Underground Shrine Queens Stepwell Patan

Author(s): Jaikishandas Sadani
Publisher: B J Institute of Learning & Research

Page 58

The Eternal Woman of Grace and Beauty
47
When we behold so many images of devout women, we wonder whether the artist wishes to convey to us that women are the true custodians of Dharma. In their fondled laps the culture and civilisation are cradled and nurtured, for fulfilment of life's objective. All these Nāyikās sculpted on the walls of the Queen's step-well present before us one Eternal Woman of grace and beauty in endless variations of exquisite charm.
Nāyikās in several moods are depicted in so many panels that embellish the walls of the Queen's step-well. In one panel an ornamented maiden is shown stretching her graceful slim body popularly called "Alasa Kanya" taking angaļai, while an admiring bearded man standing near the feet of the maiden is swaying the fly-whisk or chowrie.
In another panel we see a maiden who has put on all the ornaments and is enamoured and lost in the admiration of her own beauty is pointing to her breasts.
In another panel we have the figure of a maiden who curiously looks at the camel sitting near her feet while a female attendent standing nearby holds a pitcher of water.
In one panel the maiden is shown to be frightened and irritated and starts removing her clothes to ward off the scorpion that starts crawling on her body. It shows the haste with which she is casting away the scorpion before it strikes its sting. Yet she is shy of revealing her beauty, looks down.
There is another pose depicting the maiden as unrobing before going for the bath and covering her face with the palm of her hand due to bashfulness. There is yet another pose in which she returns from the bath and is shown as putting on her dress.
One panel depicts a well dressed maiden after putting on all the ornaments is applying a herbal stick of red colour on her lips. This shows the love of ancient women for dress, ornaments and cosmetics. We come across one panel in which one young maiden is putting on the line of vermilion in the parting of the hair the age old custom which shows that the woman is married and prays for the long life of her husband.
Yet in another panel woman in shown playing with the falls or Kanduka-kriļā.
Dancing Apsarā is another graceful dancing pose in which the dancing maiden is fully dressed and has put on all ornaments and in the course of dancing she