Antiquity of the Image of Mahisāsuramardinī

Summary

This short note challenges the belief that the oldest image of the goddess Durgā slaying Mahisāsura dates to the 6th century CE. The author points out that images of Mahisāsuramardinī riding a lion appear on Kushan and early Gupta coins and sculptures from the 2nd to 4th centuries. Excavations at Mathurā and objects preserved in the Mathurā Museum show that such images were widespread in earlier periods. The presence of Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava icons on Kushan coins demonstrates that Hindu iconography was well established before the Gupta era. Tribal coins from Mathurā depict three‑headed deities and Lakṣmī, indicating the antiquity of these cults. The article notes that Buddhist scriptures, which had already deified the Buddha by the 3rd or 4th century BCE, imply that Brahmanical gods were worshipped centuries earlier. Contact with Greeks, who had sophisticated iconography, may have spurred Indian artists to create elaborate deity images. The author concludes that the cult of Mahisāsuramardinī likely dates to at least the first century CE, if not earlier, urging scholars to reassess the chronology of Hindu iconography.