Vietnam White Marble Suvidhinath (Pushpadanta) Murti, 9in

Suvidhinath, and why the stone is white

Suvidhinath Bhagwan, the ninth Tirthankar, carries two names in the tradition: Suvidhinath for the right method of conduct he set out, and Pushpadanta for the flower-white teeth remembered of him. Both point the same way, and so does his canonical complexion: white. This nine-inch murti is cut from Vietnam white marble for exactly that reason. The stone is a cool, even, pure white with a tight fine grain and very little of the grey veining that runs through most white marbles, so a small figure carved from it stays legible rather than reading as a pale blur on the shelf.

How the murti is carved

The block is squared in the Jaipur workshop before the seated mass, the lotus cushion and the stepped pedestal are brought out in that order, and the arched stele last. At nine inches almost nothing is forgiving. The face, the stacked fingers, the srivatsa and the kachota pleats are all cut by hand with fine chisels and drill points, because at this size a machined edge is visible from across a room. Polishing runs in progressive grades on hand rotators to a soft satin, not a mirror: satin holds the carved line, where a high gloss on a small white piece throws highlights that swallow the detail.

Reading the iconography

Iconography follows Shvetambar Murtipujak derasar convention. He sits in padmasana on a lotus base, hands laid flat and stacked in the lap, right over left, the srivatsa on the bare chest, a kandora waistband above pleated kachota, kundals at the elongated earlobes, crown and carved ornament as an adorned murti is dressed, and the gaze drawn down to the nose-tip. His lanchhana, the makara or crocodile, is carved on the front face of the stepped pedestal, and it is the mark that tells him apart at a glance from the other twenty-three Jinas. He was born at Kakandi and attained nirvana at Sammed Shikharji.

Placing a nine-inch murti

Nine inches is a shelf size rather than a floor size. It suits a home derasar, a pooja room niche or a small cabinet shrine, sitting comfortably at or just above seated eye level, and it is light enough for one person to lift and move for cleaning or for a prakshal. Allow about seven inches of clear width for the pedestal and a little more on either side for the ashta-prakari pooja articles. White marble reads best against a wall that is itself pale or a plain wooden back; against a dark panel the cool stone can go slightly grey.

Commissioning yours

The same form can be cut larger for a family derasar, in Makrana white marble if a warmer white is wanted, with or without the arched stele, and with the pedestal base left blank for a pratishtha inscription. Message us on WhatsApp with the shelf dimensions and the height you have in mind and we will work back from there.