Celestial figure of a young, beautiful woman in Indian art and mythology, often associated with nature. The Sanskrit term madanika (‘lovely girl’) is derived from madana (Sanskrit: passion, love, or springtime) and is adapted in Tamil texts as madanikai. In Puranic texts, the term sometimes refers to a type of shapeshifting nymph, or is the name of some female characters. The iconography of madanika figures in temple architecture is varied but is typically characterised by a lotus-shaped base and arboreal frame. Madanika figures were especially prominent in Hoysala temple architecture, appearing for example at the Chennakeshava Temple in Belur, Karnataka in thirty-six variations.