Ugra Devi

An ugra or fierce goddess identified by the skull in her hand is seated on a throne in lalitasana (known as ‘the royal position’). Here the figure sits on a throne with one leg crossed over the other, which rests on the ground or an object. Her upper hands, holding two weapons, merge into the arched structure supporting her idol, possibly suggesting her role as a Mother Goddess and a protector of her devotees. Her head placed within a palm tree arch is similar to the iconography of a yakshi. In her lower left hand she holds a cup, possibly to drink wine. The syncretic iconography points to how local deities and several Shaktis in Kerala were transformed into Kali or Bhadrakali