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A few references may be noted in connection with iconogra鉂�
phical evidence of Gajalaksmi : -
The Gajalaksmi motif 1.e. the goddess Laksmi being anointed
by two elephants, is a feature of Indian art from remote
antiquity and has received detailed notice in iconographic
texts. The motif has been represented in the early Buddhist
art of Bharhut, Sanchi, Bodhgaya, and elsewhere (V.S.
Agrawala opines that even the stupas were erected due to
the common efforts of all people, irrespective of their
faith (Bharatiya Kala, p. 161), though the possibility of
the Buddhists appropriating this motif to depict Mayadevi
(Buddha's mother) being given bath by two nagas at the
time of her delivering the child Siddhartha (Buddha) cannot
be ruled out (Marshall J.. The Monuments of Sanchi, p. 96,
note 1. Moti Chandra also holds a similar view("Our lady
of Beauty and Abundance Padma Sri. Nehru Abhinandan
Granth, 1949, p. 511). For an opposite view, see Majumdar,
N.G., A Guide to the Sculptures in the Indian Museum, Pt. 1,
1937, p. 21, note 1). Foucher's view (Foucher A., On the
Iconography of the Buddhas Nativity (MAS/1, No. 46), pp. 2 and
21) that Gajalaksmi has its prototype in Maya is generally
unacceptable to scholars as the antiquity of the concept of
the former goes to an earlier period of the latter (Marshall,
op. cit., p. 96, note 1). The seals bearing the Gajalaksmi
motif have been found at Basarh, Bhita, Nalanda, Rajghat
7728 Kausambi, Ahichchatra, Eran, Tippera etc.
66 The device known as 'Abhiseka of Laksmi', typifies
the ancient Indian conception of prosperity, and occurs on
coins, datable between the third century B.A. and the first
century A.D.
28. Kiran Kumar Thapbyal, "Gajalaksmi on seals". Foreigners in
Ancient India and Laksmi and Sarasvati in Art and Literature,
by D.C. Sircar, University of Calcutta, 1970, pp. 112 & 13.