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The Jaina Stupa at Mathura: Art & Icons
5.9
Elucidation: The Śālabhañjikā woman displayed under the tree is usually Asoka, Mango or Sāla, where she sometimes holds the branch of a tree with left hand. In the two different sculptures from Bhārhut she is presented as a creeper by putting her one leg around the stem and holding the branch32 Dr. Vogel elucidated this term after studying many literature and sculptures“The word Śālabhañjikā originally denoted not only the festival of Śāla flower gathering but also the woman who took part in it. Such figures which are first met with on the toraņas of the Stupas of Bhārhut, are especially frequent on the railing pillars of Mathurā. May we not assume that to these pillar figures the term Śālabhañjikā was applied? It is true that the trees under which these figures are placed, do not appear to be invariably meant to render the Sāla tree. But it is quite natural that the Śālabhañjikā, the women breaking the Sāla bough'... was adopted as a technical term to designate in general any carving of a female seizing the branch of a tree. Gradually, as the etymological meaning of the word was no longer remembered, the use of the word was still further extended and it was applied to any female image carved on a pillar”. 33 Later on a more technical significance is used for Śālabhañjikā for a sportive woman who engaged herself in various pastime as shown in the art. On the railing pillars at Mathurā, the women were carved engaged in their routine activities by the carvers. On the two Āyāgapațas setup by Loņaśobhikā and Sivayasā, sālabhañjikās are shown taking support of the stūpa dome in dancing attitude at the entrance appear to be very live delicate and gorgeous. One of the railing pillar, shows the woman34 carries a mace in left hand and standing under a tree on a narrow pedestal where a lion is carved on both sides. With her right hand finger she is pointing to the bunch of a fruit of the tree. The lions beneath the seat suggests her vehicle
32 Nihar Ranjan Ray, Maurya and Sunga art....., fig. 21, 22. 33 I) Vogel, 'The woman -and- Tree or Sālabhanjikā in Indian Literature & Art". Acta
Orientalia, vol.-VII, pp. 201- 231. II) P.K.Agrawal - Mathurā Railing Pillars.., 1966, pp. 10-11. 34 Smith, Jaina Stūpa ...of Mathurā... Pl. LXII.
