Goddess Durga at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

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Representations of goddess Durga killing buffalo demon are celebrated throughout India. The theme is transmitted to Southeast Asia and appears in Indonesian art as well as early sculpture of Thailand and Cambodia. Gods were defeated by lord of demons, Mahisha, and pleaded with Durga, incarnation of female energy, to defend universe. Given a weapon by each god and possessing all their powers, she defeats first demon's armies and then Mahisha himself who took form of buffalo. In this sculpture, Durga stands on corpse of vanquished beast. Demon kneels behind its head and prays to goddess for mercy. Despite loss of heads of Durga and demon and partial restoration of breasts, this unusually large sculpture remains one of most imposing images of theme. This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across globe for public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source community effort. If you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.