Rashtrakuta-period Gajalakshmi Sculpture found in Telangana’s Medak

A ninth-century CE sculpture depicting Gajalakshmi, associated with the Rashtrakuta period, has been found at Yanagandla village in Kulcharam mandal of Medak district in Telangana. Gajalakshmi is a form of Goddess Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess associated with wealth, prosperity, fertility and good fortune. The word combines gaja (elephant) and Lakshmi.

The Rashtrakuta dynasty ruled large parts of southern India for more than two centuries.

The black granite sculpture is particularly significant because it combines the image of Goddess Lakshmi with a depiction of scene of Samudra Manthan (the churning of the ocean by gods and demons) above the goddess, while its reverse side features a 12-armed Shiva-Nataraja, performing the Ananda Tandava, or the dance of bliss, with Brahma and Vishnu seated on either side, with their hands folded.

Goddess Gajalakshmi is depicted seated in Padmasana (the lotus posture), holding lotus flowers in both hands, while elephants on either side anoint her.

The sculpture was found lying neglected beneath a tree near a Hanuman temple. Historians and heritage researchers who examined it have appealed for its preservation and described the sculpture as a masterpiece of the Rashtrakuta period.

The Kailash Temple or the Kailashnath Temple at Ellora is the most impressive remainder of the Rashtrakuta dynasty.

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