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11
 
mshya

 
mshyā
pas satyam āpas, sarvā devatā āpo, bhur bhuvas

suvar āpa om, Nārāyaṇopanishad, 29,1. It is the purifier.

It sustains. It is like the mother. In fact, the purifica-
tion at the commencement of sandhya

tion at the commencement of sandhyā
prayers invokes

the waters as bliss-conferring, and requested to provide

food for the body and great and charming insight for

the intellect as well as a share of their auspicious bliss
for the soul, even as fond mothers nourish their darling

for the soul, even as fond mothers nourish their darling
children, so that we could go into whatever home they

send us, and make us happy here and hereafter : apo hi
shtha
āpo hi
shṭhā
mayobhuvas ta na uā na ūrje dadhatana, mahe ranaya
ātana, mahe raṇāya
chakshase, yo vas sivatamo rasas tasya bhaājayate' ha naḥ,

uśatīr iva mātaraḥ, tasmā araṁ gamāma vo yasya ksha-

yāya jinvatha aāpo janayathaā cha naḥ, Taittiriīya Samhita,
ā,
4,1,5. Food and water go together and so there is the
prayer sumitra na a

prayer sumitrā na ā
pa oshadhayas santu, Taittiriya
īya
Samhitaṁhitā, 1,4,45.
 

 
The river goddess as the mother goddess as also

Lakshmi standing on lotus issuing from the purnaghata,
ī standing on lotus issuing from the pūrṇaghaṭa,
the lotuses themselves suggestive of water overflowing,

has wonderful sculptural representation both Sātavāhana

and Kushāṇa. In a Kushāṇa sculpture of the first century

A.D. in the Bhārat Kalā Bhavan she is shown carrying

food and water in a tray and jug respectively (Fig. 12).

A similar sculpture is also found in the Mathura
ā
Museum. The attitude of the goddess suggesting

abundant water and food obtained by a plentiful harvest

of splendid crops raised without the least effort in the

river-irrigated area reminds us of the line of Bharavi in
āravi in
the context of the peace and plenty of the Kuru realm,

watered by the Yamunaā and the Gangã that assure

crops without toil: sukhena labhyaā dadhataḥ kṛishīvalair
a

ā
krishtṛishṭpachyā iva sasyasampadah, vitanvati kshemam adev-
amatr

amātṛ
ikāś chiraāya tasmin kuravas chakāsati, Kirātārjuniya,
 

 
MO