The Ambikā Statue from Dhār is a marble figure in high relief of the Jain goddess Ambikā in the collection of the British Museum, London. The sculpture was discovered in the city of Dhār, central India, in the nineteeth century. The figure is famous for its inscription in Sanskrit on the base that provides a link to the Paramara dynasty and the court of king Bhoja (c. 1010–1055).[1] The Ambikā has been part of the British Museum's collection since 1909.[2]
Provenance
Dhār (Madhya Pradesh). Plan of the old city showing location of the old city palace, findspot of the Ambikā
The statue was found on the site of the old city palace in Dhār, Madhya Pradesh, in 1875 when the building was being reconstructed.[3] Shortly after it was discovered, the sculpture was brought to the attention of William Kincaid (Indian Civil Service) who had been working in central India since 1866. He brought the sculpture to Britain in 1886 when he returned from India and in 1891 deposited it with Augustus Wollaston Franks (1826-1897) at the British Museum. In 1909, when Kincaid died, the sculpture became part of the British Museum collections.
Iconography
Sehore (Madhya Pradesh). Ambikā, 11th century. Now in the Collector's Office, Sehore.
The goddess Ambika is carved from white marble in high relief and wears a tiered headdress with her hair tied to one side. The ends of two of the four arms of the goddess are missing; in the two complete arms, she clasps an elephant goad (aṅkuśa) and either a noose or the stalk of a plant. On the base are various other deities or spirit attendants in relief.
On the stepped face of the base, below the goddess's feet, is a small kneeling female donor, engraved in outline form.[4]
A close parallet to the Dhār image is found in a sandstone sculpture in Sehore that dates to the eleventh century. This sculpture is also damaged, with arms and attributes missing, but preserves a seated Jina at the top. At the base there are similar figures of a bearded sage and a youth riding a tiger.
Inscription
The Nāgarī inscription records the creation of the Ambika statue by Vararuci, after he had made a figure of the goddess Sarasvati and three Jinas. It has been suggested that Vararuci is in fact the Jain scholar Dhanapāla, who held a prominent place at the court of king Bhoja during the eleventh century.[5] Bhoja belonged to the Paramara dynasty who took Dhar as their sometime capital, along with Ujjain.[6]
The inscription, critical edition and translation are visible online but given here for ready reference:[7]
Auṃ. Vararuci, who is intent on the dharma of the Candranagarī and Vidyādharī [branches of the Jain religion] of srīmad Bhoja the king, the apsaras [as it were] for the easy removal [of ignorance? by...?], that Vararuci, having first fashioned Vāgdevī the mother [and] afterwards a triad of Jinas, made this beautiful image of Ambā, ever abundant in fruit. Blessings! It was executed by Maṇathala, son of the sūtradhāra Sahira. It was written by Śivadeva the proficient. Year 1091.
References
^H. V. Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramāras, Chandellas, Kachchhapaghātas and Two Minor Dynasties, Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, volume 7 (New Delhi, 1978-91). The inscription, text and translation are accessible online: Trustees of the British Museum. (2023). • Dhār धार (District Dhār, Madhya Pradesh). Inscription of the time of Bhoja on an image of the Jain goddess Ambikā dated saṃvat 1091. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8190634. Retrieved 04 Apr 2024.
^The findspot is record in [C. B. Lele], Parmar Inscriptions in Dhar State, 875-1310 AD, Dhar State. Historical record series, v. 1 (Dhar: [Department of History and Museum, 1944]), iii.
^ M. Willis, "New Discoveries from Old Finds: A Jain Sculpture in the British Museum," CoJS Newsletter 6 (2011): 34-36. Available online: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2544721. Retrieved 02 April 2024.
^H. V. Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramāras, Chandellas, Kachchhapaghātas and Two Minor Dynasties, Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, volume 7 (New Delhi, 1978-91).
M. Willis, "New Discoveries from Old Finds: A Jain Sculpture in the British Museum," CoJS Newsletter 6 (2011): 34-36. Available online: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2544721. Retrieved 02 April 2024.
