River Yamuna

Gajalakshmi

Kubera / Panchika

Pan-Indic Prosperity Motifs South inner wall and entrance Monastery 1, Ratnagiri

The three nature-images, shown here, are found in both Buddhist and Hindu art. Their common meaning is "prosperity:" the River Yamuna brings fertile soil and fish to the land; Kubera is a yaksha (nature-spirit), the guardian of buried treasure, as indicated by the pots beneath his throne; and Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth, symbolizing the life-giving monsoon (elephants = storm clouds) that anually revitalizes the land. The image of prosperity through nature's abundance is also, of course, carried out on other decoration of the temple such as the foliage, chauri-bearer, birds, and pots on Kubera's wall.