Figures of idealized feminine beauty express the Hindu reverence for fertility. This desiccated female figure illustrates the horror of death and destruction. Above her navel, a scorpion climbs her abdomen—a symbol of lethal illness. She’s the terrible Kali, appearing here in a form known as Chamunda, The Horrific Destroyer of Evil. A tiara of tiny skulls crowns Chamunda’s skeletal head. Her fragmentary legs are clothed in lion skins, complete with heads. Note the crescent moon in Chamunda’s hair—an attribute of Shiva. Kali was a consort of Shiva. So was Parvati, who appears as a graceful young woman. Both are forms of the Great Goddess, Devi. Indian gods appear in multiple forms or manifestations, emphasizing different aspects of their divine nature. Indian belief holds that dualistic thinking—that is, our tendency to classify things as either good or evil, male or female, beautiful or ugly—ismaya, or illusion. Were this veil of illusion lifted, we’d see Kali and Parvati as one.