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11
mshyapas 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 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
children, so that we could go into whatever home they
send us, and make us happy here and hereafter : apo hi
shtha mayobhuvas ta na urje dadhatana, mahe ranaya
chakshase, yo vas sivatamo rasas tasya bhajayate' ha naḥ,
uśatīr iva mātaraḥ, tasmā araṁ gamāma vo yasya ksha-
yāya jinvatha apo janayatha cha naḥ, Taittiriya Samhita,
4,1,5. Food and water go together and so there is the
prayer sumitra na apa oshadhayas santu, Taittiriya
Samhita, 1,4,45.
The river goddess as the mother goddess as also
Lakshmi standing on lotus issuing from the purnaghata,
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
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
the context of the peace and plenty of the Kuru realm,
watered by the Yamuna and the Gangã that assure
crops without toil: sukhena labhya dadhataḥ kṛishīvalair
akrishtpachyā iva sasyasampadah, vitanvati kshemam adev-
amatrikāś chiraya tasmin kuravas chakāsati, Kirātārjuniya,
MO
mshyapas 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 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
children, so that we could go into whatever home they
send us, and make us happy here and hereafter : apo hi
shtha mayobhuvas ta na urje dadhatana, mahe ranaya
chakshase, yo vas sivatamo rasas tasya bhajayate' ha naḥ,
uśatīr iva mātaraḥ, tasmā araṁ gamāma vo yasya ksha-
yāya jinvatha apo janayatha cha naḥ, Taittiriya Samhita,
4,1,5. Food and water go together and so there is the
prayer sumitra na apa oshadhayas santu, Taittiriya
Samhita, 1,4,45.
The river goddess as the mother goddess as also
Lakshmi standing on lotus issuing from the purnaghata,
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
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
the context of the peace and plenty of the Kuru realm,
watered by the Yamuna and the Gangã that assure
crops without toil: sukhena labhya dadhataḥ kṛishīvalair
akrishtpachyā iva sasyasampadah, vitanvati kshemam adev-
amatrikāś chiraya tasmin kuravas chakāsati, Kirātārjuniya,
MO