Eastern Indian School of Mediaeval Sculpture c8.4

c8.4

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.