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Bang Pa-In Royal Palace, also known as the Summer Palace, is a palace complex formerly used by the Thai kings. It lies beside the Chao Phraya River in Bang Pa-In district, Ayutthaya Province.<br/><br/> King Prasat Thong constructed the original complex in 1632, but it fell into disuse and became overgrown in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, until King Mongkut began to restore the site in the mid-19th century. Most of the present buildings were constructed between 1872 and 1889 by King Chulalongkorn.
Bang Pa-In Royal Palace, also known as the Summer Palace, is a palace complex formerly used by the Thai kings. It lies beside the Chao Phraya River in Bang Pa-In district, Ayutthaya Province.<br/><br/> King Prasat Thong constructed the original complex in 1632, but it fell into disuse and became overgrown in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, until King Mongkut began to restore the site in the mid-19th century. Most of the present buildings were constructed between 1872 and 1889 by King Chulalongkorn.
Bang Pa-In Royal Palace, also known as the Summer Palace, is a palace complex formerly used by the Thai kings. It lies beside the Chao Phraya River in Bang Pa-In district, Ayutthaya Province.<br/><br/> King Prasat Thong constructed the original complex in 1632, but it fell into disuse and became overgrown in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, until King Mongkut began to restore the site in the mid-19th century. Most of the present buildings were constructed between 1872 and 1889 by King Chulalongkorn.
Bang Pa-In Royal Palace, also known as the Summer Palace, is a palace complex formerly used by the Thai kings. It lies beside the Chao Phraya River in Bang Pa-In district, Ayutthaya Province.<br/><br/> King Prasat Thong constructed the original complex in 1632, but it fell into disuse and became overgrown in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, until King Mongkut began to restore the site in the mid-19th century. Most of the present buildings were constructed between 1872 and 1889 by King Chulalongkorn.
Bang Pa-In Royal Palace, also known as the Summer Palace, is a palace complex formerly used by the Thai kings. It lies beside the Chao Phraya River in Bang Pa-In district, Ayutthaya Province.<br/><br/> King Prasat Thong constructed the original complex in 1632, but it fell into disuse and became overgrown in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, until King Mongkut began to restore the site in the mid-19th century. Most of the present buildings were constructed between 1872 and 1889 by King Chulalongkorn.
Bang Pa-In Royal Palace, also known as the Summer Palace, is a palace complex formerly used by the Thai kings. It lies beside the Chao Phraya River in Bang Pa-In district, Ayutthaya Province.<br/><br/> King Prasat Thong constructed the original complex in 1632, but it fell into disuse and became overgrown in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, until King Mongkut began to restore the site in the mid-19th century. Most of the present buildings were constructed between 1872 and 1889 by King Chulalongkorn.
Bang Pa-In Royal Palace, also known as the Summer Palace, is a palace complex formerly used by the Thai kings. It lies beside the Chao Phraya River in Bang Pa-In district, Ayutthaya Province.<br/><br/> King Prasat Thong constructed the original complex in 1632, but it fell into disuse and became overgrown in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, until King Mongkut began to restore the site in the mid-19th century. Most of the present buildings were constructed between 1872 and 1889 by King Chulalongkorn.
Justinian I (482-565), also known as Justinian the Great or Saint Justinian the Great, was the nephew of Emperor Justin I, originally born from a peasant family in Tauresium. Justin, before he became emperor, adopted Justinian and raised him in Constantinople. Justinian served in the Imperial Guard, the Excubitors, just as his uncle had, and was made associate emperor in 527 before becoming sole emperor when Justin died in the same year.<br/><br/> Justinian was ambitious and clever, and sought to revive the empire's greatness, planning the reconquest of the western half of the Roman Empire in what was known as <i>renovatio imperii</i> (restoration of the Empire). Justinian was hard-working and known as 'the emperor who never sleeps'. He nearly lost his throne during the Nika riots, and nearly lost his life during the Justinian Plague of the early 540s.<br/><br/> Justinian was a devout Christian and theologian, and his partial recovery of lost Roman territories led him to be called by some as one of the 'last Romans'. His uniform rewriting of Roman law, the <i>Corpus Juris Civilis</i> is perhaps his greatest legacy, which is still used as the basis of civil law in many modern nations. His restoration activities included the building of the Hagia Sophia. He died in 565 without an heir, succeeded by his nephew Justin II.
'Book of the Marvels of the World' (French: <i>Livre des Merveilles du Monde</i>) or 'Description of the World' (<i>Devisement du Monde</i>), in Italian <i>Il Milione</i> ('The Million') or <i>Oriente Poliano</i> and in English commonly called 'The Travels of Marco Polo', is a 13th-century travelogue.<br/><br/> It was recorded by Rustichello da Pisa from stories told by Marco Polo, describing Polo's travels through Asia between 1276 and 1291, and his experiences at the court of Kublai Khan.
The Chinese god Erlang Shen, or sometimes Yang Jian, has various differing origin stories. In some, he is a deified folk hero who helped regulate China's torrential floods, in others he is the nephew of the Jade Emperor. Whatever his origin, Erlang Shen is known as the greatest warrior god of heaven, equpped with a third truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead, and is titled 'Divine Immortal of Purity and Decency'.<br/><br/> Erlang makes various appearances in Chinese folk mythology and writing, from 'Journey to the West' to 'Fengshen Yanyi'. In the former, he is titled 'Illustrious Sage' and is sent by his uncle, the Jade Emperor, to subdue Sun Wukong for causing havoc in heaven, eventually defeating the trickster monkey through teamwork with several other gods.<br/><br/> In 'Fengshen Yanyi', he is first seen fighting demons known as the Diablo Brothers alongside noble and sage Jiang Ziya. He later fights on the side of the Zhou army against the Shang army, helping to overthrow the Shang Dynasty. Erlang is almost always portrayed as a noble and righteous warrior god, exceptionally powerful and capable of 72 Transformations, and is worshipped as a filial deity for rescuing his deceased mother from torture in the Chinese underworld.
Durante degli Alighieri, simply called Dante (c. 1265 – 1321), was a major Italian poet of the Late Middle Ages. His <i>Divine Comedy</i>, originally called <i>Comedìa</i> and later christened <i>Divina</i> by Boccaccio, is widely considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature.
Italy: A marble statue portraying 'Hercules and Cacus', Piazza della Signoria, Florence. Sculpted by Baccio Bandinelli (1488 - 1560) between 1525 and 1534. Hercules is seen here subduing and later killing the fire-belching monster Cacus who had been stealing cattle. This was during the completion of Hercules' tenth labour.
In the late 18th century CE, Rana Bahadur Shah, the grandson of Prithvi Narayan Shah, built a Shiva-Parvati Temple on Durbar Square, which was also, in a way, to become a monument to the joys—or vagaries—of married life.<br/><br/> The temple, built on a platform formerly used for dance performances, is dedicated to the divine couple Shiva and Parvati. From an arched, carved window in its upper storey two wooden figures representing Shiva and Parvati look down on the square below. The figures are extraordinarily life-like, and from a distance one may almost be fooled. Their elbows casually rest on the windowsill, and the couple appears the very image of wedded bliss.
Bang Pa-In Royal Palace, also known as the Summer Palace, is a palace complex formerly used by the Thai kings. It lies beside the Chao Phraya River in Bang Pa-In district, Ayutthaya Province.<br/><br/> King Prasat Thong constructed the original complex in 1632, but it fell into disuse and became overgrown in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, until King Mongkut began to restore the site in the mid-19th century. Most of the present buildings were constructed between 1872 and 1889 by King Chulalongkorn.
Wake no Kiyomaro was born in Bizen Province (now Wake, Okayama) to a family of politically important, devoted Buddhists who hoped to keep Buddhism and politics separate through religious reform.<br/><br/> He became a trusted advisor to Emperor Kammu, a position which he used to encourage the development of Buddhism in a direction which would prevent it from posing a threat to the government.<br/><br/> Usa Jingu, also known as Usa Hachimangu, is a Shinto shrine in the city of Usa in Oita Prefecture. Emperor Ojin, who was deified as Hachiman-jin (the tutelary god of warriors), is said to be enshrined in all the sites dedicated to him; and the first and earliest of these was at Usa in the early 8th century. The Usa Jingu has long been the recipient of Imperial patronage; and its prestige is considered second only to that of Ise.
Probably born in Venice around 1254 CE, Marco Polo was raised by his aunt and uncle after his mother died. His father, Niccolo, was a Venetian merchant who left before Marco was born to trade in the Middle East. Niccolo and his brother Maffeo passed through much of Asia and met with Mongol emperor Kublai Khan who reportedly invited them to be ambassadors. In 1269, Niccolo and Maffeo returned to Venice, meeting Marco for the first time.<br/><br/> In 1271, Marco Polo, aged 17, with his father and his uncle, set off for Asia, travelling through Constantinople, Baghdad, Persia, Kashgar, China and Burma. They returned to Venice 24 years and 15,000 miles later with many riches. Upon their return, Venice was at war with Genoa, and Marco Polo was imprisoned. He spent the few months of his imprisonment dictating his adventures to a fellow inmate, Rustichello da Pisa, who incorporated the tales into a book he called 'The Travels of Marco Polo'. The book documented the use of paper money and the burning of coal, and opened European eyes to the wonders of the East.
Probably born in Venice around 1254 CE, Marco Polo was raised by his aunt and uncle after his mother died. His father, Niccolo, was a Venetian merchant who left before Marco was born to trade in the Middle East. Niccolo and his brother Maffeo passed through much of Asia and met with Mongol emperor Kublai Khan who reportedly invited them to be ambassadors. In 1269, Niccolo and Maffeo returned to Venice, meeting Marco for the first time.<br/><br/> In 1271, Marco Polo, aged 17, with his father and his uncle, set off for Asia, travelling through Constantinople, Baghdad, Persia, Kashgar, China and Burma. They returned to Venice 24 years and 15,000 miles later with many riches. Upon their return, Venice was at war with Genoa, and Marco Polo was imprisoned. He spent the few months of his imprisonment dictating his adventures to a fellow inmate, Rustichello da Pisa, who incorporated the tales into a book he called 'The Travels of Marco Polo'. The book documented the use of paper money and the burning of coal, and opened European eyes to the wonders of the East.
The Holy See of the Cao Dai is in the Vietnamese province of Tay Ninh, close to the Cambodian frontier, and this syncretic religion – which counts Victor Hugo, Laozi and Jesus among its saints – has also made some Khmer converts.<br/><br/>Vietnam has two indigenous religious sects, both of which were established in the 20th century, and both of which are based firmly in the south of the country. Cao Dai or ‘Supreme Altar’ is a syncretic faith combining aspects of the tam giao with Catholicism and is the larger of the two, with an estimated 2 million followers. Cao Dai is an eclectic amalgam of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Catholicism. The second sect, called Hoa Hao or ‘Peace and Happiness’, is centred on Chau Doc in the Mekong Delta. Its followers practise an ascetic and austere form of Buddhism.<br/><br/>The Cao Dai religion was founded in 1919 by a Vietnamese civil servant, Ngo Van Chieu and by the mid-1920s Tay Ninh had developed as the ‘Holy See’ of the new religion, with a hierarchy organised under a Cao Dai pope. Initially persecuted by the communists, Cao Dai is now tolerated, and has an estimated two million followers, mainly in the south.
The Holy See of the Cao Dai is in the Vietnamese province of Tay Ninh, close to the Cambodian frontier, and this syncretic religion – which counts Victor Hugo, Laozi and Jesus among its saints – has also made some Khmer converts.<br/><br/>Vietnam has two indigenous religious sects, both of which were established in the 20th century, and both of which are based firmly in the south of the country. Cao Dai or ‘Supreme Altar’ is a syncretic faith combining aspects of the tam giao with Catholicism and is the larger of the two, with an estimated 2 million followers. Cao Dai is an eclectic amalgam of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Catholicism. The second sect, called Hoa Hao or ‘Peace and Happiness’, is centred on Chau Doc in the Mekong Delta. Its followers practise an ascetic and austere form of Buddhism.<br/><br/>The Cao Dai religion was founded in 1919 by a Vietnamese civil servant, Ngo Van Chieu and by the mid-1920s Tay Ninh had developed as the ‘Holy See’ of the new religion, with a hierarchy organised under a Cao Dai pope. Initially persecuted by the communists, Cao Dai is now tolerated, and has an estimated two million followers, mainly in the south.
The Holy See of the Cao Dai is in the Vietnamese province of Tay Ninh, close to the Cambodian frontier, and this syncretic religion – which counts Victor Hugo, Laozi and Jesus among its saints – has also made some Khmer converts.<br/><br/> Vietnam has two indigenous religious sects, both of which were established in the 20th century, and both of which are based firmly in the south of the country. Cao Dai or ‘Supreme Altar’ is a syncretic faith combining aspects of the tam giao with Catholicism and is the larger of the two, with an estimated 2 million followers. Cao Dai is an eclectic amalgam of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Catholicism. The second sect, called Hoa Hao or ‘Peace and Happiness’, is centred on Chau Doc in the Mekong Delta. Its followers practise an ascetic and austere form of Buddhism.<br/><br/> The Cao Dai religion was founded in 1919 by a Vietnamese civil servant, Ngo Van Chieu and by the mid-1920s Tay Ninh had developed as the ‘Holy See’ of the new religion, with a hierarchy organised under a Cao Dai pope. Initially persecuted by the communists, Cao Dai is now tolerated, and has an estimated two million followers, mainly in the south.
The Holy See of the Cao Dai is in the Vietnamese province of Tay Ninh, close to the Cambodian frontier, and this syncretic religion – which counts Victor Hugo, Laozi and Jesus among its saints – has also made some Khmer converts.<br/><br/> Vietnam has two indigenous religious sects, both of which were established in the 20th century, and both of which are based firmly in the south of the country. Cao Dai or ‘Supreme Altar’ is a syncretic faith combining aspects of the tam giao with Catholicism and is the larger of the two, with an estimated 2 million followers. Cao Dai is an eclectic amalgam of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Catholicism. The second sect, called Hoa Hao or ‘Peace and Happiness’, is centred on Chau Doc in the Mekong Delta. Its followers practise an ascetic and austere form of Buddhism.<br/><br/> The Cao Dai religion was founded in 1919 by a Vietnamese civil servant, Ngo Van Chieu and by the mid-1920s Tay Ninh had developed as the ‘Holy See’ of the new religion, with a hierarchy organised under a Cao Dai pope. Initially persecuted by the communists, Cao Dai is now tolerated, and has an estimated two million followers, mainly in the south.
Ta Prohm was built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara. It is located 1km east of Angkor Thom. It was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university.<br/><br/> The trees growing out of the ruins are perhaps the most distinctive feature of Ta Prohm. Two species predominate, but sources disagree on their identification: the larger is either the silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra) or thitpok (Tetrameles nudiflora), and the smaller is either the strangler fig (Ficus gibbosa) or Gold Apple (Diospyros decandra).
During the 10th and 11th centuries CE the Chandella Kings of central India, scions of a powerful Rajput clan who claimed the moon as their direct ancestor, built a total of 85 temples to the glory of God, the creation, and the Hindu pantheon. The Chandellas were devout Hindus.<br/><br/> Eclipsed by the Mughal conquest, the rise of rival dynasties, and the passage of time, the temples languished in the harsh sun and monsoon rains of central India, gradually becoming lost in the jungle. At the time of their re-discovery in 1839, they were so completely overgrown that T. S. Burt, their founder, thought no more than seven temples had survived. Happily this proved far from the case, for when the undergrowth was hacked back and the complex restored, no fewer than twenty two of the original structures were revealed standing.
Princess Toyotama, daughter of the Dragon King of the Sea, gives birth to the Divine Prince Ugayafuki Aezu, by turning from her human form into a dragon (1886).<br/><br/> Toyohara Chikanobu (豊原周延) (1838–1912), better known to his contemporaries as Yōshū Chikanobu (楊洲周延), was a prolific woodblock artist of Japan's Meiji period. His works capture the transition from the age of the samurai to Meiji modernity.<br/><br/> In 1875 (Meiji 8), he decided to try to make a living as an artist. He travelled to Tokyo. He found work as an artist for the Kaishin Shimbun. In addition, he produced nishiki-e artworks. In his younger days, he had studied the Kanō school of painting; but his interest was drawn to ukiyo-e.<br/><br/> Like many ukiyo-e artists, Chikanobu turned his attention towards a great variety of subjects. His work ranged from Japanese mythology to depictions of the battlefields of his lifetime to women's fashions. As well as a number of the other artists of this period, he too portrayed kabuki actors in character, and is well-known for his impressions of the mie (mise-en-scène) of kabuki productions.<br/><br/> Chikanobu was known as a master of bijinga, images of beautiful women, and for illustrating changes in women's fashion, including both traditional and Western clothing. His work illustrated the changes in coiffures and make-up across time. For example, in Chikanobu's images in Mirror of Ages (1897), the hair styles of the Tenmei era, 1781-1789 are distinguished from those of the Keio era, 1865-1867.
Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति) from Sanskrit shak - 'to be able', meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism.<br/><br/> Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes referred to as 'The Great Divine Mother' in Hinduism. On the earthly plane, Shakti most actively manifests through female embodiment representing creativity and fertility, though it is also present in males in its potential, unmanifest form.<br/><br/> Not only is the Shakti responsible for creation, it is also the agent of all change. Shakti is cosmic existence as well as liberation, its most significant form being the Kundalini Shakti, a mysterious psychospiritual force. Shakti exists in a state of svātantrya, dependence on no-one, being interdependent with the entire universe.<br/><br/> In Shaktism, Shakti is worshiped as the Supreme Being. However, in other Hindu traditions of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, Shakti embodies the active feminine energy Prakriti of Purusha, who is Vishnu in Vaishnavism or Shiva in Shaivism. Vishnu's female counterpart is called Lakshmi, with Parvati being the female half of Shiva.
The Gate of Divine Prowess, sometimes referred to as the Gate of Divine Might (Shenwu Men) is the northern gate of the Forbidden City. The Gate was originally named The Black Tortoise Gate (Xuánwǔmén), this being the traditional name for the northern gate of a Chinese Imperial Palace.<br/><br/> The Forbidden City, built between 1406 and 1420, served for 500 years (until the end of the imperial era in 1911) as the seat of all power in China, the throne of the Son of Heaven and the private residence of all the Ming and Qing dynasty emperors. The complex consists of 980 buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms and covers 720,000 m2 (7,800,000 sq ft).
Navratri, Navaratri, or Navarathri is a Hindu festival of worship of Shakti. The word Navaratri literally means 'nine nights' in Sanskrit, nava meaning nine and ratri meaning night. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshiped. It is commonly referred to as Dussehra. The custom of celebrating Dussehra is believed to have originated in the Deccan Hindu Kingdom of Vijayanagar, with its capital at Hampi, in the 14th century.
The Escorial Beatus is a 10th century illuminated manuscript of the Commentary on the Apocalypse by Beatus of Liébana. The manuscript was probably created at the monastery at San Millán de la Cogolla. There are 151 extant folios; the manuscript is illustrated with 52 surviving miniatures. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament.
Part of a set of five hanging scrolls entitled 'Extermination of Evil', depicting benevolent deities who expel demons of plague. This scroll was originally part of a handscroll known as the 'Second edition of the Masuda family Hell Scroll' before being cut into sections after World War II. The text on the scroll explains the acts of the god in exterminating evil. The Divine Insect is an euphemism for the silkworm which takes the form of a moth in this depiction. The set of five scrolls has been designated as a National Treasure of Japan in the category 'Paintings'.
The Eight Celestial Divine Generals in the West, from the Daoist pantheon.
The Holy See of the Cao Dai is in the Vietnamese province of Tay Ninh, close to the Cambodian frontier, and this syncretic religion – which counts Victor Hugo, Laozi and Jesus among its saints – has also made some Khmer converts.<br/><br/>Vietnam has two indigenous religious sects, both of which were established in the 20th century, and both of which are based firmly in the south of the country. Cao Dai or ‘Supreme Altar’ is a syncretic faith combining aspects of the tam giao with Catholicism and is the larger of the two, with an estimated 2 million followers. Cao Dai is an eclectic amalgam of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Catholicism. The second sect, called Hoa Hao or ‘Peace and Happiness’, is centred on Chau Doc in the Mekong Delta. Its followers practise an ascetic and austere form of Buddhism.<br/><br/>The Cao Dai religion was founded in 1919 by a Vietnamese civil servant, Ngo Van Chieu and by the mid-1920s Tay Ninh had developed as the ‘Holy See’ of the new religion, with a hierarchy organised under a Cao Dai pope. Initially persecuted by the communists, Cao Dai is now tolerated, and has an estimated two million followers, mainly in the south.
Ta Prohm was built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara. It is located 1km east of Angkor Thom. It was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university.<br/><br/> The trees growing out of the ruins are perhaps the most distinctive feature of Ta Prohm. Two species predominate, but sources disagree on their identification: the larger is either the silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra) or thitpok (Tetrameles nudiflora), and the smaller is either the strangler fig (Ficus gibbosa) or Gold Apple (Diospyros decandra).
Banteay Srei (or Banteay Srey) is a 10th century Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and is located to the north-east of the main group of temples at Angkor. Banteay Srei is built largely of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings which are still observable today. Banteay Srei is sometimes referred to as the "jewel of Khmer art."
Banteay Srei (or Banteay Srey) is a 10th century Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and is located to the north-east of the main group of temples at Angkor. Banteay Srei is built largely of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings which are still observable today. Banteay Srei is sometimes referred to as the "jewel of Khmer art."
Banteay Srei (or Banteay Srey) is a 10th century Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and is located to the north-east of the main group of temples at Angkor. Banteay Srei is built largely of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings which are still observable today. Banteay Srei is sometimes referred to as the "jewel of Khmer art."
In Hinduism, Matangi is one of the Mahavidyas, ten Tantric goddesses and a ferocious aspect of Devi, the Hindu Divine Mother. She is considered as the Tantric form of Sarasvati, the goddess, she governs speech, music, knowledge and the arts. Her worship is described to acquire supernatural powers, especially gaining control over enemies, attracting people to oneself, acquiring mastery over the arts and gaining Supreme Knowledge. Matangi is often associated with pollution, inauspiciousness and the periphery of Hindu society, which is summed up in her most popular form Ucchishta-Chandalini or Ucchishta-Matangini. She is described as an outcaste (Chandalini) and offered left-over or partially-eaten food (Ucchishta) without washing his hands or food after eating; both of which are considered to be impure in classical Hinduism. Matangi is often pictured emerald green in colour. While Ucchishta-Matangini carries a noose, a sword, a goad, and a club, his other well-known form Raja-Matangi plays the veena and pictured often with a parrot.
In Hinduism, Matangi is one of the Mahavidyas, ten Tantric goddesses and a ferocious aspect of Devi, the Hindu Divine Mother. She is considered as the Tantric form of Sarasvati, the goddess, she governs speech, music, knowledge and the arts. Her worship is described to acquire supernatural powers, especially gaining control over enemies, attracting people to oneself, acquiring mastery over the arts and gaining Supreme Knowledge. Matangi is often associated with pollution, inauspiciousness and the periphery of Hindu society, which is summed up in her most popular form Ucchishta-Chandalini or Ucchishta-Matangini. She is described as an outcaste (Chandalini) and offered left-over or partially-eaten food (Ucchishta) without washing his hands or food after eating; both of which are considered to be impure in classical Hinduism. Matangi is often pictured emerald green in colour. While Ucchishta-Matangini carries a noose, a sword, a goad, and a club, his other well-known form Raja-Matangi plays the veena and pictured often with a parrot.