This Four Armed Goddess was discovered in an excavation in the Mundeshwari temple located at Kaura in the Kaimur district of Bihar. The temple is dedicated to Shiva and Shakti, and here the devi’s Vaarahi Ambika form is worshipped. Varahi is one of the divine ‘Saapthamatrikas’ or the seven mother goddesses who make up the varied forms of Adi-Shakti, the divine goddess or the divine mother. Each of the matrikas is the counterpart of the devas Brahmani for Brahma, Vaishnavi for Vishnu, Maheshwari for Shiva, Kaumari for Sakanda, Varahi for Varaha, Chamunda from the Devi, Narasimhi, and Vinayaki. The sculpture of the four armed goddesses is that of a Yakshini, mischievous, sometimes benevolent, sometimes capricious goddesses or devis. Fittingly they are the custodians of treasure hidden within the Earth and as such are powerful magicians and shape shifters. The Yakshini here stands with a mace and another weapon of battle in her upper hands, with her lower right hand folded in the Abhaya mudra, and her lower left hand at her waist. This form of the Yakshini is sturdy, stable, and rather earthy, It depicts her as a benevolent protector of the Mundeshwari Temple.
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