| Ambika Statue from Dhar | |
|---|---|
 Ambika Statue from Dhar on display at the British Museum | |
| Material | Marble |
| Size | 1.28 metres High |
| Weight | 250 kg |
| Writing | Nāgarī |
| Created | 1034 AD |
| Present location | British Museum, London |
| Registration | 1909,1224.1 |
| Part of a series on |
| Jainism |
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The Ambika Statue from Dhar is a marble figure in high relief dated to 1034 AD, of the Jain goddess Ambika. It was discovered in the city of Dhar, central India in the late nineteenth century. The statue is famous for its long inscription in Nāgarī on the base that provides a direct link to the royal court of the Paramara dynasty, and gives a date, rare in medieval Indian sculpture. It has been part of the British Museum's collection since 1909.[1]
The statue was found amongst the ruins of the city palace at Dhar, Madhya Pradesh in 1875 by Major General William Kincaid, who at the time worked as the local political agent of the British Raj. Five years after its discovery, the statue became part of the British Museum's collection.[2]
The goddess Ambika is carved from white marble in high relief and wears a tiered headdress with her hair tied to one side. The ends of two of the four arms of the goddess are missing; in the two complete arms, she clasps an elephant goad (aṅkuśa) and either a noose or the stalk of a plant. On the base are various other deities or spirit attendants in relief. On the face of the base below the goddess's feet a long inscription is carved, and on the face to the viewer's left of that a small kneeling female donor is engraved.[3]
The Nāgarī inscription records the creation of the Ambika statue by Vararuci, after he had made a figure of the goddess Saraswati and three Jinas. It has been suggested that Vararuci is in fact the Jain scholar Dhanapala, who performed a prominent artistic role at the court of King Bhoja during the 11th Century AD. Bhoja was part of the Paramara dynasty who based themselves primarily at Dhar, a city which remained their de facto capital until its ultimate conquest in the fourteenth century.[4]
The British Museum translates the inscription as:
Auṃ. Vararuci, who is intent on the dharma of the Candranagarī and Vidyādharī [branches of the Jain religion] of srīmad Bhoja the king, the apsaras [as it were] for the easy removal [of ignorance? by...?], that Vararuci, having first fashioned Vāgdevī the mother [and] afterwards a triad of Jinas, made this beautiful image of Ambā, ever abundant in fruit. Blessings! It was executed by Maṇathala, son of the sūtradhāra Sahira. It was written by Śivadeva the proficient. Year 1091.[5]
