Durga Puja - 1809

Watercolour depicting a Durga Puja, by Sevak Ram (c.1770-c.1830) in the Patna style, c.1809.Durga is a form of the Great Goddess Devi; she is considered to be one in a variety of personalities of the Hindu goddess. She is most well known as the goddess who killed the Buffalo Demon Mahisha. The Durga puja is an autumn festival where her victory is celebrated and other elements of her mythology are remembered. In this drawing, male dancers and musicians are performing before an image of the goddess Durga installed inside a house. The shrine to Durga depicts her in the moment of triumph over Mahisha. On the left a group of three men are seated on painted stools, one smoking a hookah.

Source : British Library