Mandala of Padmavati

Padmavati is the "yakshi," or attendant goddess, of the Jina Parshvanatha. Each Jina is associated with a female "yakshi" and male "yaksha," divinities who protect the Jain teachings. Like the ancient Indic divinities also called "yakshis" and "yakshas," they are also associated with material wellbeing. Unlike Jinas, who have become liberated from worldly existence and are worshiped for the ideals they represent, "yakshis" and "yakshas" are present in the world and directly available to their devotees.

Padmavati is especially popular in the southwestern Indian region of Karnataka, where this sculpture was made. Seated in the center of a lotus, she is surrounded by her own attendant goddesses, who sit on its unfurled petals. The details of the sculpture have become worn through years of ritual worship, in which priests and other devotees honor the goddess by pouring sacred liquids over her image as they recite words of praise.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore; given to Walters Art Museum, 2002.