Goddess Vagdevi, Ambika, Saraswati: Where's the idol at nub of the 'Bhojshala is a temple' verdict by Madhya Pradesh HC?
The Madhya Pradesh High Court declared the Bhojshala complex in Dhar a temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati), centering its verdict on an idol excavated in 1875 and now held in the British Museum. The court identified the idol, currently classified by the museum as the Jain goddess Ambika, as representing Saraswati in both her Vagdevi and Amba forms. The ruling acknowledges overlapping religious iconography and historical worship practices between Hinduism and Jainism at the site.
- ▪The idol at the center of the Bhojshala dispute was excavated in 1875 by British officer William Kincaid and later transferred to the British Museum.
- ▪The British Museum identifies the sculpture as a Jain yakṣiṇī named Ambikā, while Hindu petitioners and the court refer to it as Vagdevi or Saraswati.
- ▪An inscription at the base of the idol, dated to 1034–35 CE, mentions the creation of images of both Vagdevi and Amba by a religious official under King Bhoja.
- ▪The court ruled that Vagdevi and Amba are different names for the same divine entity, Saraswati, and not separate deities.
- ▪The judgment notes that Hindu and Jain traditions have historically coexisted, with shared religious iconography commonly found in each other's places of worship.
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Goddess Vagdevi, Ambika, Saraswati: Where's the idol at nub of the 'Bhojshala is a temple' verdict by Madhya Pradesh HC?HC says can "idol which was recovered in excavation and is claimed to be in British Museum in London is of Goddess Saraswati”. Other names exist too.Updated on: May 17, 2026 3:39 PM ISTBy Aarish ChhabraShare viaCopy link When the Madhya Pradesh High Court at Indore declared the Bhojshala complex in Dhar "a temple of Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati)", at the centre of this declaration was an idol — but where that idol is, what it depicts, and how it can be put back at the complex, are questions that remain.People offer prayers after the Madhya Pradesh High Court verdict declare the Bhojshala complex a Hindu temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati), in Dhar.
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