A GRAY SCHIST RELIEF OF THE JAIN GODDESS AMBIKA WITH HER COMPANION, THE LION Western India, 16^th-17^th century. Carved in openwork with Ambika seated in lalitasana on her vehicle the lion, supporting her child on her lap with the primary left embracing it, her other child standing beside her, the other hands holding an hourglass drum, a shield, and a sword. She is wearing a tight-fitting dhoti and is richly adorned with elaborate jewelry. Her serene face with almond-shaped eyes is surmounted by an elaborate headdress.

Provenance: British trade.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, signs of weathering and erosion, structural cracks, losses, old repairs. Remnants of ancient pigments. Displaying remarkably well.

Weight: 14.2 kg
Dimensions: Height 54.5 cm

With a modern metal stand. (2)

In Jainism, Ambika is the yakshi (attendant deity) or sasana devi (protector goddess) of the 22nd Tirthankara, Neminatha. She is often shown with one or more children and sometimes under a tree. The name Ambika literally means mother, hence she is the Mother Goddess.

According to Jain text, Ambika is said to have been an ordinary woman named Agnila who became a goddess. She lived with her husband Somasarman and her two children Shubhanakar and Prabhankara in Girinagar. One day, Somasarman invited Brahmins to perform Sraddha (funeral ceremony) and left Agnila at home. Varadatta, the chief disciple of Neminatha, was passing by and asked for food from Agnila to end his month-long fast. Somasarman and Brahmins were furious at her as they considered the food to be impure now. Somasarman drove her out of the house along with her children; she went up to a hill. She was blessed with power for her virtue, and the tree she sat down under became a Kalpavriksha (wish-granting tree). The gods were angry at the treatment of Angila and decided to drown everything in her village but her house. After seeing this, Somasarman and Brahmins felt this was because of Angila's saintliness and went to beg for her forgiveness. Upon looking at her husband, afraid of his punishment, Angila committed suicide by jumping off a cliff, but was instantly reborn as the goddess Ambika. Her husband was reborn as a lion and he came to her, licked her feet, and eventually became her vehicle. Neminatha initiated her two sons and Ambika became Neminatha's yakshi.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related black stone figure of a kneeling Garuda, attributed to Rajasthan and dated ca. 16^th century, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 57.51.4.