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Four More Popular Yak sinis
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Soma who had a virtuous and devoted wife in Ambikā (called Ambini in the Prakrit text). The couple had two sons Siddha and Buddha. Once upon a time Soma invited several Brahmins to a dinner at his place on the occasion of the Srāddha ceremony of his ancestor.When meals were ready Ambika's mother-in-law went out for bath. In the meantime a Muni who had fasted for full one month turned up and asked Ambikā to give him food to break his fast. Greatly delighted, Ambikā fed the Muni with dishes prepared for the Brahmins. On the matter being reported by her mother-in-law to Somabhatta, the latter became wild with rage and drove Ambikā out of the house. Consequently, Ambikā had to leave the place in a helpless condition along with her two children.
Strange miracles occurred as Ambika went on and on her weary way. Her sons, hungry and exhausted, cried out for food and water. Ambikā had nothing to give. Instantly, a dried mango-tree by the road-side offered them fine ripe mangoes, and a dry lake nearby was filled all at once with water. Exhausted, Ambikå rested for a while under the shade of the mango-tree.
At home too miracles occurred. This opened the eyes of Soma and his mother, and they were filled with remorse. Soma came running after Ambikā in order to restore her to the house. Poor Ambika, on seeing Soma running after her, misunderstood his intentions and looking around for a hiding place to save herself from his wrath, saw a big well and jumped into it with both the sons and died.73
She was reborn in the heaven called the Kohanda Vimana-situated four yojanas before the Saudharma Kalpa-as a Yakşi devoted to the Sasana of Neminātha. She is otherwise known as Kohandi (Kuşmāndi or Kuşmandini) on account of her residence in the Kohanda Vimana.
Her husband too filled with remorse died after her, but due to his Abhiyaugic Karma was born a lion and became a váhana of Ambika.
The above is a Svetambara account of the origin of Ambika.74 A Digambara version of the story of her origin is supplied by the "Yaksi-Katha" found in a work called Punyaśrava- kathā, a palm-leaf Ms. of which is in the possession of the temple-priest at Jina-Kanchi. According to this version, which is slightly different from the Svetämbara one, she was the wife of Somaśarman, a Brahmin of Girinagara. Her name was Agnila and her sons were called Subhankara and Prabhankara, aged seven and five years respectively. Here she leaves her husband in company of her two sons and a faithful maid-servant and repairs to the Urjjayant hill where Varadatta, the Muni whom she had given food for breaking his fast, was living. 75
The iconography of Ambikā can be explained almost wholly with the help of the legends narrated above. When represented, Ambika is invariably accompanied by two children, apparently Siddha and Buddha, and she holds a bunch of mangoes which saved them from starvation, and a noose, apparently the rope, meant for drawing water from an Indian well.
The story of Agnila is however illustrated in the wall-paintings in the sangita-mandapa of the Vardhamana temple at Tiruparuttikuppam (Jina-Kanchi).76 The Yakşi is seated cross-legged and wears a conical crown over her head. She is flanked on two sides by her two sons. Behind the son on the right stands the attendant woman with a garland in her hands. On another panel she is shown sitting cross-legged, with a conical crown over her head, and is four-armed, the two lower ones showing the abhaya and varada poses and the upper ones carrying a goad and a noose.
On her left stands a party of women, two of whom are discernible in the old painting, the rest being completely obliterated. One of them, or the one standing nearest to the Yakși holds in her hands a vessel pouring forth flames of fire. The other has a tray with burning fire. Both the vessel and the tray are intended for the purpose of Arati as a mark of respect and devotion towards gods or saints.
Images of Ambikä сan broadly be divided into three groups according to the number of arms they bear, namely, (A) two-armed, (B) four-armed, and (C) having move than four arms. They can further be sub-divided into Svetāmbara and Digambara images. The vahana in all cases remains the same, namely, a lion.77 Her complexion, too, is usually golden, but red in some Tantric rites.78
1. Two-Armed Variety
sitting.
The two-armed variety is represented in two postures, namely, the standing and the Jinaprabhasūri invokes her as follows in his Urjjayanta-stava (v. 13):79
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