The seated goddess from 10th century A.D. Madhya Pradesh was an awesome symbol of power. Continuing ‘The Enduring Image’ series

 Five of her 10 arms are broken, but you might not notice this at first sight. Because what rivets your eyes about this seated goddess from Malwa is her right arm, which rises up to mark the forehead, much like a dancer putting on a ‘bindi’ while looking at an imaginary mirror.

In another of her arms, this sandstone goddess holds a lotus in bloom, while yet another shows a ‘kundala’ – an earring that would perhaps be part of her toiletry. But let that not lead you to think that this was only an ‘ apsara’ or a goddess included to add to the visual splendour of the pantheon. In the broken arms of the 10th century goddess, archaeologists have traced the remains of a conch and a shield, normally associated with aggression or warfare. Besides, she is flanked by two male figures – one a prince, and the other, a guardian figure wielding a weapon. The devotees, seated in a row at her feet, look up in wonder and awe. The goddess, there’s little doubt, was revered for her power.

Who was this goddess seated in a ‘lalitasana’ posture on a lotus? Not Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, the consort of Vishnu, the icon of beauty, nay, perfection. This is a Jain goddess, archaeologists conjecture, even though the iconography does not confirm to any surviving Jain text. The conclusion is based on the fact that the shape of the missing relief above the lotus nimbus resembles a sitting Tirthankara. Perhaps strengthening the belief is the historical fact that Jainism flourished in Central India in the. 10th century A. D.

The goddesses of Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism were intrinsically linked with the concept of energy and power. This power could be an individual’s, too. It was once believed that, through ‘tantra’ (the complex system of ritual exercises meant for spiritual empowerment); an individual could invoke the blessings of the goddess who would then unlock the energies in the human body.

But how did people come to link power and creation? The basic tenet, it would seem, was that the human body had the same fundamental structure as the universe. And then, spiritual discipline would unfold inner knowledge and power, the centre of which were visualised as lotuses inside the body. This was why goddesses were shown seated on lotuses.

Imaging the universe in terms of the human figure is a practice that goes back centuries, and one that was not restricted to the Hindu pantheon. The Jains, too, visualised the universe not as formless space but as a cutout of Mahavira.

The area where the Hindu deities received a different ‘treatment’ from the sculptors was in their adornment. With the Buddhist and Jain philosophies being essentially ascetic, the Buddha and the Tirthankaras were clad, if at all, only in a piece of cloth. The sculptors focused their energies in evoking their inner peace and beauty. In most cases, when it came to the Hindu gods and goddesses, their majesty was expressed in terms of their adornment. Intricate carving breathed life into hard stone as the Standing Goddess (another exhibit in ‘The Enduring Image’) came to be dressed in bangles, amulets, a double-looped girdle that draped over her thighs, jewellery around her neck and a heavy central locket that rests between her breasts. That surely added to the grandeur of the goddess in sandstone, possibly from Rajasthan, which lost its head to the vandalising hand of marauders, but not its majesty.

Even the male deities were decorated with necklaces and amulets, earrings and crown ornaments. But few of these matched the sensuous care that went into carving the elaborate ornamentation of the goddess.

No wonder the Seated Goddess held pride of place in the personal collection of renowned sculptor Joseph Epstein, before it entered the British Museum.