Page:Durga Puja - With Notes and Illustrations.djvu/41

 as having two arms and one head, three dull, half-shut eyes, a crescent and a head-dress of serpents. He holds in his right hand a damaru, a small drum instrument, resembling two inverted cones. It is sounded by the oscillation of a small knot hanging from a string and striking alternately the drums on the two sides. In his left hand Siva holds on high his enormous horn. In the left nook sits Ramachandra, green colored, on his favourite monkey, Hanuman. He holds in each hand an arrow and a bow.

On the lower platform are placed two small figures of two girl attendants, Jaya and Vijaya, the one is painted yellow and the other red; under the Asura is seen a small representation of a severed head of a buffalo.

The chals(4) constitute the most interesting part of the entire group. The principal and prominent picture in the central chal, is that of Muktakesi, a form of Kali. She is painted purple and in every respect she is a Kali. Her red tongue projecting out of her purple though well-formed face, four-armed, decorated with a necklace of human skulls and dressed in elephant-skin. She also stands upon Siva, but unlike the Dakshina Kali her left leg is foremost. Above the figure of Kali are painted the pictures of the avatars, the first four of which,