Eastern Indian School of Mediaeval Sculpture c8: Chapter V. The Buddhistic Pantheon

Eastern Indian School of Mediaeval Sculpture c8

Language: English

Chapter V. The Buddhistic Pantheon

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With the increase in the number of divine and semi-divine members in the Buddhistic pantheon, the elders of the Buddhistic congregation and the artists employed by them were compelled to reduce the descriptions of the various gods and goddesses to writing. This class of books form a literature by themselves and are generally known as the Sādhanas. These Sādhanas have been discovered in very large numbers in Nepal and Tibet and form the basis of the modern enquiry into Buddhistic Iconography. The pioneer work on the subject is M. A. Foucher's *Étude sur l'Iconographie Bouddhique de l'Inde*, published in two parts. M. Foucher divided his subjects into five different parts :—

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I. The Buddhas, II. The Bodhisattvas, III. Minor Male Deities, IV. The Tārās, V. Minor Female Deities.

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The first part of M. Foucher's work is devoted to the identifications of the various gods and goddesses and the second part, to practical illustrations of the employment of the Sādhanas for that purpose. The identifications made by M. Foucher in these two parts prove conclusively that the extant Sādhana literature was written exclusively in Bengal and Bihar and that the sculptures which form the subject matter of this work also formed the basis of these early writers on Buddhist iconography. In fact the majority of figures identified by M. Foucher come from Magadha and a few from Bengal. From a perusal of the second part of M. Foucher's work it is evident that he has not quoted the entire number of Sādhanas available; but has only selected such as are necessary for the determination of his identifications. In 1910 when the author began writing this work in the Asiatic Society of Bengal he was helped with the loan of manuscript No. Ga. 8059 and the Honorary General Secretary of that body at that time, Mr. G. H. Tipper, M.Sc., F.G.S., obtained the loan of manuscript Add. No. 1464 from the Cambridge University's collection of Sanskrit Manuscripts. These two manuscripts were collated and the material used for the identifications proposed in the following pages. Since that date Mr. Benoytosh Bhattacharyya, M.A., has utilised all available material on the Sādhanas in the compilation of his work on Buddhist Iconography. Mr. Bhattacharyya enjoyed the unique advantage of examining the great collection of Buddhist Sanskrit manuscripts in the Darbar Library at Kathmandu in Nepal in the company of his father, Mahāmahopādhyāya Haraprasad Shastri, C.I.E. His work therefore contains the latest additions to our knowledge of Buddhist Sādhana literature. Further, Mr. Bhattacharyya has done great service by editing the *Sādhanamālā* with the help of all existing and available materials.

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The principal difference between M. Foucher's work and that of his pupil lies in the mode of treatment. While M. Foucher's work classifies the *Sādhanas* into a number of natural groups, Mr. Bhattacharyya's work is based on the divisions of the Mahāyānic Buddhist pantheon. Mahāyāna of the early mediæval period of Indian history recognised a triple series of five deities. These five deities are known as the five divine Buddhas, Akshobhya, Amitābha, Ratnasambhava, Amoghasiddhi, and Vairochana. Each of these five divine Buddhas possesses an earthly counterpart called the *Mānushī* Buddha and a separate emanation known as the Bodhisattva. In the classification of the Buddhist pantheon, the earlier Buddhists make a divine Buddha the head of a particular genus. The Bodhisattvas, the lesser deities, the female deities and semi-divine beings are divided in the *Sādhanas* into five different groups. Thus, in the genus of Amitābha, the Bodhisattvas bear on their head-dress a seated figure of this divine Buddha and this attribute is shared in common by all other male and female deities.

I. The Buddhas

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In the Eastern School of Mediæval Sculpture, images of Buddha generally represent one particular incident of his life. A separate image of Buddha, without any characteristics, which label it as the figure of the Master representing a particular incident, is extremely uncommon in Bengal and Bihar. The Buddha figures discovered in these two provinces represent the Master at the time of one of the following incidents :—

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(1) The illumination, (2) The First Sermon at Benares, (3) The descent from the heaven of the *Trayastriṃśas*, (4) The submission of Nālagiri or Ratnapāla, (5) The presentation of honey at Vaiśālī and (6) The Miracle of Śrāvastī. Besides these six different forms we possess separate representations of the birth and the death and, if these are also counted as images, then there are eight different species of the Buddha images amongst specimens of the Eastern School. The only case, where, in the Eastern School, artists have represented the figure of Buddha only without reference to any particular incident of his life is in the representation of the seven past Buddhas and the Messiah of Buddhism, the Bodhisattva Maitreya. Here we find that the seven past Buddhas, including Gautama, stand under their respective Bodhi trees.¹ In this group the future Buddha Maitreya is known by the *chaitya* in his head-dress. Such groups of Buddhas including the one referred to were found in comparatively large numbers at Bodh Gaya and another of the series was dedicated by a Chinese pilgrim (B. G. 133).² Another specimen was dedicated either in the Kushan or Gupta period and a portion of it was recovered during the excavations at Bodh Gaya by Cunningham and Beglar.¹ Yet another specimen was found at Bishanpur Tandwa in the Gaya district by Sir Aurel Stein in 1901.²

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¹ See pl. XIV e I. M. No. B. G. 83.

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² See pl. XXXI b.

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¹ See pl. XXXIIIc.

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² *Ind. Ant.* Vol. XXX, fig. V.

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In the Eastern School, the illumination is represented by the seated figure of the Buddha in the *bhūmisparśa-mudrā* and in the language of the *Sādhanas* this particular type is styled the *Vajrāsana-Buddha-Bhaṭṭāraka*. In such images, in addition to the figure of Buddha seated cross-legged in the attitude of meditation, we find Maitreya on the left and Lokeśvara on the right of the main figure.³ Larger images instead of being carved out of one piece were made by joining several carvings together. An example of such a gigantic figure was discovered by Stein at Bishanpur Tandwa, in 1901⁴; but these figures have now been removed to the Patna Museum.⁵ According to the late Dr. Th. Bloch this group represents the best work of the artists of the Eastern School.⁶

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³ *Étude sur l'Iconographie Bouddhique de l'Inde* 2ᵐᵉ partie, p. 17, fig. 1.

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⁴ *Ind. Ant.* Vol. XXX, fig. IV.

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⁵ See pl. XXXII.

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⁶ *Annual Report, Archæological Survey, Bengal Circle, 1901-02*, p. 14.

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A third class of peculiar images are to be found in Benares, Bihar and Bengal only. In these specimens Buddha wears a crown and a necklace but no other ornament on any part of his body. The best example is the separate image B. G. 80⁷ in the Indian Museum, which represents the taming of the mad elephant and a copper gilt image of Buddha in the possession of Mr. Saurendra Mohan Sinha of Bhagalpur.⁸ These crowned Buddhas are also to be found among second class stelæ representing eight principal incidents of the life of the Buddha. Such specimens are common all over Bengal and Bihar. The best specimens in the Indian Museum are I. M. No. 3703,⁹ 3755,¹⁰ 3713¹¹ and Br. 68.¹² The Baṅgīya Sāhitya Parishad contains one specimen collected from Bihar in the Patna District, (C(a)2)/185 ¹³. An earlier generation of archæologists took them to be figures of *Dhyānī* Buddhas and they were labelled as such by the late Dr. Th. Bloch in 1896, but later on he was compelled to admit that the crown and the necklace on the bodies of these Buddhas could not be explained.¹⁴ Whatever be the cause of the presence of the crown and the necklace in these images it is quite certain that they are not figures of the *Dhyānī* Buddhas or the Bodhisattva Maitreya. The second class stelæ with the crowned Buddha as the main figure prove this conclusively. Such images are by no means confined to Bengal and Bihar, because they have also been discovered at Tewar¹⁵ and Tigowa ¹⁶ or Tegowa in the Central Provinces.

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⁷ See pl. XVIIb. A specimen discovered at Nālandā shows the use of bangles also.—*Ann. Report, Archl.-Survey of India*, 1921-22, p. 106, pl. XXXVIIb.

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⁸ See pl. XVIIIa.

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⁹ See pl. XXIIb.

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¹⁰ *Ibid*, c.

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¹¹ See pl. XXIc.

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¹² See pl. XXc.

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¹³ *Handbook to the sculptures in the Museum of the Baṅgīya Sāhitya Parishad* by Manomohan Ganguly, Calcutta, 1922, pp. 19-20.

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¹⁴ *Annual Report of the Archæological Survey of India, 1903-04*, p. 84.

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¹⁵ *Annual Progress Report of the Archæological Survey of Western India, 1893-94*, p. 6, para. 31.

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¹⁶ *Ibid*, 1903-04, p. 34, paras. 103-104.

II. The Bodhisattvas

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The Eastern School of Mediæval Sculpture flourished at a period when Hinduism had revived and Buddhism very distinctly degenerated. By imbibing Tāntrika ideals and incorporating a number of deities, which very roughly correspond to similar personifications of abstract qualities in the orthodox Hindu or Brahmanical pantheon, the later Mahāyānic Buddhists of the Eastern provinces created a vast pantheon of their own. A number of deities belonging to the regular Brahmanical pantheon were introduced into Mahāyānic worship but they were always relegated to a subordinate position. In this period the identification of Mahāyāna with the Tantras was almost completed and even now we find names of Buddhist gods and goddesses such as Amoghasiddhi and Akṣobhya, Pāṇḍarā and Kurukullā in very orthodox Hindu Tantras. Buddha is very often mentioned by name in many of the Tāntrika works and the sage Vasiṣṭha is said to have worshipped Buddha in order to obtain insight into the cult of Tārā. The mass of Tāntrika literature still extant, remains to be carefully analysed and our knowledge of the line of demarcation between the Buddhist and Hindu Tantras is still very imperfect. With the decrease in the number of Tāntrika Brāhmaṇas it has indeed become very difficult for us to understand the Tāntrika works and its mystic symbolism.

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The analysis of the Sādhanas proves that in Buddhistic ritual the different species of Bodhisattvas are divided according to the five divine or Dhyānī Buddhas. Thus Lokanātha, Lokeśvara or Avalokiteśvara is an emanation of Amitābha. He is supposed to be the presiding deity of modern Buddhism in the modern age. His period of domination over the universe began from the demise of Gautama Buddha and will end with the birth of Maitreya Bodhisattva. The number of multiplications of this Buddhistic deity can be judged from the fact that at least 108 different figures of this Bodhisattva are still worshipped in the Machchhendra Vahal in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. In the Eastern School of Mediæval Sculpture, figures of the Bodhisattva Lokanātha predominate over all others but the specimens discovered do not include all the 108 different species. This Bodhisattva can be distinguished at once by the presence of the divine Buddha Amitābha, by his head-dress and by the presence of a lotus with stalk in his left hand. The number of his hands varies and so do the attributes in each and every different case. We have three varieties of Lokanātha or Lokeśvara already identified :—

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(1) Lokeśvara with two hands: he holds a lotus with stalk in the left hand, while the right is stretched down in the posture of bestowing gifts.¹ Examples :— I. M. No. B. G. 140 and N. S. 2073. Tārā and Hayagrīva are present in B. G. 54.² In certain cases a new variety known as Khasarpaṇa³ is obtained by the addition of another lotus stalk to the right and the portrayal of the five Dhyānī Buddhas on the back slab.

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¹ Étude sur l'Iconographie Bouddhique de l'Inde 2 me partie, p. 23.

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² See pl. XXXIIIb.

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³ Buddhist Iconography, pl. XXc. See pl. XXXIIIa.

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(2) Lokeśvara with four hands: “the two additional hands of the four-armed type hold a rosary (akṣasūtra) and a water vessel (kamaṇḍalu) or a book (pustaka).”¹ In a colossal image in the Indian Museum we find that one of the right hands holds a rosary, while the other is in the posture of blessing or bestowing a gift (varadamudrā). The left hands hold a lotus stalk and a water vessel respectively. (I. M. No. 3962)². A similar specimen is I. M. No. 3860³ but it has six arms instead of four. In the case of the larger image, we find a demon kneeling to the proper right of the main figure and drinking something which falls from the lower right hand of the Bodhisattva and a short male standing to the proper left just below the water vessel. These are evidently Sūchīmukha and Hayagrīva mentioned in the Khasarpaṇasādhana of Padmākaramati:—

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¹ Annual Report of the Archæological Survey of India, 1903-04, p. 315.

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² See pl. XIIa.

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³ See pl. VIIIa.

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(a) Kara-vigalat-pīyūṣadhārā-bhyavahāra-rasikaṃ tad-adhaḥ-samāropit-ordhva-mukhaṃ mahākukṣim atikṛśaṃ atisītivarṇaṃ Sūchīmukhaṃ tarpayantaṃ.
(b) Hayagrīvo raktavarṇaḥ kharvalambodaraḥ ūrdhvajvalat-piṅgala-keśo bhujaṅga-yajñopavītī kapilataraśmaśru-śreṇī-parichita-mukha-maṇḍalo rakta-vartula-trinetro bhrikuṭi-kuṭila-bhrūko vyāghra-charmmāmbaro daṇḍāyudhaḥ.

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Another specimen which deserves mention here is a four-armed image of Ṣaḍakṣarī Lokanātha⁴ which was found in the Shashthitala quarter of the village of Bhadrapur in the Birbhum district.

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⁴ See pl. X XIV b.

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(3) Lokeśvara with six hands: “In the six-armed figures like the present, we find, besides the attributes enumerated, a snare (pāśa) in the left hand, whilst that in the right hand has the appearance of a jewel.”⁵ In image No. 5860 of the Indian Museum collection we find a rosary, and a jewel (ratna) in the first two right hands, while the third is in the gift-bestowing posture. In the left hands we find, a lotus with stalk, a snare and a water vessel respectively.⁶

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⁵ Annual Report of the Archæological Survey of India, 1903-04, p. 213, pl. LXII-2.

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⁶ Supplementary catalogue, p. 57.

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Finally in this class of images we find Lokeśvara with a multiplicity of hands. In the Sādhanas we find the name of Māyājālakram-āryāvalokiteśvara who has five heads and twelve hands.⁷ The Indian Museum collection contains two Lokeśvara images with twelve hands. In both of them we find that there is only one head, and the presence of Amitābha on it signifies that the image belongs to the genus Lokeśvara. No particular Sādhana can be applied to any of these two images. In the first one the following attributes are to be seen:—

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⁷ Étude sur l'Iconographie Bouddhique, 2 me partie, p. 38, note 2.

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On the right side of the main figure we find Sūchīmukha and Tārā. We know Sūchīmukha by his emaciated figure and Tārā by her description in the *Khasarpaṇa-sādhana* of Padmākaramati :

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*Tatra Tārā śyāmā vāmakara-vidhṛta-sanālotpalā dakṣiṇa-kareṇa vikāśayantī nānālaṅkāravatī abhinava-yauvanodbhinna-kuchabhārā.*

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On the left side we find Hayagrīva and Bhṛkuṭī. The following description of Bhṛkuṭī has been given by Prajñākaramati :—

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*Tatra Bhṛkuṭī chaturbhujā hemaprabhā jaṭākalāpinī vāme tridaṇḍi-kamaṇḍalu-dhārī-hastā dakṣiṇe vandan-ābhinay-ākṣasūtra-dharakarā Trinetrā.*¹

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¹ *Étude sur l'Iconographie Bouddhique, 2 me partie, p. 26.*

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The Indian Museum acquired an image of Lokeśvara with sixteen hands in 1911, the description of which is not to be found among the *Sādhanas*.²

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² *I. M. No. N. S. 2076. See pl. XXXIVa.*

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The *Sādhanas* contain the descriptions of a number of Lokeśvaras, bearing different names, *e.g.*, *Khasarpaṇa Lokeśvara*, *Hālāhala Lokeśvara*, *Hari-hari-hari-vāhan-odbhava Lokeśvara* and *Siṃhanāda Lokeśvara*. M. Foucher has published a photograph of an image of Siṃhanāda Lokeśvara,³ but in the first part of his work he has published another, which he has identified as Mañjuśrī.⁴ Closer examination proves that this is also an image of Siṃhanāda Lokeśvara. The presence of a sword on the lotus on the left side and a trident surrounded by snakes on the right in another image definitely proves that it is a representation of Siṃhanāda, though the five Tathāgatas are absent from the back slab. This image is *in situ* at Bodh Gaya inside the Brahmanical monastery.⁵ There is an inscription on its pedestal in characters of the eleventh century A.D. A similar image is included in the Indian Museum collection (B. G. 6) and another in the Patna Museum.⁶ A third specimen was recently discovered at Bazarpara in the Birbhum District.⁷

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³ *Étude, etc., 2 me partie, p. 29.*

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⁴ *Ibid, 1 er partie, p. 115, fig. 15.*

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⁵ *Ibid, p. 116, fig. 16.*

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⁶ *See pl. XXXVa.*

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⁷ *See pl. XXXVb.*

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Maitreya, the Messiah of Buddhism, is rarely met with in the Eastern School. There are two forms of this Bodhisattva in the *Sādhanas*. When he is an attendant of Buddha, he has two hands and holds a fly-whisk in his right and a branch of a Nāgakeśara in his left hand. The collection in the Indian Museum contains two separate images of Maitreya with two hands, in both of which there is a chaitya in his head-dress and in one of them there are two four-armed female figures in attendance upon him. In these two images the Bodhisattva holds a branch of the Nāgakeśara in his proper left hand, while the right hand is in the posture of blessing (*varada-mudrā*).⁸ The *Sādhanas* describe another Maitreya with three faces and four hands but no specimen of this particular type has been discovered amongst specimens of the Eastern School of Mediæval Sculpture.⁹

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⁸ *Étude sur l'Iconographie Bouddhique, pp. 48-49. See pl. Xa. I. M. No .3790.*

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⁹ *Buddhist Iconography, p. 14.*

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After the Lokeśvaras and Maitreya the most important group of male deities consists of the Mañjuśrīs. This god is known by a variety of names in the Sādhanas; such as, Mañjuśrī, Mañjuvara, Mañjughosha, Mañjudeva, Vāgīśvara, Mañjukumāra, etc. Mr. Benoytosh Bhattacharyya’s work gives us four different classifications within the same genus:—

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I. Emanations of Amitābha. II. Emanations of Akshobhya. III. Emanations of the five *Dhyāni* Buddhas, and IV. Independent forms.

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In the first class Mr. Bhattacharyya places two forms:—(I) Vāk, with one head, two arms and white complexion, both hands joined in the *dhyāna-mudrā*. Specimens of this type are extremely rare. (II) Dharmadhātu-Vāgīśvara, with four faces and eight arms, and holding in the right hands:—(a) bow (*dhanuḥ*) (b) snare (*pāśa*) (c) *Prajñāpāramitā* (d) bell (*ghaṇṭā*) and in the left hands:—(a) arrow (*śara*) (b) elephant-goad (*aṅkuśa*) (c) sword (*asi*) and (d) thunderbolt (*vajra*).¹

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¹ *Buddhist Iconography*, pp. 17-19.

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Among emanations of Akshobhya Mr. Bhattacharyya notices four types:—

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(1) Mañjughosha, with one head, two hands in the *vyākhyāna-mudrā*, with the lotus on its left side and the figure of Akshobhya in his head-dress.

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(2) Siddhaika-vīra, with one head and two hands and seated with crossed legs. The left hand holds a blue lotus, while the right is in the posture of blessing.²

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² *Ibid* pl. XIII d.

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(3) Vajrānaṅga, with one head and six hands, holding a bow and arrow decorated with the red lotus in the principal hands, in the remaining two right hands the sword and the mirror and in the remaining two left hands a bough of the Aśoka tree and a lotus. This deity, as the name signifies, is the Buddhist god of love.

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(4) Nāmasaṅgīti Mañjuśrī, three heads, four hands, holding a copy of the *Prajñāpāramitā* sword, bow and arrow.³

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³ *Ibid*, pp. 23-24.

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Mr. Bhattacharyya places certain forms of Mañjuśrī under the heading “Emanations from the five *Dhyāni* Buddhas” because no particular *Dhyāni* Buddha is to be found in their head-dresses. Thus in the case of Vāgīśvara it is simply stated that the five valiants are to be placed on the crown (*Pañcha-vīra-kṛta-śekharam*). Mr. Bhattacharyya places four forms in this class:—

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(1) Vāgīśvara, one head, two hands, holding a blue lotus in the left hand, the right being displayed in an elegant position.⁴

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⁴ See pl. XXXV a.

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(2) Mañjuvara, one head, two hands, holding a blue lotus with the book, the *Prajñāpāramitā* in addition to the *dharmma-chakramudrā*.⁵

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⁵ *Buddhist Iconography*, pl. XVd. See pl. XXXV b.

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(3) Mañjuvajra, three heads, embracing *Svābhā Prajñā* with two hands and holding the sword, the arrow, the bow and the blue lotus in the remaining hands.

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(4) Mañjukumāra, three heads, six hands, holding in two of the right hands sword and arrow, while the third is in the posture of blessing; in the left hands he holds the *Prajñāpāramitā*, the blue lotus and the bow.¹

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¹ *Buddhist Iconography*, p. 27.

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The independent forms are rather difficult to connect with the regular genus of Mañjuśrī. These are:—

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(1) Arapachana, with one head and two hands, holding the *Prajñāpāramitā* and the sword.

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(2) Sthirachakra, with one head and two hands, holding a sword in one, the other hand being in the posture of blessing.²

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² *Ibid*, pl. XVII*d*. See pl. XXXVII *b*.

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(3) Vādirāt, sitting on the back of a tiger with two hands in the *vyākhyāmudrā*.

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(4) Mañjunātha, with three heads and six hands, holding the wheel, thunderbolt, jewel, lotus, and the sword. The object held in the sixth hand is not specified.³

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³ *Ibid*, p. 31.

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While the identifications proposed by Mr. Bhattacharyya in many cases are quite accurate, some specimens in the Indian Museum collection have still remained unidentified. An example of this is the Mañjukumāra in that collection (I. M. No. 6271). If the word *satva-paryaṅkinam* is taken to mean the two lions under the throne then the identification is absolutely complete because in this case the deity has three heads and six hands and holds:—

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The *Sādhanas* enumerate quite a host of minor deities such as Trailokyavijaya, Chaṇḍa-Mahāroṣaṇa, Heruka, Vajraḍāka, Saṃvara, Buddha-kapāla, Vajra-hūmkāra, Mahābala, Vajra-jvālānalārka, Paramāśva, Bhūtaḍāmara, Rakta-yamāntaka, Kṛṣṇayamāntaka, Vighnāntaka, Jambhala, Mahākāla, etc. These *Sādhanas* are to be found on folios 257-342 of the Bengal Asiatic Society's manuscript No. *Ga*. 8059. The identification of these images has already been attempted on a large scale by Mr. Bhattacharyya and in this case also his work is characterised by conformity to the classification of the Buddhist *Sādhanas*. Among emanations of Amitābha we find Mahābala, Saptaśatika Hayagrīva; among the goddesses we find Kurukullā, Bhṛkuṭī, Mahāsitavatī. Among emanations of Akṣobhya we find Chaṇḍaroṣaṇa, Heruka, Buddhakapāla, Vajraḍāka, Saṃvara, Hayagrīva, Yamāri and Jambhala. Numerous examples of Jambhala have been discovered in the eastern provinces of Northern India but by far the best and the oldest specimen was discovered at Kurikihar in the Gaya District. This specimen was presented to the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1848 and transferred later on to the Indian Museum at Calcutta. It has been wrongly described by Anderson as “A seated figure of Gaṇeśa.”¹ None of the other specimens, known to us, corresponds to the two Sādhanas quoted by Mr. Bhattacharyya. One of them was dedicated at Nālandā in the tenth century A.D. (I. M. No. 3917)². Another uninscribed specimen belongs to the ninth century A.D. (I. M. No. 3911).³ The latest specimen in the Indian Museum collection is inscribed in the secret alphabet used by the Buddhist monks of Magadha and called *bhaikshukī lipi* by Bühler.⁴ It is really a specimen of the twelfth century A.D. (I. M. No. 4571).⁵ The goddesses who are the emanations of Akshobhya are Mahāchīnatārā, Jāngulī, Ekajaṭā, Parṇśabarī, Prajñāpāramitā, Vajracharchikā, Mahāmantr-ānusāriṇī, Mahāpratyaṅgirā, Dhavajāg-rakeyūrā, Vasudhārā, Nairātmā. Among these Mr. Bhattacharyya has correctly identified the figure of a Yamāntaka from Nālandā⁶, Parṇaśabarī from the Indian Museum⁷ and from Vikrampur. A fresh identification is possible in the case of Prajñāpāramitā. Indian Museum specimen No. 3817 corresponds to the following Sādhana:—

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¹ *Catalogue and Handbook*, part II, p. 271, Kr. 1, See pl. XXXVc.

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² See pl. XIII a.

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³ Ibid, XXXVIc.

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⁴ *Indische Palæographie*, p. 59, Tafel VI, XVIII-XIX.

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⁵ See pl. XVIc.

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⁶ *Buddhist Iconography*, pl. XXVI b. See pl. XIc.

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⁷ I. M. No. 3957—*Buddhist Iconography*, pl. XXVIII b.

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*Bhagavatī Prajñāpāramitā pītavarṇṇā dvibhujaikamukhī pañcha-Tathāgatama-kuṭī, vyākhyāna-mudrā-vatī viśvadala-padmachandrāsīnā, sarvvālaṅkāra-vastravatī vāmadakshiṇa-pārśve utpalastha-Prajñāpāramitā-pustaka-dhāriṇī.*⁹

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⁹ See pl. XLIc.—*Buddhist Iconography*, p. 126n, pl. XXXVIc.

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Ms. A. S. B. Ga. 3059 fol. 163 rev. 164 obv.

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The emanations of Vairochana and Amoghasiddhi are only females and we shall have to deal with them later on. Among the emanations of Ratnasambhava we find two forms of Jambhala and the goddesses Mahāpratisarā and Vasudhārā. Mr. Bhattacharyya has identified two images of Mahāpratisarā now in Dacca but in neither of these cases does the Sādhana correspond to the one quoted by him. The Sādhana quoted on p. 116 describes a goddess with three heads and ten arms, with the figure of Ratnasambhava in the head-dress. Another Sādhana quoted by him in the note on page 133 describes a goddess with a *chaitya* in the head-dress, four heads and eight hands holding a wheel, a thunderbolt, an arrow and a sword in the right hands and a thunderbolt with snare (*vajra-pāśa*), trident, a bow and a battle-axe in the left hands. The image seen by me at Swamibagh near Dacca city in 1911 and now removed to the Dacca Museum, does not show the existence of the *chaitya* over any of the heads and the order of the weapons is quite different:—

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There is another specimen in the collection of the Sāhitya Parishad at Dacca which is almost similar to the one described above. In this case the presence of a prostrate male with an elephant's head on the pedestal seems to indicate that this is a figure of Parnaśabarī, but she does not correspond to the eight-armed figure referred to on page 24 of Mr. Bhattacharyya's book¹. The weapons held in the eight hands are mostly broken but we can still distinguish the sword and the trident in the right hands and the noose and the thunderbolt in the left hands.²

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⁸ Ibid. pl. XXXIIId; See pl. XXXIXb.

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¹ Buddhist Iconography, pl. XXXVc.

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² See pl. XLI b.

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Under the heading "Emanations of four Dhyānī Buddhas" Mr. Bhattacharyya describes a number of goddesses and we must close this section with a number of probable identifications. Mention must be made in this connection of an unique bronze image in the Indian Museum, with four heads and twelve arms which bears a very strong affinity to the Trailokya-vijaya and the Mahākāla classes (I. M. No. 4552). It represents a man standing in the posture of an archer (*pratyālīḍhapadam*) on the breast of a male and a female lying prostrate but not in actual *co-itus* as in the case of the Trailokya-vijaya in the Brahmanical monastery at Bodh Gaya.³ It agrees with the latter in the following points:—

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³ Étude sur l'Iconographie Bouddhique, 2me partie, pp 57-60, fig. 4.

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(1) Two hands hold thunderbolts in front of the heart, which the *Sādhana* describes as *hṛidi vajra-hūṃkāra-mudrā*.

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(2) One left hand holds a *pāśa*.

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(3) The feet rest on the hearts of a prostrate male and a female.

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The points of difference are:—

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(1) The bronze figure is in the *pratyālīḍha* posture while Trailokya-vijaya is in the *ālīḍha*.

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(2) The bronze figure holds an elephant hide, a *khaṭvāṅga* and a battle-axe (*paraśu*), which are not the attributes of Trailokya-vijaya.

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(3) It wears a garland of human skulls while Trailokya-vijaya wears a garland made of Buddha figures.

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Its points of agreement with Mahākāla are:—

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(1) It holds an elephant's hide, as does Mahākāla with twelve hands.⁴

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⁴ Ms. A. S. B. Ga. 8059, Fol. 336.

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(2) It wears a *muṇḍamālā*, as does Mahākāla with eight hands.⁵

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⁵ Ibid, Fol. 335.

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It differs from Mahākāla in one point. Mahākālas with eight and twelve hands are described as embracing their female counterparts with the first two hands (*prathama-vāma-dakṣiṇābhyāṃ-āliṅgitā devī*).

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The bronze specimen in the Indian Museum holds the following attributes:—

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⁶ I. M. No. 4552. From Patharghata, Dt. Bhagalpur. See pl. XXXVII c.

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Peculiar forms are noticeable in certain cases, the descriptions of which do not appear to have been found in the Sādhanas discovered up to date; e.g., the male figure tentatively designated as a Bodhisattva in pl. XIII d. This specimen comes from Bihar (I. M. No. 5589) and represents a male seated with one leg partly hanging down. He holds the stalk of a lotus in his left hand and on the top of the lotus is to be found a heart-shaped object which, as other specimens of this period show, represents a jewel.¹ The creed shows the use of that particular type of the palatal sibilant in which the curved proper left limb does not touch the right. The genus of this particular specimen cannot be determined, because, in the first place, its emanation is unknown and in the second place the attributes are uncommon. The second specimen also belongs to the Indian Museum (I. M. No. 5859). It represents a Bodhisattva seated in a rocky cave with a four-handed male on his right and two-handed female on his left. He is an emanation of Akshobhya and in addition to the figure of his parent on his head-dress, the entire group of Dhyānī Buddhas is to be found on the back slab.²

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¹ Compare the pedestal from Bodh Gaya in the Indian Museum. *Catalogue and Handbook, etc., part II*, pp. 54-55, B. G. 120.

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² See pl. XV d.

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We are faced with another problem regarding the images with snake hoods over their heads. The earliest of these figures were dedicated at Nālandā during the reign of Devapāla.³ In this case the figure possesses two hands and holds a wheel in the left and a conch in the right hand. A canopy of a seven-hooded snake's head rises over his head. He is attended by a female on each side and an inscription at the back of the image informs us that it was dedicated in the square (haṭṭa) of the emperor Devapāla at Nālandā. Exactly similar are two other specimens discovered at the same place, one of which is in stone and has been identified by Mr. Hirananda Sastri as an image of Nāgārjuna.⁴ This image is seated in front of the coiled body of a great snake. It possesses one head and two hands and holds a water bottle in the left hand while a rosary is held in the right. There is no Dhyānī Buddha on the head-dress.⁵ The other specimen is made of bronze.⁶

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³ See pl. I b.

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⁴ *Annual Report of the Archæological Survey, Central Circle, 1919-20, pl. III a*

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⁵ See pl. XXXVII d.

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⁶ See pl. LXXI j.

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This particular group of Buddhist images is connected with another group of stone and metal images which appear to be a blending of the Lokeśvara and the Viṣṇu. Four specimens of this particular class have been discovered in different parts of Bengal. The earliest of them is in stone and was discovered at Ghiyasabad near Azimganj in the Murshidabad District of Bengal some time before 1853, and is described by Anderson in the following words:—

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A sculpture in relief, 42". 50 × 30", consisting of a twelve-armed male figure, evidently some form of Viṣṇu, with a small male attendant standing on either side, at the foot of which, externally, is a much smaller human figure holding a lotus. The first right hand is upraised, and the second holds the jewel Syamantaka. The lowermost right hand rests on the head of the

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male figure of that side, but a lotus bud is held between the fingers. All the other right hands are upwardly raised at the elbow. The third holds a half-blown lotus flower, with a small bud represented in relief on the part corresponding to the corolla, but which is partially cut away. The fourth right hand holds a lotus pedestal on which there is the representation of a bull; the fifth a lotus pedestal with an elephant on it; while the sixth right hand holds a lotus pedestal. The first left hand is raised and holds the Saṅkha; the second rests on the head of its attendant figure, and has also an object between the fingers, but it is too obscure to be made out. The third holds a lotus on which there is an object resembling an axe; the fourth holds a lotus pedestal on which a small animal rests, and the fifth a triśūla-looking body with short feline hind-legs and a human head. The sixth arm and the head of the figure have been broken off. In front of the pedestal on which the figure stands, there is carved the half of a lotus flower in the centre, with an elephant in feeble relief on its left, and two objects on tripods.”¹

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¹ *Catalogue and Handbook*, part II, pp. 253-54. See pl. XXXVIII c.

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The second specimen was discovered at Garui near Asansol in the Burdwan District. It is very imperfectly preserved and therefore the emblems in the hands cannot be recognised. It possesses ten hands, in two of which we find the lotus. The head of the Nāga is present over the head of the main figure and there is a male attendant on each side. The head of an elephant appears below the feet of the attendant on the proper left.² The third specimen was discovered in the village of Sonarang in the Dacca District and was presented to the Baṅgīya Sāhitya Parishad several years ago. This specimen represents a standing figure of a male with one head and twelve hands. There is a serpent canopy over the head and over this is the figure of the Dhyānī Buddha Amitābha. The symbols held in the hands are:—

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² See pl. XXXVIII a.

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The presence of the figure of the Dhyānī Buddha Amitābha over the head of this figure along with some of the emblems held in the hands proves the affinity of this class of images between Vaishṇava images proper and Lokeśvaras. A fresh link in the chain is supplied by the fourth image of this group which is made of metal and was discovered near the village of Sāgardighi in the Murshidabad District. The find at Sāgardighi of which this image formed a part, consisted of three beautiful images, one of which is a standing figure of Vishnu of the ordinary northern type.³ The second figure is peculiar, though the symbols in the hands prove that this also is an image of Vishnu. The specimen represents a male seated in that particular posture which Buddhist Sādhanas call the mahārāja-līlā. The objects held are the wheel, the lotus, the conch and the mace. In this case the mace and the conch, instead of being held directly in the hands of Vishnu, have been placed on fully blossomed lotus flowers held by the deity.¹ The third specimen from Sāgardighi represents a male standing under a serpent canopy of seven hoods, with one head and six hands. The emblems held in the hands are:—

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³ See pl. LXVII c.

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¹ See pl, LXVIII c.

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² The compiler of the Catalogue of the Museum of the Baṅgiya Sāhitya Parishad was unable to recognise the symbol held in the upper right hand as a makara and describes it as an elephant. The Sonarang image belongs to the same collection and a comparison would have helped him to identify the object correctly. His failure to do so is inexplicable. Traces of a similar figure can also be recognised in the case of the Ghiyasabad image. In spite of the enormous difference in the emblems held this specimen has been quite inaccurately described as Hṛishīkeśa.

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Comparing the bronze figure from Sāgardighi with the stone image of Sonarang we find that, though the figure of the Dhyānī Buddha Amitābha is wanting in the former, a good deal of similarity exists in the emblems held by these two figures. They hold the makara, the mace, the garuḍadhvaja, the lotus and the wheel in common. The objects held in the hands of the Ghiyasabad figure have not been correctly described in Anderson's Catalogue and Handbook. In the majority of cases the symbols were placed on fully blossomed lotus flowers, the stalks of which were actually held by the hands. This particular arrangement seems to have been common in the northern part of Rāḍhā. Ghiyasabad lies within a few miles of Sāgardighi and the similarity between these two specimens is therefore easily explained. The symbols held in the hands of the Ghiyasabad figure are:—

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It is therefore clear that the Ghiyasabad image belongs to the same genus as the specimens from Sonarang and Sāgardighi. The date of the specimen from Sāgardighi can be fixed from the votive inscriptions on its back, according to which it was dedicated by a person named Pānō, the son of a preacher named Nānnōdāsa. The characters belong to the eleventh century A.D. and are later than those used in the inscriptions of Mahīpāla I. This particular class of specimens, therefore, indicates a blending of the older Bhāgavata class of Vaishṇava images and the Lokeśvaras of the later Mahāyāna school of Buddhism.

III. The Tārās

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The original order of the division of the female deities of Buddhism was a generic classification according to the Dhyānī Buddhas. The introduction of the Tāntrika ideas into Buddhism led to the conception of the female counterparts of the Buddhas (Buddha-śaktis). Such are:—

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(1) Vajradhātviśvarī.
(2) Lochanā.
(3) Māmakī.
(4) Pāṇḍarā.
(5) Āryatārā.

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Later Buddhism added a sixth Dhyānī Buddha to this group, viz., Vajrasattva, and his female energy is entitled Vajrasattvātmikā. The remaining goddesses are divided into seven classes according to their spiritual ancestors, the Dhyānī Buddhas as follows:—

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I. Emanations of Amitābha: Kurukullā, Bhr̥kuṭī and Mahāsitavatī. II. Emanations of Akshobhya: Parṇaśavarī, Prajñāpāramitā, Vajracharchikā, etc.

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Under this heading mention should be made of a rare specimen in the collection of the Varendra Research Society. The figure is inscribed with the word "Charchikā" on the back slab. It has been included by the compilers of the catalogue of this institution under the species "D. Śakta images"¹. The similarity between the Sādhana of Vajracharchikā quoted by Mr. Bhattacharyya and this figure is remarkable. The Vajracharchikā possesses three eyes in one head, is seated in the ardha-paryaṅka posture, on a dead body, is emaciated, wears a garland of human skulls and possesses six hands. She holds a thunderbolt, a sword and a wheel in the right hands, while a human skull-cup, a jewel and a lotus are held in the left hands. The specimen in the Rajshahi Museum is seated in the ardha-paryaṅka posture, on a dead body, is emaciated and possesses three eyes in one head. It differs from the Vajracharchikā in the absence of the Dhyānī Buddha Akshobhya on the head-dress and in some of the symbols; because it holds a sword, a thunderbolt and a skull-cup in the right hands, while a trident, a shield and human head are held in the left hands².

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¹ A Catalogue of the Archæological relics in the Museum of the Varendra Research Society, 1919, p. 16, No. D (d) 101, 280.

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² See pl. LVIII c.

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III. Emanations of Vairochana: Mārīchī, Uṣṇīṣavijayā, etc. The most important specimen in this class is Mārīchī. She is the Buddhist goddess of Dawn and Fecundity and possesses a number of different forms:—

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(a) Aśōkakāntā, (b) Ārya-Mārīchī, (c) Mārīchī-pichuvā or Saṅkṣipta-Mārīchī, (d) Ubhaya-varāhānanā-Mārīchī, (e) Vajradhātviśvarī-Mārīchī, and (f) Daśabhujāsita-Mārīchī.

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The most common form is that of the Mārīchī with eight hands. The gradual evolution of the abnormal forms can be traced in the Sādhanas.

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Originally she had only one head and two hands. Such is the Aśōkakāntā and the Ārya-Mārīchī. The abnormal forms are those with three, five and six heads; six, eight and twelve hands. The eight-armed form of Mārīchī was identified by M. Foucher in 1905¹. A specimen discovered in Nālandā and I. M. No. 6268 are exactly similar. In the case of the latter a human bust appears on the pedestal between the seven sows².

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¹ Étude, etc., 2eme partie, fig. 7.

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² See pl. XLII c-d.

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Among the other abnormal forms the type called Ubhaya-Varāhānanā Mārīchī in the Sādhanas is represented in the Indian Museum collection (I. M. No. 6267)³. In this case the heads on the sides are those of a boar. The Sādhanas describes a particular variety of this Mārīchī with two hands only:—

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³ See pl. XII b.

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Mārīchī-rūpēṇa ātmānaṁ vichintayet rakta-vastrāṁ dvibhujāṁ lalita-vyāghra-charmma-nivasanāṁ uddha-(ūrddhva)-jaṭāṁ rakta-mukuṭinī-trimukhīṁ ubhaya-varāhānanāṁ.
—Ms. A. S. B. Ga. 8059, fol. 158 obv.

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The specimen in the Indian Museum possesses six hands and is in the ālīḍha posture as opposed to the pratyālīḍha of the regular Mārīchī figure. The objects held in the hands are:—

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This group includes Uṣṇīṣavijayā, a splendid specimen of which the twelfth century A.D. was identified by M. Foucher in 1905⁴.

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⁴ Étude, etc., 2eme partie, p. 86, fig. 6; Buddhist Iconography, p. 100, pl. XXXI c. See pl. XLII a.

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IV. Emanations of Amoghasiddhi: Khadiravani-tārā, Vaśyatārā, etc.

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V. Emanations of Ratnasambhava: Mahāpratisarā, Vasudhārā, etc.

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VI. Emanations of the five Dhyānī Buddhas: Prajñāpāramitā, Vajratārā, etc. A fine metal figure of the Vajratārā was discovered at Patharghata in the Bhagalpur District and identified by M. Foucher in 1905⁵. A second metal specimen has been collected for the Dacca Museum⁶ but the Curator, Mr. Nalinikanta Bhattasali, thinks that the specimen does not correspond to the Sādhana of the Vajratārā of the class of the emanations of the five Dhyānī Buddhas.

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⁵ Étude, etc., pp. 70-72; Buddhist Iconography, pp. 123-26, pl. XXXVI (b). See pl. LXXII a-b.

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⁶ See pl. LXXII c-d.

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VII. Under the heading “Emanations of four Dhyānī Buddhas” Mr. Bhattacharyya places another form of Vajratārā⁷.

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⁷ Buddhist Iconography, pp. 129-30.

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Among independent deities are to be found Vajraśāradā, a specimen of which was discovered at Nālandā⁸, Sarasvatī, Aparājitā, etc. The subordination of the deities of the orthodox Hindu pantheon is to be found in the inclusion of Sarasvatī¹ and Gaṇapati² among the Sādhanas.

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⁸ Ibid., pp. 151-52, pl. XL c. See pl. XL b.

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¹ *Étude, etc.*, 2*eme* partie, *pp.* 89-90.

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² *Buddhist Iconography*, *p.* 142.

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It will be evident from the detailed examination of the inscribed specimens in the Indian Museum in Chapter III above that among them, the majority of the Buddhist images of the eighth and ninth centuries belonged to the cult of Lōkanātha or Lōkēśvara. Images of the Śaktis or Tārās are present, but they are very few in number. We do not find any images from this period which may be delegated to the Tāntrika forms of Mahāyāna Buddhism, *e.g.*, Mantrayāna or Kālachakrayāna. Outside the Indian Museum, such images belonging to the first period of the activity of the Eastern School of Mediæval Sculpture, *i.e.*, the eighth and ninth centuries, are altogether absent in the great Buddhist centres of Bodh Gaya, Kurkihar and Nālandā. In fact the recent excavations at Nālandā have not yielded even a single Tāntrika Buddhist image which can be safely relegated to the eighth and ninth centuries A.D. Tāntrika forms of Buddhism may have existed in the eighth and ninth centuries in the eastern provinces of Northern India, but it is extremely doubtful whether their tenets had become sufficiently popular to ensure public worship of their peculiar images in or near famous shrines or noted sacred places of Buddhism. The earliest form of Buddhist Śaktis is the ordinary Tārā, *i.e.*, the Sita or the Mahattarī Tārā. In the Indian Museum the only specimens of this period are Nos. 3820³ and 5862⁴.

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³ See *pl.* IX *c*.

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⁴ See *pl.* X *c*.

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In the second period of activity of the Eastern School of Mediæval Sculpture, *i.e.*, in the ninth and tenth centuries A.D., Buddhist Tāntrika images make their appearance for the first time. We find a larger number of Tārās and different forms of Bodhisattvas along with Vajra-Tārā⁵ and Mārīchī⁶. Minor deities, common to Buddhism and Hinduism, such as Kuvēra and Sarasvatī also make their appearance at the same time in Buddhist holy places, *e.g.*, I.M. No. 3917⁷ (Kuvēra) and the Dacca Museum image of Sarasvatī. But by far the greatest number of specimens produced by the artists of the Eastern School are Buddhas and Lōkanāthas or Lōkēśvaras, even in its second period of activity.

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⁵ See *pl.* LXXII *a-d*.

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⁶ See *pl.* XII *b*.

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⁷ See *pl.* XIII *a*.

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Towards the close of the tenth century and in the eleventh, during the first renaissance period of the Eastern School, the centre of artistic activity was shifted to Northern and Eastern Bengal and the finest specimens were produced by the artists of the metropolitan district of Mediæval Bengal, *i.e.*, the tract around the city of Gauḍa, consisting of the modern districts of Purneah, Maldah, Dinajpur, Rajshahi, Bogra and Pabna. Images of Buddha and Lōkēśvaras are no longer predominant. Tāntrika Buddhism is predominant everywhere. Even in the great centres of Buddhism in Magadha, Tāntrika Buddhist images are to be found in larger numbers and the majority of them are females, both ordinary and extraordinary. We find that particular type of Tāntrika Buddhist images, called Yab-Yum in Tibetan, for the first time in Buddhist holy places, especially at Bodh Gaya. In this period of activity of the Eastern School we find a complete assimilation of the different traits of provincial plastic art in the specimens produced in Eastern and Northern Bengal and South Bihar. The image of Vishnu discovered at Baghaura¹ in the Comilla district is essentially the same as certain of the best images in the Rajshahi Museum² and the image of Buddha dedicated in the eleventh year of the reign of Mahīpāla discovered at Bodh Gaya³.

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¹ See pl. IV d.

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² A Catalogue of Archl. relics, etc., pp. 17-21.

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³ See ante p.

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The fourth and the last period of activity of the Eastern School is essentially a period of decline for all forms of Buddhism and revival of Hinduism. Such Buddhist images which can be safely relegated to this period are mostly Buddhist Tāntrika. Such are the Khadiravanī Tārā (I. M. No. 5618)⁴ the Lōkēśvara (I.M. No. 3794)⁵, the well preserved Mārīchīs⁶ and Ushṇīshavijayā⁷ in the collection of the Indian Museum. The period is one in which we find Buddhist Tantrism gradually blending with Hindu Tantrism. Such union gave rise to the peculiar Saiva images such as that to be found at Kagachipara⁸ near Munshiganj in the Dacca district and the Tāntrika Yantras discovered both in stone and metal in the Rangpur⁹ and Dacca¹⁰ districts.

Eastern Indian School of Mediaeval Sculpture c8: Chapter V. The Buddhistic Pantheon

Contents

Chapter V. The Buddhistic Pantheon

I. The Buddhas

II. The Bodhisattvas