Lajja Gauri
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Lajja Gauri[1] is a goddess associated with abundance and fertility, and she has been euphemistically described as Lajja (that is, modesty). Her posture resemembles that of many Sheela na Gigs.
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History
Early depictions of Lajja Gauri in Shaktism cults were found in the Indus Valley deals, though her later depiction dates to the 1-3rd century, and her worship is prevalent in the Deccan, a region of the Indian subcontinent.
Iconography
Her fertility aspect is emphasized by symbolic representation of the genitals, Yoni or the Womb, as blooming Lotus flower denoting blooming youth in some cases and in others through a simple yet detailed depiction of an exposed vulva. Added to the fact that she is sitting in a squatting position (uttanpada) with legs open, as in during childbirth, in some cases, the right foot is placed on a platform to facilitate full opening. She is invoked for abundant crops (vegetative fertility) and good progeny. A blossoming lotus replaces her head and neck, an icon often used in Tantra. The seven Chakras of human energy anatomy are often depicted as blossoming lotuses, and the Goddess is often depicted in her Sri Yantra as a Yoni, shown as a simplified triangle at the centre. Further, most fertility goddesses of the Ancient world are similarly shown headless, while giving prominent focus to the genitals. The arms of the goddess are bent upwards, each holding a lotus stem, held at the level of the head again depicted by the matured lotus flower.
Owing to an absence of verifiable text in Vedic traditions on the iconography, she doesn’t seem to hold any exalted position in Hindu pantheon, despite her strong presence throughout India, especially in the tribal region of Bastar in Central India and downwards to the South, suggesting that the goddess had a cult of her own, later embraced into the mainstream religion through the myths of Sati and Parvati. The goddess is sometimes called Lajja Gauri, interpreted by some as the Inncocent Creatrix, the Creator deity or at times simply "Headless Goddess", or Aditi Uttanapada by modern archeologist, academicians and Indologists.
Terracotta figurines and statues of this goddess have been found throughout India, dating back to 1st century AD, especially from Southern India The majority were carved in the Gupta and post-Gupta periods.
Various forms
Devi, the Great Mother Goddess of Hinduism, in Her form as Lajja Gauri, is also known as Aditi, Adya Shakti; Renuka wife of sage Jamadagni, who is worshipped for fertility as Matangi and Yallamma (everybody's mother), Kotari, Kotavi (a nude folk goddess), KottaMahika, Kotmai, and many other names. She is the most ancient Goddess form in the religious complex that is today referred to as Hinduism, whose worship is prevalent in villages of Gujarat, Maharashtra where a notable sculpture dating 150 - 300 CE was found at Amravati (now kept at State Museum, Chennai), Tribal areas of Central India, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, where the town of Badami, known for the Badami Cave Temples, has a sculpture of the deity preserved at the local Archeological Museum, originally found in Naganatha Temple, Naganathakolla, Bijapur District, and has an extant temple dedicated to the goddess in Badami Chalukya Architecture, within the town precincts dating to Chalukya Empire which flourished around 6th century AD.
Another interpretation as suggested by Dr. Ramachandra C. Dhere in his book entitled, Lajja Gauri is that Lanja/Lanjika means 'naked', reminds us of the geographical area in Konkan (Maharashtra), called Lanja.
See also
