Functioning as an altar shrine, complete with a lustration basin, this icon depicts the goddess Durga in the act of conquering the demon buffalo Mahisha. Durga crushes the beast with her foot and impales him with her trident, whereupon the demon reveals himself in human form and pleads for mercy.

In each of her eight arms, Durga holds a weapon lent to her by the male gods expressly for this task.

This shrine, with its distinctive temple towers, evokes the architecture of Himachal Pradesh, as does the lotus-petal nimbus framing the goddess’s head, a motif specific to the imagery of the Chamba Valley region.

Image and text credit: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This photograph of the Prasanna Chennakesava Temple, Somnathpur was taken in the 1890s by an unknown photographer and is from the Curzon Collection's 'Souvenir of Mysore Album'.

The Keshava Temple at Somnathpur near Mysore, completed in 1268, is one of the best-preserved temples built in the Hoysala period. Dedicated to Keshava, the god Vishnu under his three aspects, it consists of three shrines approached through a pillared mandapa.

On the outer walls of the temple, at the lower levels, there are friezes with elephants, horses, makaras (mythical sea creatures), geese, and foliated scrolls.

Then, a procession of gods richly encrusted with jewels and ornaments is set in the various projections of the walls created by the stellate plan of the sanctuaries. Above the panels, pilasters support miniature towers and an angled eave with fringe projects above.

Text and image credit: Copyright © The British Library Board