Dakshinakali

Standing with her right foot on the chest of her consort, Shiva, Kali is
identified as the protective and benevolent Dakshinakali here. She gazes ahead holding a bloodied khadaga and a severed head in her left hands, while her right hands extend outwards in abhaya and daan mudras. Her naked body, blending into her dense hair, is ornamented with gold jewellery and a garland made of the severed heads of men. With a protruding tongue, she dominates the scene of the charnel ground. Kali and Shiva are surrounded by other decapitated heads, with a Saras crane to Kali’s right and a jackal on her left, feeding off the severed head. Such paintings reflect an indigenous visualisation of themes aided by a palette of locally favoured colours and embellishing pigments, while following a foreign technique in execution. Besides signifying her divinity, the use of gold in Kali’s halo also indicates the
elite patronage these paintings received