It is not often you come across a syncretic Goddess bronze. Here is one. The Goddess is holding Chakra and Shankha in her rear hands (typical Vaishnavite attributes) and a sword and Kapala in her front hands (Shaivite attributes).

Among the Goddesses, Chakra and Shankah are normally associated with Vaishnavi, Mahishasuramardini and Durga. The sword and the Kapala are associated with Bhairavi. This combination of the attributes is rarer. The height of this bronze, 25 cm tall, and the quality make this Vigraha a special one.

Features worth noting are the trough in front of the animal (possibly a tiger) on the pedestal, the two devotees in Anjali mudra attached to the pedestal, the casting quality (see the details of the Chakra and Shankha) and the plaiting of the hair.

The Sun and Moon symbol on the top portion of the prabhavali helps us to narrow down the geographic attribution to North-west Deccan.

There is significant ritual wear, especially on the forehead, suggesting prolonged ritual use. Always a good sign.

Prof Gururaja Bhatt, in his book ‘Studies in Tuluva History and Culture‘, identifies similar bronzes as Durga Bhagavati and Durga Parameshwari. It is not unusual for the identifications to be localised, especially in the case of Goddesses.

This 25 cm tall bronze may be dated to the eighteenth century.

Note (4 July 2025): The picture of the animal near her feet is below. It is like a lion, but a tame lion.