Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c13.s7.64

c13.s7.64

From certain reference in the epics of Aśvaghosha it appears that the more ancient goddess Māyā was replaced by the new goddess Śrī-Lakshmī. In several Kushāṇa statuettes Lakshmī and Hārītī are depicted side by side as the twin consorts of Kubera. [Fig. 182]. She was also later on shown as the wife of Gaṇeśa. The association of Lakshmī with Vishṇu is quite well known and was also recognised in earlier Kushāṇa art. The iconographic conception, however, became clear but by the Gupta period when she is depicted frequently as the consort of Vishṇu and is depicted as shampooing his feet in the Śeshaśāyī form.