout the Hindu myths were willing to do anything for the man that they loved. This symbolized the perfect Indian wife to any man. Imagine being a married couple in the Hindu religion, as the wife you have to prove yourself to your husband. According to About.com it goes into brief detail of the idea of marriage in the Hindu religion; “after marriage the Hindu women lead the men by keeping the lustful propensities under control. While married, thought of any other man does not enter the mind of a Hindu lady until she loses her faith in her husband due to his consistent misbehavior and 'don't care' attitude” (Rajhans). Basically in this commitment women must keep the male under control and keep the loving relationship alive and well. Suddenly, during your marriage your husband suddenly dies and you are now left as a widow. How would you feel? Would you mope around and have sorrow for the months to come? Or would you go to the extent of suicide to be with your husband once again. Some say sati is a voluntary act chosen by the newly widowed woman to end her life by being burnt to death at her husband’s pyre. But there are moments in history that Sati was forced upon these women, some ever were dragged to their burning death (Daniel). “The custom of burning the widow on her dead husband's pyre probably did not evolve from religious background but from social background” (Daniels). This paper will explore the horrible act of Sati and how it was practiced throughout history.
In Indian culture, Goddess Parvati is depicted as a beautiful and serene woman, making emphasis on the sensuality of her body. In Hindu mythology the name of Parvati means “she who dwells in the mountain” she is said to be the daughter of Mena and the Himalaya Mountain. Parvati is the consort of the God Shiva, one of the supreme deities among Hinduism. The Goddess is seen as a devoted wife and mother and represents love, fertility and beauty.
Durga is a warrior queen who slays demons in the battle to keep the cosmos at balance. Durga is universally beautiful. She rides on a lion into battle and holds many weapons with her many hands attached to her many arms. David Kinsley, author of Hindu Goddesses, describes Durga as "The great battle queen with many arms, each which wields a weapon. She rides a fierce lion and is described as irresistible in battle." This is very different from the description of Kali, as said by the above author, "The goddess Kali is almost always described as having a terrible, frightening appearance. She is always black or dark, is usually naked, and has long disheveled hair." Kali likes to accent her naturally scary beauty by wearing severed heads, arms and dead children as jewelry. Blood seems to be her favorite cosmetic.