Yakshi Holding a Fly Whisk

Maurya period, c. 250 BCE. Didarganj, Patna, Bihar, India. Polished sandstone.

This piece is a depiction of a yakshi, a "spirit associated with the productive forces of nature" (Stokstad). It is clear through her enlarged breasts, slender waist, creased stomach and wide pelvis that she represents sexuality and the reproductive nature of womanhood. Her stance is graceful. Her jewelry and clothing are equally intricate, created with painstaking detail, and cleverly render traditional Indian style which remains to this day for ceremonial use. This yakshi's apparent beauty and stability are said to be a form of dharma, a force from the gods that keeps the universe from chaos.

Image:
Bihareebabu. "Yakshi with Fly Whisk". Available online at http://cctr.umkc.edu/~endomv/DIDARGAN.HTM

Sources:
Bihareebabu. "Yakshi with Fly Whisk". Available online at http://cctr.umkc.edu/~endomv/DIDARGAN.HTM

Stokstad, Marilyn. "Art of India before 1200". Art History. Revised Second Edition, Vol. 1 p. 335.