Introduction to Iconography of Jain Goddess Padmavati

Author(s): A K Bhattacharya
Publisher: Z_Jinvijay_Muni_Abhinandan_Granth_012033.pdf
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/250010/1

Page #1
An Introduction to the Iconography of the JAIN GODDESS PADMAVATI European researches on the symbolism of the serpent resulted in connecting it with the Sun, Time or Eternity. From its connection with the sun-spirit, it came to signify enlightenment and creation. But while there is general agreement in accepting the order in the symbolic objects adored by man, as given by Gen. For long in his "Rivers of Life", wherein the serpent comes the third, the Tree and the Phallic preceding in order, there is reason to doubt the theory that 'gods and men transformed themselves into trees, plants or beast3'l. It is rather that the process was quite the reverse and the ancient thinkers found in the quick movement, spiritedness etc, e. g., in the serpent, a reflection of the dynamicity of human life, its ideas of growth and expansion. Subsequently, human thought tried to assimilate such objects, sensate or insensate, as were met with readily and could attract, their attention as the embodiment and source of life and its essence. The tradition of serpent-worship in India is very old being traceable to the Atharvaveda, nay, even to some obscure passages in the Rgveda itself. The word 'sarpa' occurs only once in the Rgveda and that the tenth mandala of the Samhita3. Although there is much doubt as to the meaning of the term, the word 'ahi' meaning 1. C. S. Wake - Serpent Worship, p. 6. 2. Rgveda - X. 189. 1-3 Ayam gauh prsnirakramidasadanmataram purah pitrran ca prayantsvah etc. of Sayana on the above Sukta : ayangauriti trcamastatrtisat Suktam I gayatram 1 sarparajni nama ssika saiva devata suryo veti tatha sanukrantam ayan gauh sarparajnya tmadaivatam sauryam veri .................. ......... yada tvidam suktam sarparajnya atmastutih tada suryatmana stuyata it yavagantavyam. The term Sarparajni has no direct connection with the snakes and according to Sayana Sarparajni was to be identified with the Earth-goddess or the Sun.god. Mahidhara, another commentator, however, goes so far as to suggest that she was none else than Kadru, the serpent-mother, in the form of the earth. Cf. Satapatha Brahmana II. pp. 28-9. See, also, N. K. Bhattasali-Iconography of Buddhist and Brahmanical Sculptures in the Dacca Museum. p. 212 ff. 3. Rv. X. 16,6

Page #2
220 A. K. Bhattcharyya a serpent is comparatively more frequent in these portions of the text. The most conspicous feature of this tradition is that earliest reference to the serpent in the Rgveda is in the form of the enemy of Indra. Ahi or Ahi budhnya of the Rgveda is but another, and perhaps milder form of the great enemy of Indra, viz., Vitra, the serpent. This demoniac feature of the serpent was later in the Brahmanasl and the Sutras metamorphosed into the semi-divine character attributed to it when it is classed with Gandharva etc. It is here also that we meet with the term Naga for the first time, attended with anthrohomorphic features. It is also noteworthy that both in the Samhitas and Sutras it is the virile male energy that is embodied in the enemy of Indra, called Ahi. The transformation of the masculine personality into the feminine was the achievement of the epic writers with whom the serpent was the embodiment of the principle of creation and preservation. It is perhaps because of this that the tradition in its later phase centres round the worship of a female deity as the serpent goddess. The name 'Sarpa' in the masculine finds mention in some verses in the Vajasaneya samhita of the White Yajnrveda where aceording to the commentator Mahidhra, it means just a heavenly or a terrestrial or even an atmospheric 'abode'2. In the epic age which, of course, had a big gap after the Vedic, extending over several centuries this tradition and the cult assumed a shape which pervaded the entire mythological setting of Aryavarta of the time. The snake-sacrifice of Janamejaya is a major episode in the drama of entire heroic poetry that had grown up round the Kuru-battle. Although we have in Vasuki, the king of the serpents, we see in his sister Jaratkaru, the serpent goddess in the making, Vasukis sister Jaratkaru and wife of the sage of the same name was the mother of Astika and this latter conception was responsible for the important position she came to occupy in Hindu mythology as the pressiding deity over the serpent spirits. But the person that actually had been endowed with the power of curing snakebite was Kasyapa. It is again, Kadru that is associated with the serpents as their mother. It seems therefore, that the mythological ideologies, as current in the epic developed in a modifed form in later ages and emerged in the Puranas in a new light. Thus the female serpent-Goddesss Manasa as we find in the Brahmavaivorta. Purana the earliest Purana to mention her, is ideologically a combination of the 1. The higher creation is divided into the following classes : gods, men, Gandhar. vas, Apsarasas, Sarpas, and Manes. Cf. Aitareva Brahmana III. 31.5 2. Wh. Yv. ch. 13 Kundika 6-8--naamostu sarpebhyo ve ke ca' prthivimanu ye antarik se ye divi tebhyah sarpebhyo namah etc On the above Mahidhara says: ime vai lokah sarpah iti surteh sarpasabdena loka ucyante.

Page #3
Goddess Padmavati above personal features.1 While Kadru is conceived as the wife of the sage Kasyapa, the Primordial male creation, Manasa came to be regarded as the daughter of Siva in later mythology, Siva of course, being the energy to whom the destruction of the Universe is attributed. Thus although in a stotra in the Bhavisya Purana we have the assertion that she is mind-born one of Kasyapa, her origin from the seed of Siva has also found much favour with the puranites. The above two concepts, again, were reconciled greatly in the Brahmavaivarta Purana where she is called the mind-born of Kasyapa and the spiritual daughter of Siva. In the Pauranic age the serpent-chief Sesa is sometimes associated or identical with Balarama who is represented as having a serpent-wreath and a club in hand 3 In medieval sculptures, too, images of Balarama are found bearing the canopy of a seven-hooded serpent.4 221 The conception of Manasa or Padma as a serpent Goddess, is, however, a very late development, The lotus symbol was primarily associated with the Goddess of wealth, Laksmi. The images of certain other Vishnuite gods and goddesses also exhibit the same symbol. The mythological account of Narayana himself. having a lotus-stalk rising up from his navel is certainly not very early, and it was at first the Lokapita Prajapati Brahma that was lotus-seated. In art too, such representation can not go further than the 5th or the 6th century A. D.5 The name Padma is certainly reminiscent of her intimate association with the lotus. 1. The Dhyana in the Tithitattvatska definitely identifies Jaratkaru with the serpentgoddess Manasa, although in earliar mythology Jaratkaru has nothing to claim. the status of serpent-deity. The description of serpent-ornaments, of her holding a pair of Nagas in her two hands, makes it clear that the reference is to the serpent goddess who is further called Astikamata which latter epithet, on the other hand, makes her identical with Jaratkaru. Cf. Hemambhojanibham lasadvisadhara la thkara samsobhitam Smerasyam parito mahoragaganaih samsevyamana msada I Devimastikama taram sisusutahapinatungastanim Hastambhojayugena naga-yugalam sambibhratimasraye II 2. Brahmavaivarta Purana, Prakrti khandam, ch. 45, v. 2-ct. Kanya sh ca Bhagavati kasyapasya ca manasi Teneyam Manasa devi manasa ya ca divyati. 2, also, SivaSisya ca sa devi tena Saiviti kirtita, 8. 3. Mahabharata, XIII 147, 54 if. 4. The figure from Bodoh in Gwalior, of Balarama, belonging to the medieval period is canopied by a sevenhooded serpent. Vide, pl. XVIII-A guide to the Archa.ological Museum at Gwalior. 5. A. K. Coomaraswamy: Elements of Buddhist Iconography, P. 68. 6. It is interesting to note that as many as nine of the 15 Manasa images preserved. in the Varendra Research Society. have been collected from a tank called Padumshahar in Dist. Rajshahi, vide, Cat., Varendra Research Society, p. 30.

Page #4
222 A. K. Bhattcharyya In the Purana literature, at least in its latet phase, Padmi, as mentioned along with Sarasvati, the Goddess of Learning, has no other significance than that of Laksmi, the Goddess of Wealth.1 Indeed; the commonest dhyana of the goddess makes her ride on a swan.2 the popular vahana of Sarasvati. The fact of her attaining the knowledge of Brahma in the form of the Earth, as already mentioned above, bespeaks of this connection with Brahmani or Sarasvati. The Buddhists too knew of the serpent-goddess under the name Janguli. She is perhaps the nearest approach iconographically speaking, to the Jaina Goddess Padiavati. Janguli as the snake-Goddess emanates from Aksobhya, the 2nd Dhyani Buddha, Like Padmavati she is the Goddess curing snake bites and also preventing it. According to a Sangiti in the Sadhanamala, Janguli is as old as Buddha Himself who is said to have given to Ananda the secret mantra for her worship. It is worthy of note that Janguli has been called in the Sadhanamala. a Tara i. e., a variety of the latter.3 It is indeed curious that Janguli should be so called in Buddhist tradition also. We know, of the eight kinds of "fear" which are dispelled by Tara, to which fact she owes her name, the fear from serpent is one. That Padmavati is but the same goddess in Jaina pantheon as Tara is in the Buddhist, is also stated clearly in the Padmavatistotram, We know, however, that the group of goddess going by the name of Tara is generally an emanation of Amoghasiddhi. In the Sadhanamala Amoghasiddhi, the 4th or according to the Nepalese Buddhists, the 5th Dhyani Buddha, has for his vahana, a pair of Garudas. Although according to the Pauranic mythology, Garuda and the serpents are mutually intolerant of each other, 1. Agni Purana, XLII. 7-8. cf. Nairrtyamambikam sthapya Vayavye tu Sarasvatim Padmamaise Vasudevam madhye Narayananca va etc. 2. Bhavisya Purana cf. Hamsarudhamudaramarunitavasanam sarvadam sarvadaiva. 3. B. Bhattacharyya : Indian Buddhist Iconography, p. 185, also, Foucher : Etude Sur 1 Iconographie Bouddhique de l'Inde, p. 89 4. The writer Owes this suggestion to the kindness of Dr. J. N. Banerjee, M. A., Ph.D., Lecturer, Calcutta University, who has drawn his attention to this Current etymology of Tara. We should also note that Jangulika came to mean poison-curer in general in later lexicons. See, Amarukosa, Patalavarga, 11 5. Cf. Tasa tvam Sugatagame Bhagavati Gauriti Saivagame Vajra Kaulikasasane Jinamate Padmavati visruta. Gayatri Srutasalinam Prakrtirityuktasi Samk hyayane Matar-Bharati kim prabhutabhanitairvyaptam samastam tvaya, 19 Ms. No. 27 in the Buddreedass Temple Collection; cf. also, Tara mana vimarddini Bhagavati Devi ca Padmavati 27. Ibid, Also. App. V, Bhairava-Padmavati-kalpa, P. 28.

Page #5
Goddess Padmavati 223 their close relation, too, can hardly be denied. In fact, notwithstanding the description in the Sadhanamala representations of Amoghasiddhi have been found wherein a sevenhooded serpent forms the back-ground of the main image, in the form of an umbrella.1 The number of the hoods is very significant. It bears close resemblance to the representation of Parsvanatha who must have either three, seven or eleven hoods as his canopy. These numbers are to be the distinguishing features in recognising a figure of Parsvana tha as distinct from those of Suparsvanatha whose canopy of serpent-hood must be either 1, 5 or 9 hoods. 2 The name Janguli of the Buddhist goddess most probably suggests her popular origin, as the goddess of the forest-sides or more properly a rural goddess. Janguli as a snake goddess curing snake-bite or preventing it, is not, however, altogether unknown to the Jains. Reference to her in their literature are numerous. It is not unlikely too, that apart from the conception of Padmavati, Janguli had an important place in Jaina mythology. A ms. dated sam. 1546 i. e., 1489 A. D. from Jesalmere mentions, 3 her name as a snake-goddess. Buddhist Tantricism came to have any perceptible influence on Indian mind not before the Sth cent. of the Christian era. On the evidence of Taranatha on which the above conclusion is based, it was the 7th and the 8th centuries which saw the emergence of Tantricism in India specially in eastern parts thereof, notably Bengal. Tantricism which is characterised by the worship of female energy is further said to have been diffused through such cults as Sahaja Yana which found its first exponent in Laksmidevi, daughter of Indrabhuti, who, according to a Tibetan tradition, flourished about the eighth cent. A. D.5 The feminine spirit as the presiding deity over the snakes is the product of this Tantricism and her form as conceived in Buddhist ritualistic texts had not altogether failed to leave its mark on the other Indian religious sects. The text referred to above is said to have been composed in Sam. 1352 or 1295 A D. by Jinaprabha Suri. Thus it is clear that as early as the 13th cent. A. D. and most certainly a few centuries earlier the Buddhist serpent goddess Janguli was 1. B. Bhattacharyya : Indian Buddhist Iconography, p. 5. pl. VIII. c. 2. B. C. Bhattacharyya : Jaina Iconography, pp. 60 & 82.; 3. Compare the ms. in the Buddreedass Temple Collection. 4. Cf. Durdantasabdiki manyadar pasar paika-Janguli. Nityam jagarti jihvagre visesavidu samiyam. 2 5. For a detailed discussion, see, Indian Buddhist Iconography, introduction, p. XXVI. 6. Cf. Pak sesu sakti sasibhsnmita-vikramabde dhatryonkite haratithau puri yogininam Katantrabibhrama iba vyatanista tikamapraudhadhirapi Jinaprabhasuriretam 2

Page #6
224 A. K. Bhattcharyya also familiar to the Jaina writers although as a distinct goddess in any definite iconic orm she was not known to the latter. The form of Janguli as a deity appearing along with the central figure of Khadiravani Tara is best illustrated in a miniature painting on a 9th cent. ms. of Pancavim-Satisahasrika Projnaparamita preserved in the Museum and Picture Gallery, Baroda. The figure of Janguli on the right is twohanded and has a canopy of five hoods of a serpent with a halo at the back. The left hand holds a ser pent while the right hand seems to hold a vajra. Her seat appears to be a coiled serpent. What, however, is the iconographic form of Janguli in Jainism is not very clear either in the texts or in any extant image thereof. We may also draw the attention of scholars to the fact that the conception of Padma or Visahari as being accompanied by the Eight principal Nagas, regarded as her sons, as given in the Padma purana of Vijaya Gupta as also the Bhvaisya Purana, 2 has found an exact counterpart in the conception of Sukla Kurukulla, a Goddess emanating from Dhyani Buddha Amitabha, who has been described as a being attended on by the Eight Nagas,- Ananta, Vasuki, Taksaka, Karkotaka, Padma, Mahapadma, Sankhapala and Kulika, each having a distinct colour of its own.3 The names of these Eight Nagas tally4 exactly with the names given in the Tithitatva of Raghunanda. The names of the Eight Nagas also tally with those given in X 14 of Bhairva-Padmavat ikalpa. The iconographic descriptions of these Eigth Nagas are given as follows in X, 15-16 of the Bhairava-Padmavatikalpa of Mallisena:6 Vasuki and Sankha, born of ksatriya clan are of red colour, Karkota and Padma born of Sudra clan are black in colour. Ananta and Kulika of the Brahmin clan possess white colour like the moon-stone and Taksaka and Mahapadma of the Vaisya clan have yellow colour. In fact, the mutual influence of the Buddhist 1. See the ms. exhibited at the Picture Gallery, Baroda State Museum, Baroda. 2. Cf. Astanigasahita ma esa Padmapurana (3rd Ed. by Peary mohan Dasgupta), P. 2; and Vandeham sastanagamurukucayugalam yaginim kamarupam-Bhavisya Purana. 3. Indian Bud hist Iconography, p. 56. 4. A slight difference in the names of Eight Nagas is, however, to be noticed in the Adbhura.Padmavati-kolpa, IV, 49. cf. Vagvijakasritattvadyantanamah syustanantavasukinau' Taksaka-Karkotaka-Kamala-Mahakamala-Sankha-Kulijayastada dhah. 5. Tithitatva, (Ed. by Mathuranath Sarina), O. 135. 6. Compare the present writer's article on the date of the Bhairava-Padmavati-kalpa in the Indian Culture, Vol. XI, No. 4. The date according to the calculations made therein based on synchronisms with other works of Mallisena, who was a Digambara Jain writer, falls sometime in the second quarter of the 11th cent. A. D.

Page #7
Goddess Padmavati 225 Kurukulla and Jaina Padmavati is very prominent as the Bhiarva-Paadmavatlpa itself mentions Kurukulla in X. 41.1 We may, however, discuss here as to whether these Nagas are really nothing other than water-symbols as has been supposed by Coomaraswamy. No doubt the names of some of these so called Nagas, go to strengthen the above view, yet it is very signiticant that Padma as the Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity, being identical with the deity known as Sri, most naturally had the adhara or constituent elements in the accepted eight kinds of treasures of nidhis in the shape of Padma, Mahapadma, Makara, Kacchapa, Mukunda, Nila, Nanda and Sankha. It also stands to reason to suppose that the nidhis came to be identified with serpents because of the fact that the principal kinds of snakes had each a special variety of jewel on its hood, and that the snakes being residents of the nether regions were aptly considered the carriers of them from out of waters, the ocean or ratnakara as it is significantly known.2 The transformation, thus, of the wealth-goddess Laxmi into Padma, the serpent goddess, entailed a necessary change of the eight kinds of treasures into the eight kinds of Nagas or serpents, and we know Goddess Laxmi was born out of the ocean, the abode of both the nidhis or treasures and the serpents. As a serpent Goddess Padmavati is perhaps the most popular figure in the Jaina pantheun. From a study of the general description and the list of the boons conferred by her, one can easily recognise in her the most homely of Jaina goddesses. Even at a stage of development of her personality into an independent deity from the status of the Sasanadevi of Parsvanatha, we are constantly reminded of the fact of her origin, although a study of the numerous stotras in her honour and the elaborate system of ritual that had grown up round her worship as also the varied objects prayed for and apparently she was capable of bestowing on the devotee, leaves but little doubt about the important position as an independent and influential goddess, she had risen to occupy in the Jaina pantheon. In order to make a study of the iconography of Padmavati or any other god or goddess it is imperative to make an investigation about her affiliation to any of the Highest Divinities of the mythology concerned. It is interesting, however, that in the case of Padmavati, she has been most systematically affiliated to one or other of the Higher Divinities either in Brahmanism, Buddhism or in Jainism. Not only 1. Bhairava-Padmavati-Kalpa, X. 41. 2 Ct. Padmini nama ya vidya Laksmistasyadhidevata Tadadharasca nidhayastan me nigadatah srnu Tatra Padma-Mahapadmau tathi Makara Kacchapau Mukunda-Nilau Nandasca Sankhascaivastamo nidhih--Sabdakalpadruma quo ting from Bharata; cf. also, J. N. Banerji : The Development of Hindu Iconography, p. 116, fn. 1.

Page #8
226 A. K. Bhattacharyya that there is ideological similarity among all these Higher Divinities to whom the serpent goddess is affiliated in all the three principal religious systems of India. We have already discussed to some extent the connection of Janguli and Sukla Kurukulla with Aksobhya and Amitabha whose emanations they are taken to be and are often represented in art as bearing their effigies on the aureole behind or on the crest. (Reference may also be made in this connection to an inscription of the 2nd cent. B. C. which mentions an apsaras Padmavati as being an attendance on the Buddha after his enlightenment. The inscription was found on one of the Barhut gateways in Central India. The name Padmavati, further, as that of the capital cities of Naga kings who flourished in the 3rd cent. A. D., is also significant. It is mentioned in the Vishnu Purana and the entire scene of the play Malatimadhava by Bhavabhnti is laid in that city.1) The connection of the eight Nagas as attendants on Amitabha, the Dhyani Buddha for Suikta Kurukulla is also to be compared with the conception according to which Padmavati is attended on by the same Eight Nagas, both according to the Brahmanic and the aia mythology.2 In the Padmapurana, cited above, whose date according to data given in the text itself falls sometime in the latter half of the 15th cent. A. D.3 says that Padmavati was the daughter of Hara.1 The dhyana of Manasa or Padma as given in the Bhavisya Purana calls her Mahesa (of Devim Padmam Mahesam sasadharavadanam etc.) in the Padmavatistotram of the Jains too, Padmavati is called a 'Maha-Bhairvi' which speaks of her connection with the Saiva mythology, Bhairava being a name for Siva. The iconographic details, according to the epics, of Hara wherein He is connected with a serpent coil are too wellknown to need mention here. This conception of Padmavati as the daughter of Hara has a close sinilarity in the conception, in Jaina mythology, of Padmavati as the Yaksini of Paravanatha who has a seven-hooded serpent as a canopy. In Buddhist ideology, too, as we have already noticed, Amoghasiddhi as the sire of Tara, who has been compared with Pad mavati ,has sevenhooded serpent as his caropy. The number seven of the hoods of the serpent forming the canopy is indeed very significant. Although more easily connected 1. The site of Padmavati, by M. B. Garde, A. S. I., Ann. Rep. 1915-16, pp. 104-5. 2. See, ante; also, Padmapurana, p. 2 and Bhavisya Purana, also Bhairava-Padmavati. kalpa, X. 14. 3. Ct. Rtu-sunya-veda-sasi-parimita sak Sulat an Hosen saha nrpatitilak. - Pdmapurana. p. 4. The date however is disputed. Another ms. of the same text has : Rtusasivedasasi .. which gives a date 1416 Sak.(1494 AD) as opposed to 1406 Sak. (1484 A. D.) given in the verse quoted above. 4. Ct. Harsite prthivite namila Hara-sula Asanacapiya vase Devi Harer duhila. --Ibid, p. 2

Page #9
Goddess Padmavati with the Saiva-myths, Parsvanetha in order to be given the prominence he deserves in Jain faith, has been endowed with this seven-hooded canopy, for, in the Hindu tradition the exalted form of Visnu has the seven-headed heavenly Naga unlike the earthly Cobra of Siva. This shows, if anything, that while the Jain assimilates the Saiva character in regard to the general myths about serpentdeities and their worship, yet it can not do away with the conception of the celestial seven-headed Sesa when. any consideration for an exalted form of a deity and its imagery was taken up.1 It is interesting. however, to note that according to a Digambara tradition the icon of Padmavati is to have on her crest the effigy of the Lord of the serpents. The Svetambara text Bhairova-Podma vatika'pa of Mallisena thus gives a description of the goddess: 227 Pannagadhipasekharam vipularunambujavistaram Kurutoragava hanamarunaprabham kamalananam Tryambakam varadankusayat apasadivyaphalankitam Cintayet kamalavatim japatam satam phaladayinim II. 12 Although, we know, it is usual in Buddhist iconography, to represent the figure of the Sire, on the head, crown or the aureole at their back, of their emanations, in Jain iconography it is the figure of the Lord of the serpents Dharanendra, who has been conceived of as the consort of Padmavati, and not Parsvnath that is to be represented on the sekhara of the image of Padmavati Sasanadevatam as emanations of the respective Tirthankaras seem to be a later development in Jain mythology. These were originally the principal converts, male and female, who as zealous defenders of the faith were to be associated with each Tirthankara with 1. For a detailed discussion about the origin and development of the serpent-cult the reader is referred to serpent-worship. vide. C.S. Wake; The origin of Serpent worship, ch. III, pp. 81 ff. Here the author has also given a summary of the arguments by R. Brown, who contends that the serpent-worship has a closer conne ction with solar mythology. Vide. R. Brown: The Great Dionysiak Myth, 1878, ii. 66 For a discussion of the number of hoods in the canopy, see infra. 2. Cf. Pdmavati patu phanindra-patni, 28. --Padmavati-stotram, loc. cit. The 'Pannagdhipa' referred to in the above verse may as well and more consistently refer to Parsvanatha who is primarily the duty of serpents (Pannaga). This is also in consonance with the numerous representations of the serpentgoddess Padmvati shown with the effigy of Parsvantha on the crest or on the aureole On the other hand no image or painting of Padmavati is found with Dharanendra shown on the crest or the aureole.

Page #10
228 A. K. Bhattacharya whom some mythological stories or legends are related to connect them. The Pravacanasaroddhara telling of the character of a Yaksa only lays down that they are none but sincere adherents to the faith. The Pratisthakalpa says thar a sasanade vata is one that upholds the knowledge preached by Jina.1 The Acaradinakara of Vardhamana Suri characterises Yaksas as those that maintained and guarded the Sri Sangha of the Jains,2 We may draw attention to the Ganadhara-cult in Jainism. With somewhat similar, if not the same, zeal Ganadharas, the main converts to the faith and the principal disciples, are offered worship and much in the same way as the Sasandevas represented in art. Thus Gautama, the Ganadhra of Mahavira is offered worship in connection with the worship of Parsvanatha and Padmavati.3 A Yaksa, however, came to be regarded as an emanation of the particular Tirthankara to whom one was attached as his Sasanadeva. By about the 11th cent. A. D. this was firmly established as we find in the Nirvanakalika of Padalipta Suri mention of the Yaksas as emanations of the Tirthankaras. It is, however, to be borne in mind that the name Yaksa as originally used in connection with the sasaaade vatas of the Tirthankaras, came gradually to signify a higher status than its more commonplace use does. We may refer here to the kaya-theory of the Buddhists who adopting the principle of the Tri-kaya suppose that each Buddha has a three-fold kaya or body i. e., aspect. In virtue of these 'aspects' or natures there are three distinct manifestations or existences of each Buddha on earth, in Nirvana and in the heavens respectively. These aspects are 'Nirma na-kaya' or the body of Tranformation' which is according to some scholars a magical body or an illusion,5 Dharma-kaya or state or body of essential purity, and Sambhoga-kaya or body of supreme Happiness. These three stares of existence are characterised by practical Bodhi, essential Bodhi and reflected Bodhi, respectively. And this ka vatheory is responsible for regarding the Manushi-Buddha as an emanation from the Dhyani-Buddha. For the Dhyani-Buddha as an embodiment of absolute purity 1. Cf. Ya Palusasanam Jainam sadyah pratyuhanasini . bhuya tsasardevata-quoted in Jaina Iconography, p. 92. 2 Cf. Ye kevale suragane milite Jinagre Srisamgharaksanavicaksanatam vidadhyuh. Yaksasta eva paramarddhivivrddhibhaja ayantu santahrdaya Jina-pujanerra --Acaradinakara, p. 173. 3. Cf. Om Hrim aim sri Sri-Gautamaganara jaya svaha. -- Bhairava-Padmavati-kalpa, App. VIII. p. 56. 4. Nirvanakalika (Ed, by M. B. Zaveri), P. 34. 5. M. Dela Vallee Paussin : The Three Bodies of a Buddha (J. R. A. S. G. B. I, October, 1906).

Page #11
Goddess Padmavati 229 immortal abstraction. The necessity for this manifestation lay in the fact of the Manushi Buddha as the mortal ascetic preaching the Law on earth and helping its preservation in that way. Although there is great difference in the fundamentals of the two theories of emanation as obtained in Buddhism, put forth above and as in Jainism, as implied in the concept of the Sasanadevas, the function of the preaching, or more properly of the preservation, of the Law is generally attributed to the forms emanating, in both, And although this common attribute was tnere, the difference, nevertheless, was very much conspicuous, as also was it inevitable because of the fact that in the Buddhist the divine mystic element was predoininent while in the Jaina it is the human. Consequently what we easily find an easy transformation in the case of Buddhas, in the Jaina it is merely a case of divinity put on earthly persons, and making him just adorable as a Servant of the Faith. Moreover, a Yaksa or a Yaksini as was the name obtainable with regard to the sasanadevatas, was quite different from the Yaksa of usual significance and application. In fact, a Yaksa or a Yaksini originally attached as such to a Tirthankara came to be attended on by other Yaksas and Yaksinis. where in the latter application the term seems to have retained its usual sense of a demi.god.2 Thus we find in the growth of Jain mythology Padmavati was in the first stage a Sasanadevata attached to the 23rd Tirthankara, Parsvanatha,3 but afterwards raised to the status of an independent deity who received worship as a serpent goddess curing snake-bites as also as a deity to be invoked for such purposes as marana, uccatana, vasika ana etc. The iconographic details of Padmayati are wide and varied. The Padmavati-stotram of an anonymous writer conceives her as the Adimata or the Primordial Power, the Adi-sakti. She is also identified with almost all the important goddesses in Jain mythology. In other words, Padmavati has been conceived of as the Primordial Power, the source and fountain-head of all the different powers or Presiding deities represented as so many goddesses in the hierarchy of the Jain pantheon. 1. For a fuller discussion on the theory of Trikaya and its implications vide A. Getty : The Gods of Northern Buddhism, pp. 10-12 Padmavati, herself originally a Yaksini of Parsvanatha is said to have been attended on by Yaksas and Siddhas, See, V. 3. p. 31. App., Bhairava - Padmavatikalpa; here, however, Yaksa seems to have a common-place significance of a demi-god, 3. Thus in the invocatory verse (ahvana-sloka) in the Padmavaristotram, we find the goddess still regarded as the presiding deity over the sermon preached by the Lord although she has attached a far greater importance as an independent deity in some work. Ct. Padmavati jayati sasanapun yalaksmih.