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Four More Popular Yaksinis
257
a bunch of mangoes in her hand. She was accompanied by Siddha and Buddha and held the image of Sri Neminátha over her head. 142
We have seen that Ambika has two, four, eight or more arms. Of these various forms, worship of images with two arms represents the older tradition all over India and the form continued in worship even when forms with four or more arms were introduced.
Origin of the Jaina Goddess Ambika
When the present writer first published his paper on the Iconography of the Jaina Goddess Ambika in the Journal of the University of Bombay, vol. IX, part 2, September, 1940, pp. 147-169, he was not able to find out and show why the Jaina Ambikā was identified with and addressed as Kuşmandini.
Haribhadra süri (c. 550 A.D.-c. 640 A.D.) writes, in his comm. called the Lalitavistară:143
"... Vaiyāvịttakarāņām pravacanārtham vyāpstabhāvānām yatha Amba-Kuşmândi=ädinem śāntikarānām ..."
Here Amba-Kuşmândi is referred to as a Vaiyāvsttakarā, . Sasalade vatā. An Amba-Ku mandi Vidyå has also been referred to by the same author in his gloss on the Avaśyaka-Niryukti. 144
In the account of the origin of the Jaina goddess Ambikā, given by Jinaprabha sūri in his Ambikadevi-Kalpa, 145 it is said that, after death, Ambikā, the Brāhmaṇa lady, was born in one of the heavens called Kohanda Vimāna and that the devi is also known as Kohundi (Kuşmandi or Kuşmandini). In the unpublished Ambika-devi-kalpa of Subhacandra, one mantra of this goddess reads: "Om Kuşmåndini rakte rakta-mahişa-samarudhe subhāśubham kathaya jhvim svohi."
Ambikä is variously addressed as Amba, Amrā, Kuşmandini, Simhavahini, and Ambika. In the mülamantra of Ambikā, published in the Bhairava-Padmavati-Kalpa, Appendix 19, p. 92, she is addressed as Āmra-Kuşmāndini. The Digambara tantric work Vidyānuśāsana (still unpublished) also refers to an eight-armed form of Amra-Kuşmandi.146
Thus it would appear that in the origin and development of the Jaina Yakși Ambikā, elements of perhaps three different ancient deities have contributed: first, a mother-goddess (amba=mother), probably a form of Durgā riding on the lion or a prototype of the Brahmanical Durga; secondly, some goddess associated with the mangoes and the mango-tree (amra= mango); thirdly, some goddess associated with the Kūşmandas.
Let us first consider the name Ambā or Ambikā. The Sukla-Yajurvediya-Vajasaneyi Samhita has the following well-known mantra:
Ambe Ambålike Ambitame na mā navati kašcana/ sasatyašvakah subhadrikām Kampilavasinim //147
The Jaina Ambikā, since she is associated usually with one or two sons, is a mother-goddess, and as such is rightly addressed as Ambikā or Ambā. In Brahmanical mythology, Ambikā is generally the name of Parvati, the consort of Siva. Compare:
Śiva Bhavāni Rudrāņi Sarvāṇi Sarvamangala / Aparná Põrvati Durgā Mrdáni Candika = Ambika /
Amarakośa, 1.37-38
Ambika is further explained as Ambika Pärvati Mátror-Dhriarăştrasya Mätari. In the Amarakośa Ambika has three meanings, the name of Pärvati, the Mother and the mother of Dhstarăstra. In the Rgveda the sense of "mother" is expressed by Ambā or Ambitamă. In the Rgvedic age Ambika was a MotherGoddess. Her association with Rudra, as pointed out by Bhandarkar, is clear from a reference in the Vajasaneyi Samhità (111.58) where she is mentioned as sister of Rudra. The Taittiriya Samhita, 1.8.6.4 also speaks of the same relation of brother and sister between Ambika and Rudra.
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