Parvati
Dynasty : Vijaynagar, South India
Period : Late Medieval 1400 CE
Material : Stone
Location : National Museum
Current Location : National Museum
Description :
Parvati (Sanskrit: from Parvata, meaning "mountain") is a Hindu goddess married to Shiva (the ascetic god of destruction). Mythologically, Parvati is considered a representation of Shakti, female energy personified, and is linked to other forms of the goddess including Kali (the ferocious dark goddess), and Durga (the motherly warrior goddess). In Hindu iconography, Parvati is regularly pictured alongside her husband Shiva, with whom she often shares a loving, intimate embrace. The Vijayanagar Empire was a Hindu empire based in the Deccan plateau region of South India. Established in 1336 by Harihara. The empire’s patronage enabled its fine arts and literature to rise to new heights, and its legacy of sculpture, painting, and architecture influenced the development of the arts in South India long after the empire came to an end. An image of four-armed Parvati, carved in the round, standing on a pedestal. The upper right hand above the wrist, lower right and left forearms are missing. In the upper left she holds a lotus. She wears a high jatamukuta, makara kundalas, locks of hair spread over her shoulders, necklaces, and a torque triple cord yajnopavita running through her full and firm breasts. There are three bangles on each wrist, a lower garment having loops and ends on either side secured at the waist by a girdle with a median loop and tassels. The nose is slightly chipped. The sculpture is made in brownish granite stone.