History · Ch 4 — Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings — Cultural Developments
Popular traditions
Popular traditions
The Shalabhanjika Motif
Not all sculptures at Sanchi were directly inspired by Buddhist ideas. One striking example is the figure of a beautiful woman swinging from the edge of a gateway, holding onto a tree branch. For a long time, scholars were puzzled by this image — it seemed to have little connection with the Buddhist ideal of renunciation.
When scholars examined other literary traditions, they identified this figure as a shalabhanjika. According to popular belief, a shalabhanjika was a woman whose touch could make trees flower and bear fruit. This was regarded as an auspicious symbol, and that is likely why it was integrated into the decoration of the stupa.
The shalabhanjika motif tells us something important: many people who turned to Buddhism enriched it with their own pre-Buddhist and even non-Buddhist beliefs, practices, and ideas. Several recurring motifs in Sanchi's sculpture were evidently derived from these older traditions.
Animal Imagery at Sanchi
Some of the finest depictions of animals are found at Sanchi. These include elephants, horses, monkeys, and cattle.
Why were animals carved so prominently? There are two likely reasons:
- The Jatakas contain many animal stories, and these were depicted at Sanchi.
- Animals were often used as symbols of human attributes. For example, elephants were depicted to signify strength and wisdom.
Many animals were also carved simply to create lively, engaging scenes that would draw viewers.
Paintings from the Past
Stone sculpture survives the ravages of time best, so it is the most easily available evidence for historians. But other visual means of communication, including paintings, were also used in the past. The best surviving examples are on the walls of caves — the most famous being those at Ajanta in Maharashtra.
The Ajanta paintings depict stories from the Jatakas. They include scenes of courtly life, processions, men and women at work, and festivals. The artists used the technique of shading to give a three-dimensional quality. Some of these paintings are extremely naturalistic.
The Gajalakshmi Figure
Another recurring motif is that of a woman surrounded by lotuses and elephants. The elephants seem to be sprinkling water on her, as if performing an abhisheka or consecration.
Historians have different views on who this figure represents:
- Some identify her as Maya, the mother of the Buddha.
- Others identify her with a popular goddess, Gajalakshmi — literally, the goddess of good fortune — who is associated with elephants.
It is also possible that devotees who saw these sculptures identified the figure with both Maya and Gajalakshmi at the same time.
The Serpent Motif …
Paintings from the past. While stone sculpture survives the ravages of time, other visual media were also used — above all wall paintings, of which those in the caves at Ajanta (Maharashtra) are the most famous. The Ajanta paintings depict stories from the Jatakas as well as courtly life, processions, people at work and festivals; the artists used shading to …
The figure shows a single sculptural bracket figure from the great stupa at Sanchi. A woman is shown swinging from the edge of a stone gateway (torana), her body curved as she holds onto the branch of a tree. She is not a Buddhist nun or a renunciant — she is a shalabhanjika, a pre-Buddhist auspicious motif. In older Indian traditions, a shalabhanjika was a woman whose touch could make trees flower and bear fruit. The sculptor has captured her in a moment of graceful movement, her weight suspended from the branch, her posture suggesting both playfulness and fertility.
This image is important because it shows how Buddhism absorbed and transformed existing popular beliefs. The stupa at Sanchi was a Buddhist monument, but its decoration included motifs that had nothing to do with the Buddha's teachings of renunciation. The shalabhanjika was originally a symbol of abundance and good fortune from pre-Buddhist folk traditions. By placing her on the gateway, the builders integrated her into the sacred space of the stupa, enriching Buddhist art with older, non-Buddhist meanings. …
The figure shows a single, finely carved elephant at Sanchi. It is a relief sculpture, meaning the elephant is carved into a stone surface rather than standing free. The carving is detailed and naturalistic, capturing the animal’s bulk and posture with care. No other figures, labels, or background elements are described — the focus is entirely on the elephant itself.
This image is part of a broader pattern at Sanchi where animals appear frequently in the sculpture. The textbook explains that while some animal depictions come from Jataka stories (which are Buddhist), many were carved simply to create lively, engaging scenes for viewers. The elephant specifically carried symbolic meaning: it signified strength and wisdom. These were qualities that viewers at the time would have recognised, even if they were not directly tied to Buddhist doctrine. …
The figure shows a relief carving of a woman standing at the centre, with lotuses around her and an elephant on each side. The elephants are raising their trunks over her head, as if sprinkling water in a ritual consecration (abhisheka). This is the motif labelled Gajalakshmi in the textbook.
The image appears in the section on popular traditions at Sanchi, where the text discusses sculptures that were not directly inspired by Buddhist ideas. The woman is identified in two ways. Some historians see her as Maya, the mother of the Buddha — the water-pouring would then symbolise the sacred birth or a blessing. Others identify her with Gajalakshmi, the goddess of good fortune, whose name literally means “the one with elephants” (gaja = elephant, Lakshmi = goddess of prosperity). The textbook suggests that devotees may have seen both meanings at once, blending Buddhist and pre-Buddhist beliefs. …
Figure 4.20 shows a painting from the Ajanta caves. The scene is a courtly or royal one: a seated figure, likely a person of high status, is attended by several others who stand or sit nearby, serving him. The most striking technical feature is the use of shading — the artist has applied lighter and darker tones to the figures and their clothing, which creates the illusion of rounded, three-dimensional forms on the flat cave wall. This is the same shading technique mentioned in the textbook text, which gives the paintings a naturalistic, lifelike quality.
The painting is not labelled with a specific Jataka story in the caption, but the textbook tells us that Ajanta paintings generally depict scenes from the Jatakas — stories of the Buddha’s previous lives. So this seated figure could be the Buddha in a past life as a prince or king, or it could be a scene of courtly life from one of those tales. The attendants are shown in various poses, some holding objects, others with hands folded in respect. The composition is arranged so that the seated figure is the clear focal point, with the others oriented toward him. …
Figure 4.21 shows a serpent carved onto a stone pillar at Sanchi. The serpent is shown coiled around the pillar, its hood raised in a characteristic pose. There are no other figures, labels, or inscriptions in the image — just the serpent and the pillar. The carving is in stone, typical of the Sanchi sculptural tradition.
This image matters because it is not a Buddhist story. The serpent, or naga, was a powerful figure in pre-Buddhist and non-Buddhist popular traditions across India. Nagas were associated with water, fertility, and the underworld, and were worshipped as local deities. By placing a serpent on a pillar at a Buddhist stupa, the builders were incorporating a symbol that ordinary people already understood and revered.
The textbook points out that this motif is "derived from popular traditions, which were not always recorded in texts." That is the key lesson. Not everything at Sanchi comes from Buddhist doctrine or the Jatakas. Some of it comes from the beliefs of the people who built and visited the stupa — beliefs that existed long before Buddhism and continued alongside it. The serpent at Sanchi is a quiet piece of evidence that Buddhism did not replace local cults; it absorbed and transformed them. …