| Ambika | |
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&sq=&lang=&file=File:Ellora_cave34_001.jpg) An image of Ambika in Cave 34 of the Ellora Caves | |
| Genealogy | |
| Spouse | Sarvanha (Dig.) Gomedha (Śvēt.) |
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In Jainism, Ambika (Sanskrit: अम्बिका, Odia: ଅମ୍ବିକା Ambikā "Mother") or Ambika Devi (अम्बिका देवी Ambikā Devī "the Goddess-Mother") is the yakshini "dedicated attendant deity" or Śāsana Devī "protector goddess" of the 22nd Tirthankara, Neminatha. She is also known as Ambai, Amba, Kushmandini and Amra Kushmandini.[1] She is often shown with one or more children and often under a tree. She is frequently represented as a pair (Yaksha Sarvanubhuti on the right and Kushmandini on the left) with a small Tirthankar image on the top.[2] The name ambika literally means mother, hence she is Mother Goddess. The name is also a common epithet of Hindu Goddess Parvati.[3]
- ^ "JAINpedia > Themes > Practices > Ambikā or Kuṣmāṇḍinī". www.jainpedia.org. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ Stele with 'yaksha-yakshini' couple and Jinas, Pratapaditya Pal, ‘Goddess: divine energy’, pg.30., Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2006
- ^ Pal 1986, p. 45.