Identify the correct statements regarding the image of ‘Shalabhanjika’ from below:
A. It is the image of beautiful women swinging from the edge of the gateway, holding onto a tree.
B. This was a woman whose touch caused trees to flower and bear fruit.
C. This motif suggests people who turned to Buddhism enriched it with their own pre-Buddhist and non-Buddhist beliefs, practices and ideas.
D. ‘Shalabhanjika’ is not a Pali word but a Sanskrit word.
Choose the correct answers from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → A, B, C and D
A. It is the image of beautiful women swinging from the edge of the gateway, holding onto a tree. Correct. This sculpture on the gateway of the Sanchi stupa shows a beautiful woman swinging from the edge of the gateway, holding onto a tree. At first it puzzled scholars, because it seemed to have little to do with renunciation.
B. This was a woman whose touch caused trees to flower and bear fruit. Correct. According to popular belief, the shalabhanjika was a woman whose touch caused trees to flower and bear fruit. It was probably regarded as an auspicious symbol and made part of the decoration of the stupa.
C. This motif suggests people who turned to Buddhism enriched it with their own pre-Buddhist and non-Buddhist beliefs, practices and ideas. Correct. Many of the recurring motifs at Sanchi came from such traditions, which shows that people who became Buddhists brought their older beliefs with them.
D. ‘Shalabhanjika’ is not a Pali word but a Sanskrit word. Correct. Scholars found the meaning of the image by looking at other literary traditions: it could be a representation of what is described in Sanskrit as a shalabhanjika. The word comes from Sanskrit literature, not from the Pali texts of the Buddhists.
NCERT (2025-26): “9.3 Popular traditions … Other sculptures at Sanchi were perhaps not directly inspired by Buddhist ideas. These include beautiful women swinging from the edge of the gateway, holding onto a tree (Fig.4.17). Initially, scholars were a bit intrigued about this image, which seemed to have little to do with renunciation. However, after examining other literary traditions, they realised that it could be a representation of what is described in Sanskrit as a shalabhanjika. According to popular belief, this was a woman whose touch caused trees to flower and bear fruit. It is likely that this was regarded as an auspicious symbol and integrated into the decoration of the stupa. The shalabhanjika motif suggests that many people who turned to Buddhism enriched it with their own pre-Buddhist and even non-Buddhist beliefs, practices and ideas. Some of the recurrent motifs in the sculpture at Sanchi were evidently derived from these traditions.…”
Fig. 4.17 The woman at the gate |
