In this iconography, She is ashtabhujadhari (eight-armed). With one of Her anterior hands She grabs mahishasura by the hair, with the other She drives the spear-end of Her trishoola (trident) into His body. One limb She rests on the back of her vahana (steed), the simha (lion), the other on the body of his vahana, the buffalo, whose severed head has rolled over to the midline of the pedestal surface. From the shringar accentuating her gorgeous proportions to the calm and determined composure of countenance, She is every bit the queen of the Hindu devi pantheon.
The aureole that surrounds Her is indicative of the traditional style of the composition. Multiple concentric circles, the innermost one engraved with lotus petals. Diamond-like engravings and a ring of fire flaming outwards in all directions, symbolic of the power and glory of Devi Mahishasuramardini. Finally, the Kirtimukham at the zenith of the aureole betrays the Southern heritage of this work of art.
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