Goddesses – Devis
Goddesses – Devis from Maria Chumak
Goddesses – Devis

Through the notion of Indian Vedic traditional of comprehension of universe comes the mythology of Indian goddesses, representing the different part of our spiritual and materialistic life.?Whole huge pantheon can be reduce to the four principal manifestations of the goddesses: Kali (wild nature), Durga (domestication of nature, Saraswati knowledge, culture), Lakshmi ( Earth, abundance). Goddesses associated with wild nature, Gods - with demystification. Through the ages we are witnessing the destruction of desire – ownership over nature, hence Goddess, thus destructed desire is controlled by culture.? Through different states of every woman’s complex character - all four characters of goddesses can be easily seen. Indian philosophical tradition is very visual accessible for everybody, but in the same time the symbolic meaning is deeply hidden underneath the image. Vedic philosophy gives a way for different interpretations using multi-colored, multi-opinion metaphoric language.

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In this project I wanted to make symbolic graphic style more contemporary and accessible to the larger public range, keeping all symbolic meaning respectfully to the iconic canon of Hindu mythology and idols. My challenge was to find that thin boarder between my personal graphic comprehension and the image of divinity what can be used by the devotees during the prayer ceremony. After my survey among the Hinduism followers my images can be used for puja even with a couple steps what I took from the traditional iconography, if I succeed in contemporary illustration image - readers should tell
Kali (Dark Mother) - most dramatic figure in Hindu mythology. Nacked, hair unbounded, standing or sitting on Shiva, male heads around her neck, blood stretching out. Wild Kali is free. She has four arms, with a sword in one hand and the head of a demon in another. The other two hands bless her worshippers, and say, "fear not"! She has two dead heads for her earrings, a string of skulls as necklace, and a girdle made of human hands as her clothing. Sir John Woodroffe in Garland of Letters, writes, "Kali is so called because She devours Kala (Time) and then resumes Her own dark formlessness." Kali asked by the devotees to punish injustice, tentative to process woman’s nature, to remove the obstacles from the right way
Durga: Three Gods (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) couldn't defeat demon Durgamaasura, so they created Durga who gained the battle. She is one of the aspects of Parvati Devoted prays to Mother Goddess for Power, Strength and Protection. She rides white tiger symbolizing unlimited power, she processes it and uses it to protect virtue and destroy evil. Durga combines powers of Goddesses Lakshmi, Kali and Saraswati and energies of all the gods in the form of weapons and emblems. She represents the power of the Supreme Being that preserves moral order and righteousness in the creation, protects of negative energy and vices—arrogance, jealousy, prejudice, hatred, anger, greed and selfishness
Saraswati is the Goddess of knowledge, and wisdom and eternal learning. The Sanskrit word sara means "essence" and swa means "self." Thus Saraswati means "the essence of the self." Saraswati is the divine consort of Lord Brahma (Creator of the universe). Since knowledge is necessary for creation, Saraswati symbolizes the creative power of Brahma. Goddess Saraswati is worshipped devotees interested in true knowledge, artists, scholars, and scientists. Goddess Saraswati depicted with four arms , wearing a white sari and seated on a white lotus. She holds a book and a rosary, two hands are engaged in the playing of a veena (lute). Her four arms denote Her omnipresence and omnipotence. The two front arms indicate Her activity in the physical world and the two back arms signify Her presence in the spiritual world.
Lakshmi Goddess abundance, prosperity (spiritual and material) and beauty, active energy of Vishnu. Her hands represents Dharma (duty), Artha (material wealth) Kama (desire) and Moksha . The dropping of coins shows the prosperity in all directions (not only in material) Undue attachment to wealth shows ignorance (darkness) and disturbs the economic balance in society - owl symbol. Lakshmi wears bridal red sari, colour of Rajas, which means creative activity. The golden embroidery indicates plenty. Her posture means "Live in the world, but do not be possessed by the world". The lotus keeps smiling on surface of water. Its origin is in mud, deep under water but its flowering is above the water-surface. Elephants symbolize royal power and immense wealth. Lakshmi in every household makes her an essentially domestic deity. Householders worship her for the well being and prosperity of the family. Businessmen and women also regard her equally and offer her daily prayers.
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Goddesses – Devis

Through the notion of Indian Vedic traditional of comprehension of universe comes the mythology of Indian goddesses, representing the different part of our spiritual and materialistic life.?Whole huge pantheon can be reduce to the four principal manifestations of the goddesses: Kali (wild nature), Durga (domestication of nature, Saraswati knowledge, culture), Lakshmi ( Earth, abundance). Goddesses associated with wild nature, Gods - with demystification. Through the ages we are witnessing the destruction of desire – ownership over nature, hence Goddess, thus destructed desire is controlled by culture.? Through different states of every woman’s complex character - all four characters of goddesses can be easily seen. Indian philosophical tradition is very visual accessible for everybody, but in the same time the symbolic meaning is deeply hidden underneath the image. Vedic philosophy gives a way for different interpretations using multi-colored, multi-opinion metaphoric language.

View Website
Maria Chumak
fashion design faculty at Institute of Fashion Technology Paris, France