Tree nymphs in Amarāvatī art

The tree nymphs are amply found in the Amarāvatī art. The tree nymphs are feminine beauties associated with trees. Iconographically they are voluptuous beauties almost nude. They are only decked with a broad jewelled belt, which already made its appearance in the pre-Mauryan terracotta yakṣīs.^[1] However, in Amarāvatī there is a tendency to deviate from this archaic form and move towards a freer, lively and pliable human form. The figure of Sālabhanjikā in the art of Amarāvatī repertoire is an exquisite representation of the tree nymph exhibiting graceful elegance of the feminine form.

Tree nymphs in the Amarāvatī repertoire is sometimes placed within the architectural frame unlike the bracket Sālabhanjikās at Sāñchī torana. In this regard, mention may be made of a yakṣī inside a gable window niche preserved in the Madras Government Museum (Pl 39a). She is adorning herself under the celestial tree. The yakṣī displays attenuated form in comparison to the rigid frontal form of the Bhārhut yakṣīs (Pl 39b). Another fragment from Amarāvatī shows a part of a yakṣī dryad head, hand and breast against a tree (Pl 39c). Her left hand rests on the hip like the dryads on the Sāñchī gateway. However, this fragment belongs to the early phase of the Amarāvatī art and suffers from rigidity unlike the flexible depiction in Sāñchī.(Pl 39d)