Makrana White Marble Standing Saraswati Statue with Veena, 36in

A Saraswati that greets everyone who walks in

A school, a college or a music academy usually has one place where every student passes twice a day: the entrance. This 36-inch Saraswati is made for that spot. She stands upright rather than seated, so at three feet on her own lotus base she reads clearly from the doorway and from across a foyer, and she is tall enough to be the first thing a visitor sees without overpowering a reception desk or a notice board beside her.

Four arms, the veena across her body

She stands on an open lotus with her swan, the hamsa, standing at her feet and curving its neck forward. She is four-armed, with two arms on each side of her body. Her front hands play a veena held diagonally across her body, one hand over the round gourd and the other along the neck below the carved scroll. Her back right hand holds an akshamala, the rosary of steady practice, and her back left hand holds a palm-leaf book, the sign of learning. It is the most familiar form of Saraswati in Indian schools: knowledge, music and patient practice held together in one figure.

Attire and face

She wears a draped sari over a fitted choli that covers her chest, shoulders and upper arms, with the pallu brought across her torso and the pleats falling in carved folds to her feet. A tall crown with a rayed halo behind it, earrings, layered necklaces, armlets and bangles complete her shringar. Her face is youthful and serene, eyes softly lowered, with a small tilak and a gentle smile, the expression a student looks up at before an exam.

The stone and the finish

The figure, the veena, the swan and the lotus are cut from Makrana white marble, the fine, crystalline stone from Rajasthan with a bright natural white and a faint warm undertone. Nothing is painted. The surface is brought to a soft satin polish rather than a mirror shine, so daylight from a foyer window picks out the strings of the veena, the beads of the rosary and the feathers of the swan without glare, and the stone keeps its gentle glow at the thin edges of the sari.

Placing it in a school or academy

At about 36 inches tall, 20 inches wide and 13 inches deep, and roughly 90 kg, she needs a solid base: a raised stone plinth or a sturdy platform that lifts her lotus well above floor level, as it should be for any murti, and keeps her clear of foot traffic and shoes at the entrance. Facing the door or set against the main wall of the foyer both work well. Vasant Panchami puja leaves kumkum, haldi and flower marks, so wipe them away soon afterwards, since marble is a natural, slightly porous stone.

Made to your space

The height can be scaled up or down to suit your foyer, and the plinth can be carved with the name of your school, academy or the family that is gifting her. Send us a photo of the entrance and the space you have in mind on WhatsApp, and we will help you settle the size before carving begins.