Indian civilization has a very ancient tradition in the representation of the Mother Goddess, as the little terracotta figures from the Indus Valley culture (c. 8000-2500 BCE) attest. The wood nymphs, or yakshis, depicted on the early Buddhist stupas (first centuries BCE and CE) corroborate the Indian compulsion to give visual form to the feminine in all its specific qualities. But it is from the tenth century onwards, in the bronzes of southern India, that woman is given her most natural and at the same time most sensuous shape. Parvati, the consort of Shiva, is the pre-eminent expression of this. She is the nourishing, the life-giving, the beautiful (sundari), the sensual. While Shiva appears in the most diverse forms, Parvati is always the lovely embodiment of womanhood, standing or seated at Shiva’s side. She is the essential shakti, the energy of Shiva.

This exceptionally beautiful sculpture portrays Parvati in the posture of ‘royal ease’, rajalilasana, with her right leg raised and her left pendant over the side of the pedestal. Her right hand is in katakamukha, and so was probably intended to hold a blue lotus; her left hand reaches out in the gracious gesture of bestowal, varadamudra. Perhaps this figure was once part of a Somaskanda group, such as catalogue number 4, where Parvati sits in the same position. The possibility is enhanced by the fact that the goddess turns her head a little to the right, in Shiva’s direction. But this could just as easily be an individual image. And indeed, what an image. The enchanting young goddess sits graceful and composed, her torso filled with the dynamic breath of life, her firm and rounded breasts perfected by the high-set nipples. Her ornaments seem only to emphasize the lines and curves of her body. She wears a triple necklace, the outermost fringed with tiny dangling pendants. Her armbands are of the makara type, and the motif is repeated in her headdress. Generally, Parvati wears a karandamukuta, a tiara resembling a conical pile of pots. Here, however, her hair has been gathered up, as if in a linga, in a diadem with four makarakeyuras. Delicate locks of hair brush her shoulders and arc in a garland of curls around the back of her neck. Her long earlobes are adorned with ornaments in makara form. A triple yajnopavita, the handspun sacred thread, wends from her left shoulder between her breasts to the right of her broad hips. The closely fitting garment conceals nothing of the sensuous curves of her body but offers extra elements for decoration, such as the end of the garment that is tucked between her legs and through her girdle at the back. The girdle is made up of several strands, caught together below her belly in an ornamented clasp, from which a few decorative loops emerge to lie between her thighs. This Parvati is a sensuous figure from whichever direction she is viewed, be it the front, in profile, or from behind. The diagonal movement of her limbs give a hint of tension and dynamism to the restful pose. Many elements, such as the shape of the face with its small mouth and full lips, the creases above the navel, the three double bracelets, the unpatterned garment, the necklaces, the coiffure and the perfection of the casting indicate the early Chola period (c. 950?). The clarity and harmony of the forms radiate an external beauty which, as with great beings, reveals the beauty within. The artist who made this sculpture must indeed have been an inspired individual.