Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c12.s3.t2.10

c12.s3.t2.10

LEFT PILLER : On the west face of this pillar there is a very interesting scene of which the true significance has not been understood up to now. In a meandering lotus creeper are three scenes of the Uttarakuru country showing three mithuna figures with ornaments and clothes being produced from the branches of the mythical Kalpa-vrikshas. Such Mithuna figures became a favourite motif of early Indian art being represented particularly at Bhājā in the so-called Indra panel which is actually the scene of King Māndhātā's visit to the Uttarakuru country. Here at Sanchi in the lowest wave we see the mithuna or male and female couple seated in forest with flowers, fruits, birds and lions. The female figure has a pair of anklets near her feet and holds in her hands a necklace of amulets or auspicious signs (*maṅgalaka mālā*) the use of which was considered effective to ward off evil and which was taken as a distinctive mark of the idyllic land of Uttarakuru. It may be seen that such a necklace is worn by the female figure in the couple carved in the next wave. Two such amulet strings (*maṅgalaka mālā*) are illustrated on the east pillar of the northern gateway. The couple in the lowest panel is playing on a harp and this is also seen in the Bhājā scene where seated under a Kalpavṛiksha tree they are witnessing the dance of a female figure. This became in Śuṅga art also a subject of detached terracotta plaques the meaning of which was well-understood as a version of life in the Uttarakuru land, such specimens having been found at Mathura, Rajghat and Patna.