Mahabharata dated to 1st century CE. Madhu Wangu believes that Matrika description in Mahabharata is rooted in the group of seven females depicted on Indus valley seals. By the fifth century, all these goddesses were incorporated in mainstream orthodox Hinduism as Tantric deities. David Kinsley proposes that the Matrikas may be local village goddesses, who were being assimilated in the mainstream. He cites two reasons for his assertion: their description in Mahabharata as dark in colour, speaking foreign languages and living in "peripheral areas" and their association with god Skanda and his father, Shiva, who though Vedic has attributes. Sara L. Schastok suggests that the Matrikas maybe inspired by the concept of Yakshas, who are associated with Skanda and Kubera – both are often portrayed with the Matrikas. In contrast to the Indus valley origins theory, Bhattacharyya notes: The Sapta-Matrikas were earlier connected with Skanda (Kumara) and in later times, associated with the sect of Shiva himself. During the Kushana period (1st to 3rd century), the sculptural images of the matrikas first appear in stone. The Kushana images merged from the belief in Balagraha (lit "destroyers of children") worship related to conception, birth, diseases and protection of children. The Balagraha tradition included the worship of the infant Skanda with the Matrikas. The goddesses were considered as personifications of perils, related to children and thus, were pacified by worship. The Kushana images emphasize the maternal as well as destructive characteristics of the Matrikas through their emblems and weapons. They appear to be an undifferentiated sculptural group but develop in standard and complex iconographic representation during the following Gupta period. In the Gupta period (3rd to 6th century A.D.), folk images of Matrikas became important in villages. The diverse folk goddesses of the soldiers like Matrikas were acknowledged by the Gupta rulers and their images were carved on royal monuments in order to strengthen the loyalty and adherence of the armed forces. The Gupta kings Skandagupta and Kumaragupta I (c. second half of fifth century) made Skanda (Kumara) their model and elevated the position of Skanda's foster mothers, the Matrikas from a cluster of folk goddesses to court goddesses. Since the fourth century, Parhari, Madhya Pradesh had a rock-cut shrine been solely devoted to the Sapta Matrika. The Western Ganga Dynasty (350–1000 CE) kings of Karnataka built many Hindu temples along with saptamatrika carvings and memorials, containing sculptural details of saptamatrikas. The