Images of Jeshta (Jyestha)

Jeshta (Jyestha) is the goddess of poverty, evil and unhappiness.^[1] Jeshta appeared at the time of churning the ocean of milk, she in reputed to be the elder sister of Laksmi.^[2] Since she had an uncouth figure, none came forward to marry her. Risi Kapila accepted her as his wife, and so she came to be known as Kapilapattini.^[3] With a crow in her flag and with the donkey as her vadhana, she is dancing merrily in blood.

Tirukkural,^[4] one of the eighteen minor works of Kilkanakku, states that Jeshta (Jyestha) is the deity of adversity. The eight names of Jeshta are enumerated in the Tamil Nigandu, Divakaram.^[5] A figure of Jeshta is found in the niche to the north of the facade of the cave temple at Vallam in Tiruchirappalli.^[6] This sculpture is the first among the ones found in Tamil country.^[7] Unlike in other places where she is seen in the company of her son and her daughter. She appears in solitude here.^[8] Her image is seen in three places, in the Kailasanatha temple, at Kanchipuram the Pallava capital. Here Jeshta, looking obese, pot-bellied and gruesome is found seated on a rectangular pitha with her son and daughter.^[9]

A Vattelettu inscription dating back to the 8^thcentury A.D., found on a pillar in the rock cut cave temple of Subramanya in Tirapparankunram declares that a shrine was formed for Jeshta (Jyestha). The records of the early Cholas show that the Jeshta shrines were exempted from taxes.^[10] An inscription in Trichirappalli district declares that an endowment was made in the name on Jeshta.^[11] In this Adavalleswarar temple the figure of Jeshta (Jyestha) is carved as a bas-relief.

The Cholas who worshipped Jeshta considered her as a parivara devata. She had a separate sub shrine for her worship. Jeshta is one of the seven parivara devatas with a shrine in the Sundaresvarar temple at Tirukkattalai. Her image is installed there in her worship was once popular during the Pallava region, but later it became extinct with the advent of the Nayanmars and Alvars.

In the Adavalleswar temple, she appears slim and tidy, unlike her normal caricatures elsewhere. This figure is flanked by her daughter of the Agnimata on her left, and her son Vrsavaktra on her right. All the figures are seated on a rectangular pitha with two arms each. Jeshta (Jyestha) slightly, bigger than the others, is seen older than the others. She holds a lotus flower in her right hand and rests her left hand on the seat, seated in a sukasana pose. She is found with a smiling face a well proportioned torso and broad waist. Her daughter Agnimata the younger female holds a lotus flower in her right hand and rests her left hand on the pitha. She sports a serene face with brimming youth. Her son Vrsavaktra, a bull faced masculine figure, indicates youth. He is found holding a mace in the left hand, and resting the right hand on the pitha. The mother, son and daughter are seated each in a sukasana pose and adorned with karandamakutas and other ornaments. Her face, head gear, full lips and broad shoulder confirm the date of its sculpting as the early Chola period.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

C. Minakshi, Administration and Social Life Under the Pallavas, Madras, 1977, p. 222.

[2]:

T.N. Srinivasan, Op. Cit., p. 106.

[3]:

Ibid., p. 107.

[4]:

M. Varadarajan, (ed.,), Tirukural, Chennai, 1995, Arathupal 1, Adikaram 17, Kural 167, p. 35.

[5]:

Divakara Munivar, "Settaiyin Peyar," Senthan Divakaram, (Tamil): 38, Chennai, 1958, 7.

[6]:

R. Nagaswami, Op.Cit.,p. 46.

[7]:

D.R. Rajeswari, Op.Cit.,p. 31.

[8]:

R. Nagaswami, Op.Cit.,p. 146.

[9]:

Ibid., pp. 165-166.

[10]:

H. Krishna Sasiri, Op, Cit.,p. 216.

[11]:

Nagasamy, Op.Cit.,p.147.