Mahavira Jain Vidyalay Suvarna Mahotsav Granth Part 1

Author(s): Mahavir Jain Vidyalaya Mumbai
Publisher: Mahavir Jain Vidyalay

Page 734

MALA DEVI TEMPLE AT GYARASPUR : 263
The right hands of the goddess hold a tapering object which may be a gadā, broken, lotus flower and caurī, while the left hands carry cauri, flag, broken and bow. Is she Padmāyati Yakşi riding kukkuţāhi ? South face :
Niche II on the janghā shows a four-armed goddess seated in lalităsana on a lotus, carrying sword, cakra, shield, and sankha. Elephant mount is depicted below the lotus-seat. Is she Puruşadattā, the yakși of the fifth Tirthankara ?
All the six principal niches (Niches III-VIII) on the south façade are empty. But there were minor niches in the deep recesses, flanking the bhadras (main projections) of the sanctum on each side. These invariably show representations of Dharanendra Yakşa (Fig. 3) and Padmavati Yakşi. The niche on the eastern recess of the bhadra on the south side contains an image of standing Dharanendra Yaksa which corresponds with the Padmāvati Yakși on the north face in an identical position. This yakşa is two-armed and carries an indefinite object in the right hand and water-vessel in the left.
The adjoining lateral faces of the recess also show figures in miniature niches. The western miniature niche shows an image of a goddess seated in lalitāsana on a crocodile, carrying varada, abhaya, nilotpala and water-vessel, while the niche on the eastern face shows an eight-armed goddess seated in lalitásana on a lotus, carrying sword, garland, indistinct object and indistinct object in the right hands, and bell, shield, net-like object, and broken in the left hands. A horse is depicted below the lotus-seat. The latter goddess may represent Manovegā, the yakși of the sixth Tirthankara. .: The niche on the western recess of the same southern bhadra shows two-armed Padmăvati Yakşi standing under a canopy of serpenthoods. The miniature niches on the adjacent lateral faces also show each an image of a goddess seated in lalitäsana.
West face :
Niche IX on the west face is empty, while western niches X-XI like the northern niches XII-XIII, were never built, as the north-west corner of the temple consisted of the rocky ledge of the hill. Thus in the west face there is only one recess of the bhadra with a niche. It shows an image of two-armed Padmavati Yakși standing under a canopy of serpent-hoods, carrying nilotpala in the right hand, with the left hand resting over a staff. This figure appears to be painted, as red ochre paint is found sticking to the serpent hood.