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Four More Popular Yakșinis
277 In this context it is important to note that Jatāsimhanandi (c. sixth century A.D.) in his Varāngacarita does not refer to Säsanadevatās (including Padmāvati Yakşi) even when he had scope to do so in canto 2.276.
Padmāvati enjoyed a unique position in Jaina ritualistic literature, especially in the Jaina tantra. Mallişeņa (c. 12th century A.D.) wrote a special text called the Bhairava-Padmavati kalpa, discussing all the rites connected with Padmavati, namely, stambha, vaśya, äkarşana, nimitta-jinäna, gåruda-tantra, and so on. Adbhuta-Padmavati-kalpa was composed by a Svetāmbara writer Sri-Candra suri (c. 12th century A.D.). Indranandi, an earlier Digambara writer, composed a Padmavati-pujanam while a number of texts of uncertain authorship like the Rakta-Padmavat-kalpa, the Padmavati-mantrāmāya-vidhi, the PadmavatiPūjana-Kramaḥ, the Padmavati-vratodyåpana, the Padmăvati-stotra, the Padmavati-sahasra-nama-stotra, etc., are also available.277 A Padmavati-aştaka has been commented upon by the Svetambara scholar Pår vadeva gani, and his commentary gives details of various tantric rites.278 Jinaprabha süri composed a Padmavati-catuspadikā,279 and writers like Āsādhara, Nemicandra and Vasunandi expressly mention that the six-armed form is meant for both propitiatory and cruel rites.
Padmavati has a big parivara or group of attendants and companion deities. The AdbhutaPadmāvat-balpa gives the following twenty-four companions of the goddess to be worshipped in the mandala: Jaya, Vijaya, Jayanti, Aparajita, Manda, Bhadra, Rudra, Karálika, Yogini, Siva, Nanda, Amala, Kamala, Padmā, Mahayogini, Suyantra, Surūpā, Citrā, Viyuta, Parā, Jambhā, Stambhā, Dambha, Moha, Siddha. The text also refers to four-thousand bodyguards of the devi and five-hundred ceris or slave-girls. The following eight durikās are also worshipped in rites consecrated to Padmavaty and writers like Indranandi, Mallisena, and the author of Vidyānuśā sana mention them. They are Padmagandha. Padmavaktrā or Padmāsya, Padmakamalā or Anangakamalā, Madanonmädini, Kamoddipini, Padmavaraņā and Trailokyamohini. Six more are usually found in diagrams of the vasya rites, and seem to be her attending goddesses. They are named as Nitya, Klinnā, Mada, Drava, Madanā, and Unmäda. The famous Padmavati-aştaka also expressly refers to the parijana of Padmavati including Bhrogi, Kali, Karali, Candi and Camundi. Besides these, Jaya, Vijaya, Ajita, Aparajita, Jambha, Mohā, Stambha and Stambhini are almost invariably worshipped in the yantra of Padmavati. According to Parsvadevagani's vstui on the Padmavatyaştaka, the goddess has the surprising total of 48000 attendant deities.
Padmavati, according to Rūpamandana,280 is one of the four principal yaksis of the Jaina pantheon, the other three being Ambikā, Cakreśvari and Siddhāyikā. This is corroborated by the discovery of a large variety of images of the goddess found all over India. If proper search is made many more images besides these are likely to be discovered. A figure of Padmavati has been found at Dorasmudra (Halebid) in the Pārsvanátha Basti. The goddess is standing with a three-hooded cobra over the head and showing the goad, the noose and the fruit in her three hands, the weapon in the fourth being mutilated. Another figure of the goddess has been noticed by B.C. Bhattacharya in the Gwalior fort, Eastern roof, but unfortunately, he has not described it.281 Metal images of the goddess are also very common in the Svetambara and Digambara temples. Of the earlier images, the testimony comes from the Vividha-tirtha-kalpa, which refers to an image of Parśva with Dharana and Padmavati, standing at Ahicchatra, the scene of Pärsva's austerities. According to the same text, images of Padmavati were also installed at Sankhapura, Dhimpura, Cambay, the ancient Sripura, and the Amarakunda in the Andhra-desa 282
Padmavati was originally a companion of Dharanendra who rescued Parsvanatha and she grew subsequently into a powerful yakşi and a powerful tantric deity, and surpassed the other snake-goddess Vairo ya.
But in the earliest lists of Dharana's chief queens Padmavati is conspicuous by her absence: the Bhagavati Sutra gives the names of lla, Sukri, Saclara (? Satara), Saudamini, Indra, and Ghanavidyuta as the six chief queens of Dharanendra.283 The Sthānanga Sutra follows the same tradition.284
Earlier writers like Bappabhatti and Sobhana, while offering worship to Ambika, the Vidyadevis, and the Srutadevata, omit Padmavau. Vairogya is invoked by both of them while Bappabhatti dedicates a versc to Dharanapatta-mahila285 a word by which Vairotyä is evidently meant, since Dhanapala, commenting upon the title Ahinagryapatni used by Sobhana explains it as referring to Vairo ya and not Padmavati.286
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