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Mother-Goddess Brahmani Seated in Yogic Posture Holding Water Pot

A work made of copper alloy.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of copper alloy.

Date:

13th century

Artist:

Nepal

About this artwork

This tantric Hindu female goddess is usually part of a set of seven mother goddesses (Brahmani, Vaishnavi, Maheshvari, Indrani, Kaumari, Varahi and Chamunda) called matrikas, but she is also revered as a goddess in her own right. The matrikas are the female shaktis (power, energy) of the male gods, and Brahmani is the shakti of the creator god Brahma. Like Brahma, she is typically shown with four heads (with the fourth one understood to be at the back), symbolizing omniscience, the four sacred scriptures (Vedas), the four castes, or the four time cycles (yugas). As a sage or female yogi, she often holds a rosary, and a water pot (kamandalu), and she sits in the yogic pose with a strap (yogapatta) to hold her legs in position. In Nepal, she is frequently depicted as here, with one head and two arms, instead of the multi-headed and multi-armed versions of the goddess in India.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of Asia

Title

Mother-Goddess Brahmani Seated in Yogic Posture Holding Water Pot

Place

Nepal (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1201–1300

Medium

Copper alloy

Dimensions

19.5 × 11.6 × 9.8 cm (7 11/16 × 4 9/16 × 3 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Marilynn B. Alsdorf

Reference Number

2014.1016

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/144905/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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