Marichi

Description

This artefact depicts the Buddhist goddess Marichi- normally portrayed as a three-faced warrior-goddess associated with the dawn. She is represented here holding multiple weapons like the vajra, the bow and arrow etc., indicating her role in annihilating aggressive enemies, demons and perils to her devotees. This association symbolises the infinite light of the Enlightenment, made clearer by the presence of the stupa motif in the stela. Among her other ayudhas in her six-armed form are also the thread and needle, the asoka bough, the angusam, and a noose. She is also depicted in the alidhasana (warrior posture), standing atop a double-lotus pedestal being pulled by a chariot of seven horses. Textual accounts in the Sadhanamala and the Dharmakosasamagraha also corroborate this description. This iconography likely evolved in the subcontinent from the imagery of Surya as well as other solar deities like Durga, Usha and Vajravarahi- contributing to her sun-related and martial elements. This depiction varies in other regions outside. Here, she is also surrounded by smaller attendants and yakshas. While most of her arms (and ayudhas) are missing, the remainder still shows incredible detailing in her jewellery and the background.