Devi

✦ 40 years old ✦
 
Rare piece from Rajasthan, North India
 
Hindu amulet depicting Sanjhi Devi, mother goddess adored throughout India. Devi is illustrated in a pentagon symbolizing the temple ("mandir").
 
In the villages, during the Sanjhi-Devi Puja in September and October, the women are representing the goddess on the walls of their houses. Devi cult, the supreme Hindu goddess, is an integral part of ceremonies in which only women participate to make vows. Unmarried girls beg her to grant their wishes for a good husband, start a family with several children and obtain prosperity. Images of the goddess can be found in many villages and towns of Rajasthan such as Punjab, Harayna and Utta Pradesh.
 
In Hinduism, the temple symbolizes the cosmos. Metaphorically, it is said that man in a temple becomes divinity. On this amulet, the illustration of Devi in the temple represents the achievement of a summit.
 

1. Size: 1 "x 1¼"
Weight: 2.20 g
✦ Unique piece ✦
 

2. Size: ⅞ "x 1¼"
Weight: 4.10 g
✦ Unique piece ✦
 

3. Size: ⅝ "x ⅞"
Weight: 1 g
✦ Unique piece ✦