Eastern Indian School of Mediaeval Sculpture c8.s2: II. The Bodhisattvas

Eastern Indian School of Mediaeval Sculpture c8.s2

Language: English

II. The Bodhisattvas

c8.s2.1

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.

c8.s2.2

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 :—

c8.s2.3

(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.

c8.s2.4

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

c8.s2.5

² See pl. XXXIIIb.

c8.s2.6

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

c8.s2.7

(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:—

c8.s2.8

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

c8.s2.9

² See pl. XIIa.

c8.s2.10

³ See pl. VIIIa.

c8.s2.11

(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.

c8.s2.12

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.

c8.s2.13

⁴ See pl. X XIV b.

c8.s2.14

(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

c8.s2.15

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

c8.s2.16

⁶ Supplementary catalogue, p. 57.

c8.s2.17

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:—

c8.s2.18

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

c8.s2.19

c8.s2.20

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 :

c8.s2.21

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

c8.s2.22

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

c8.s2.23

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

c8.s2.24

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

c8.s2.25

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

c8.s2.26

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

c8.s2.27

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

c8.s2.28

³ *Étude, etc., 2 me partie, p. 29.*

c8.s2.29

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

c8.s2.30

⁵ *Ibid, p. 116, fig. 16.*

c8.s2.31

⁶ *See pl. XXXVa.*

c8.s2.32

⁷ *See pl. XXXVb.*

c8.s2.33

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

c8.s2.34

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

c8.s2.35

⁹ *Buddhist Iconography, p. 14.*

c8.s2.36

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:—

c8.s2.37

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

c8.s2.38

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

c8.s2.39

¹ *Buddhist Iconography*, pp. 17-19.

c8.s2.40

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

c8.s2.41

(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.

c8.s2.42

(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

c8.s2.43

² *Ibid* pl. XIII d.

c8.s2.44

(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.

c8.s2.45

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

c8.s2.46

³ *Ibid*, pp. 23-24.

c8.s2.47

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:—

c8.s2.48

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

c8.s2.49

⁴ See pl. XXXV a.

c8.s2.50

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

c8.s2.51

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

c8.s2.52

(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.

c8.s2.53

(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

c8.s2.54

¹ *Buddhist Iconography*, p. 27.

c8.s2.55

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

c8.s2.56

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

c8.s2.57

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

c8.s2.58

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

c8.s2.59

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

c8.s2.60

(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

c8.s2.61

³ *Ibid*, p. 31.

c8.s2.62

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:—

c8.s2.63

c8.s2.64

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:—

c8.s2.65

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

c8.s2.66

² See pl. XIII a.

c8.s2.67

³ Ibid, XXXVIc.

c8.s2.68

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

c8.s2.69

⁵ See pl. XVIc.

c8.s2.70

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

c8.s2.71

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

c8.s2.72

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

c8.s2.73

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

c8.s2.74

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

c8.s2.75

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:—

c8.s2.76

c8.s2.77

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

c8.s2.78

⁸ Ibid. pl. XXXIIId; See pl. XXXIXb.

c8.s2.79

¹ Buddhist Iconography, pl. XXXVc.

c8.s2.80

² See pl. XLI b.

c8.s2.81

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:—

c8.s2.82

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

c8.s2.83

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

c8.s2.84

(2) One left hand holds a *pāśa*.

c8.s2.85

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

c8.s2.86

The points of difference are:—

c8.s2.87

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

c8.s2.88

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

c8.s2.89

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

c8.s2.90

Its points of agreement with Mahākāla are:—

c8.s2.91

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

c8.s2.92

⁴ Ms. A. S. B. Ga. 8059, Fol. 336.

c8.s2.93

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

c8.s2.94

⁵ Ibid, Fol. 335.

c8.s2.95

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*).

c8.s2.96

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

c8.s2.97

c8.s2.98

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

c8.s2.99

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

c8.s2.100

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

c8.s2.101

² See pl. XV d.

c8.s2.102

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

c8.s2.103

³ See pl. I b.

c8.s2.104

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

c8.s2.105

⁵ See pl. XXXVII d.

c8.s2.106

⁶ See pl. LXXI j.

c8.s2.107

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:—

c8.s2.108

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

c8.s2.109

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

c8.s2.110

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

c8.s2.111

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:—

c8.s2.112

² See pl. XXXVIII a.

c8.s2.113

c8.s2.114

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:—

c8.s2.115

³ See pl. LXVII c.

c8.s2.116

¹ See pl, LXVIII c.

c8.s2.117

c8.s2.118

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.

c8.s2.119

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:—

c8.s2.120

c8.s2.121

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.

Linked texts (12)

Khasarpaṇasādhana — Sanskrit
Arapacana — Sanskrit
Kurukullā — Sanskrit
Dharmadhātuvāgīśvara — Sanskrit
Khasarpaṇa — Sanskrit
Prajñāpāramitā — Sanskrit
Siddhaikavīra — Sanskrit
Sthiracakra — Sanskrit
Nālandā
Bodh Gayā
Garui
Patharghata