A History of Agriculture in India v1.c33.s8.6

v1.c33.s8.6

The woman and the tree motif found its most elegant expression in red sandstone Mathura sculptures of the Kushan period. The leaves and flowers of *asoka* (*Saraca asoca*) (*S. indica*), were the most popular motif with the Mathura sculptors. We find numerous sculptures in the Mathura and Lucknow museums where the *asoka* is shown associated with female figures. These are not dancing-girls, but *vriksha devatas*, symbols of fertility, who were worshipped for gifts of children by childless women. On a railing pillar we see a woman standing under a flowering *asoka*-tree. A beautiful woman, with a happy face standing cross-legged on a crouching dwarf, fastens a lotus garland on her head. Behind her we see an exquisitely carved branch of *asoka*. In another Mathura sculpture, we see a couple feeding a parrot, and below the window are the leaves and flowers of *asoka*, which are so true to nature (Fig. 184).