Kali/Tara

This print belongs to a set of five prints depicting the 10 Mahavidyas. The Mahavidyas, who first appear in late medieval Hinduism, are considered to be individual incarnations or manifestations of the Great Goddess, paralleling the ten incarnations of Vishnu. An origin story relates them to ten forms assumed by Shiva's wife Sati, in her anger over the disrespect her father, Daksha, showed toward Shiva. The Mahavidyas were particularly honored in the Bengal region.

The first of the five prints, this image depicts Kali naked, holding a severed head and a bloody cleaver, and wearing a garland of skulls as well as a belt of severed arms. She stands astride a prostrate Shiva and is accompanied by jackals. Tara appears similar to Kali, but she is pregnant and wears a tiger skin. She is depicted standing in a cremation ground surrounded by blazing fires.