Grey stone sculpture of crowned Vishnu seated with several arms, holding the two small defeated figures of Madhu and Kaitabha at either side; the whole carved slab and black display base are visible.
Historical sculpture photograph

Grey stone sculpture of crowned Vishnu seated with several arms, holding the two small defeated figures of Madhu and Kaitabha at either side; the whole carved slab and black display base are visible.

Unknown artist, Vishnu Vanquishing the Demons Madhu and Kaitabha, ca.800, Kashmir region, phyllite. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, M.83.72, Gift of Harry Kahn. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA; www.lacma.org. · LACMA public-domain image, made available for use without restriction under Terms1(a) · Image source

Kashmir, ca.800. LACMA identifies this sculpture as Vishnu vanquishing Madhu and Kaitabha. The two demons are shown together; the catalogue does not specify which side represents each named demon.

Overview

Kaitabha acts alongside Madhu throughout Medhas’s cosmic-ocean narrative: both originate by Vishnu’s ear, threaten Brahma, fight the awakened Vishnu and are deceived into granting the boon of their own deaths. Their five-thousand-year combat and destruction by the discus belong to the same episode. The passage supplies no separate biography or bodily distinction for Kaitabha; it explains the goddess’s power of delusion through the fate of the pair.

Primordial asuraSource-specific sacred narrative
01

Origins & earliest records

South Asian Hindu sacred narrative

02

Records & interpretation

Full relevant hosted Pargiter passages directly read; Medhas’s narration within the Markandeya Purana.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa

    F. E. Pargiter (translator) · 1904

    Canto 81; historical English edition date, not Sanskrit composition date.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Pargiter translation

Devī-Māhātmya; hosted 1904 translation. Canto 81

Full relevant chapter narrative directly read on Wisdomlib; source-specific translation and narrator retained; no illustration claimed.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical primary religious-text translationPargiter, Markandeya Purana — canto 81Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

Historical sculpture photograph

Grey stone sculpture of crowned Vishnu seated with several arms, holding the two small defeated figures of Madhu and Kaitabha at either side; the whole carved slab and black display base are visible.

Unknown artist, Vishnu Vanquishing the Demons Madhu and Kaitabha, ca.800, Kashmir region, phyllite. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, M.83.72, Gift of Harry Kahn. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA; www.lacma.org. · LACMA public-domain image, made available for use without restriction under Terms1(a) · Image source

Kashmir, ca.800. LACMA identifies this sculpture as Vishnu vanquishing Madhu and Kaitabha. The two demons are shown together; the catalogue does not specify which side represents each named demon.

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