Salabhanjika

A salabhanjika or shalabhanjika is a term found in Indian art and literature with a variety of meanings. In Buddhist art, it means an image of a woman or yakshi next to, often holding, a tree, or a reference to Maya under the sala tree giving birth to Siddhartha (Buddha). In Hindu and Jain art, the meaning is less specific, and it is any statue or statuette, usually female, that breaks the monotony of a plain wall or space and thus enlivens it.

In Buddhist literature, salabhanjika also refers to an ancient Indian festival, one celebrated when sala tree blossoms in the context of Buddha's life.

In literature, apart from the statue meaning, Salabhanjika can mean a doll, or fairy, or a seductress (harlot) depending on the context. In these contexts, they are also known as madanakai, madanika or shilabalika. In the context of Indian poetry and music, the term salabhanjika is synonymous with the pathyā meter – one of the minor chanda (poetic meter) in the catuṣpadi group, and is used for transition. The shalabhanjika is a common decorative element and Indian sculpture found inside and outside religious and secular spaces of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain architecture.

In Buddhist sites, reliefs on stupas displayed a stylized female by a tree, typically grasping or breaking a branch as Buddha's mother Maya did. In these contexts, salabhanjika may be related to ancient tree deities in Indian popular religion, related to fertility.