# The Goddess Annihilates the Demon Raktabija, from a Devi-Mahatmya

- Date: c. 1640
- Medium: gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Page: 16.2 x 25.7 cm (6 3/8 x 10 1/8 in.)
- Culture: Central India, Madhya Pradesh, Malwa
- Credit line: Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/2018.128)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/cma/2018.128/2018.128_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

The demon Raktabija had received a boon that from each drop of his blood that falls on the ground, a new demon would arise. When the Goddess wounded Raktabija in combat, and drops of his blood fell on the ground and generated new Raktabijas, she extended her tongue to catch every drop before it hit the ground. Here she is shown lapping up Raktabija himself.