Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c10.s1: Mother-Goddess Ring-Stones
Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c10.s1
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Mother-Goddess Ring-Stones
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As specimens of the earlier tradition of the worship of the Mother-Goddess, we find a number of ring-stones distributed from Taxila to Pāṭaliputra. They are of hard sandstone in black, violet or slate colour and are of flat discoiled form, with or without a hole in the centre and showing the Mother-Goddess in various combinations or only having plural geometrical patterns. The specimens obtained so far are as follows :
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1. A ring-stone from Mathura, now in the Indian Museum (ASI, AR. 1930-34, pl. cxxx. fig. 1). [Fig. 43].
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2. A ring-stone from Mathura, now in the Indian Museum (ibid, fig. 2).
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3. A circular sandstone plaque from Mathura, showing an eight-petalled lotus in the centre from which four stalks shoot out in the four directions and bend in various foliated patterns, showing on the terminal or pericarp eight female figures, in dancing hand-poses, four of which have survived on the semi-circular portion of the side. The female figures alternate with the design resembling the ‘muchukunda’ flower.
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⁴ A ring-stone from Mathura (diameter 3.5”; Mathura Museum, No. 2471) showing in the ceutre a full-blown lotus flower without spreading tendrils, of which the first band depicts four animals in the four intermediate directions, viz., a lion, an antelope, a bull and a stag, and the outer band showing four flowery motifs above the
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four animals, and in the four cardinal points four female figures (now effaced), the first holding a bow in left hand and a sheaf of arrows in the right; the second standing with her right hand holding a bowl and left placed on the hip; and the third figure with a trident in right hand and a double-sided Vajra in the left.
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5. Disc from Mathura (diameter 3·8", No. 2472, Mathura Museum), showing a decorative pattern of tendrils round a central point, a motif seen also on the ancient-most punch-marked coins. The whole pattern takes the form of the six-armed (ṣaḍara) symbol, each arm having the form of a triskeles (triphaṇa).
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6. Fragment of a ring-stone from Kosam, showing an outer and inner bands of rosette-flowers (now in the Allahabad Museum).
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7. One ring-stone from Rajghat (in Bhārat Kalā Bhavan), showing three Mother-Goddesses alternating with three liṅga-symbols flanked by two cobras and an outer band of trapezoid design.
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8. A fragment of a ring stone similar to No. 7 above, but encircled by a double outer band of similar design.
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9. Fragment of a ring-stone from Rajghat (now in Bhārat Kalā Bhavan) showing on the inside head and bust of the Mother-Goddess with the upper portion of a palm tree.
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10. A ring-stone fragment from Rajghat (Bhārat Kala Bhavan), showing two Mother-Goddesses on the inside and in the outer band two sprawling human figures floating in the air with a lizard in between them.
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11. Fragmentary ring-stone from Rajghat (now in the Bhārat Kalā Bhavan), showing in the inner band four Mother-Goddesses alternating with palm trees, three of whom are seen, and in the outer band a series of lizards or crocodiles (Makara) of whom there were originally eight, five being still preserved.
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12. Ring-stone from Rajghat (now in Lucknow Museum), showing on the inside five Śrīvatsa symbols alternating with five Muchukundas or honey-suckle motifs. The outer band is crowded by a number of figures, showing three palm trees and three Mother-Goddesses --(a) Mother-Goddess with hare on right and moon-symbol below, and deer on left with a taurine symbol in front of him; (b) Palm tree with a bird on right and an animal on left with the symbol of moon and sun clearly; (c) Mother-Goddess with a Sārasa-like bird on right, the figure on left effaced; (d) Palm tree of which only the lowermost portion of circular railing is now left; (e) Mother-Goddess, the full figure with splay-feet and stiff straight arms, and turbaned head, being preserved, flanked by two animals. The left one being a horse and having a solar symbol in front and a moon symbol below. In between the railing of the last palm tree and right leg of the Mother-Goddess is a small ring-stone; (f) Palm tree in railing with a bird on right and horse on left.
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13. A ring-stone from Taxila perfectly preserved; inside its central hole are three nude figures of the Goddess of fertility, wearing a prominent hood like some of the Kulli clay-figurines, alternating with three other figures, showing flames of Agni enkindled in an altar, flanked by two cobras. Round the innermost band are two outer bands of trapezoid figures or what may be described as a reel-and-bead border separated by cable-design (Marshall, MIC. 1, p. 62, pl. 13, fig. 14.)
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14. Another ring-stone from Taxila (ASIAR, 1920-21, pl xvii, fig. 29-30).
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15. A fragmentary disc from Taxila similar to number 13, showing the Agni and flanking serpents designed in a much clearer form and the two encircling bands are treated with a series of juxtaposed Damarū motifs, with a vertical slit in between each pair resembling the female Yoni.
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16. Fragmentary ring-stone from Taxila on which in the middle band was a row of twelve walking elephants, three of whom are preserved.
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17. One ring-stone from Basārh (ASI, AR. 1903-4, P. 100, fig. 16); HIIA. p. 20).
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18. A ring stone from Basārh or Vaiśālī, found in 1950 excavation, now in the Patna Museum.
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19. Complete ring-stone disc from Saṅkisā, with three Mother-Goddesses, three fan-palms and three taurines. Diameter 2". The second and third zones consist of the dog-tooth design (Champā-kali). (Cunningham, ASR, Vol. 11, Pl. 9. 3; Coomaraswamy, HIIA, P. 20, fig. 134).
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20. Cylinder-seal from Kosam in the CAA Museum, New Delhi, engraved with bird and animal figures in chequered pattern.
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21. A cylinderical seal from Rajghat showing a bull with a crib similar to that on the Indus Valley seals, bearing on the ring a Brahmī inscription.
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22. Ring-stones (21 stone discs) were found in Murtazi-ganj quarter of Patna city.¹
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¹ See the article ‘Stones Discs found at Murtaziganj’ by S. A. Shere, Journal of the Bihar Research Society, Vol. XXXAII, pts. 3-4, 1951.
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23. A ring stone from Patna City found in sewer excavations showing a fifteen-petalled lotus flower in the centre encircled by a beautiful garland of 18 taurines in smaller size, a motif well known in early art. It has a few letters engraved on the back but not yet deciphered.
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24. A ring stone from Patna City found in sewer excavation as above, showing three concentric bands, the first showing 21 lotus petals, the second 12 animals and birds including a horse, a lion, an elephant, a rhinoceros, moving in a file and the third a design like pencils of light.
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Recently three more ring stones from the Allahabad museum, find-spot unknown, have been published, the one showing two bands of crosses and cables and on the inside a Mother-goddess, flanked by a fan-palm; the second chocolate coloured showing in the outer band a row of *Makara* figures and in the inner a row of lions; and the third of grey stone showing honeysuckle or *‘Muchukunda’* flower, alternating with pairs of two birds perched on the two sides of the branch of a tree. (*Lalit Kala*, IX. 15, pl. 6, fig. 14).
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Another ring stone from Vaiśālī or ‘votive steatite circular disc from the strata, assigned to 150 B.C.—100 A.D., has a honeysuckle motif, *pipal* trees, winged lions and two attractive female figures carved on it’, who are the usual Mother-Goddesses (*Lalit Kala*, IX. 68).
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These are fortunately in perfect preservation and richly documented with the idea underlying this class of antiquities. They illustrate the figures of the Mother-Goddess, standing with splayed feet, stiff erect posture, nudity and a close resemblance with the figure on the gold plaque from Lauriā Nandangarh and with the clay-figurines from Taxila and other places, which are associated with the traditional form of the Great Goddess. The other features on these discs are figures of the palm tree, alternating with the Goddess, figures of animals of wide variety, e.g. lion, elephant, bull, horse (the four great animals of the Sārnāth Capital, depicted together on disc No. 7), dog, boar, stag, deer, ram. Amongst birds we find the goose, peacock, crane, heron, etc. The palm tree is oft-repeated with the Goddess and emphasises its intimate relation with the cult. We also find certain patterns of the central lotus or rayed solar orb, honey-suckle, triangles, taurines, crescents, etc. The figures or symbols on the Patna discs are essentially the same, found on the ring-stones or discs from Taxila, Mathura Kosam, Saṅkisā, Basārh, etc. The cult character based on an underlying unity of the deity is undoubted.