The parents of a Jain teacher

This seated man and woman are indistinguishable in pose, dress, and ornaments from the nature deities (yakshas) who also appear in early Buddhist and Hindu imagery. Their Jain affiliation is, however, indicated by the nude meditating figure above them. The recognizable forms of nature deities were used in this case to represent what many scholars believe are the parents of a Jain teacher. Cradled in the left arm of the female is the figure of a small child, now damaged, which emphasizes her maternal role. The emphasis on bearing and raising children may also be behind other features of the image—the boy clambering up the centrally placed tree trunk, for instance, or the boys in the lower panel who are about to engage in a ram fight.

The inscription below the couple’s feet indicates that the sculpture was dedicated in the year 334 of an unspecified era. Dates appear rarely on South Asian sculptures. In many instances, such as in this one, they are linked to specific eras inaugurated by particular kings. Stylistic and other analysis of this sculpture supports a tenth-century date. The inscription probably refers to the era that began in 606 CE with the reign of a certain north Indian king, yielding a date of 940 CE (606 + 334).