The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Mainly Based on the Sadhanamala and Other Cognate Tantric Texts of Rituals c23.1

c23.1

The foregoing is an account of the iconography of Buddhist gods and goddesses as reconstructed from Sanskrit texts of the Buddhist Tāntric literature. The study confines itself to the iconography of gods and goddesses only, excluding all other favourite themes of the Buddhists carved on stone or painting, such as the scenes from Buddha’s life, the Jātaka stories, the Avadānas and others, representations of which, are available from Bharhut, Sanchi, Amaravati, Gandhara or even the cave temples of Ajanta. This book does not refer to them nor makes an attempt to identify them by hunting out the original Sanskrit texts which are illustrated on stone in the form of stories. It is a practical handbook for the guidance of Museologists who have to handle large number of images of gods and goddesses with strange faces, weapons and poses. It is a work giving indications as to how such images should be studied, analyzed, and finally identified with the help of original Sanskrit texts such as are quoted in this book at every place. An image is nothing but a symbol, and it is the business of the students of iconography to find out how the image was made, by whom it was made, and what philosophical and cultural background was necessary for the production of such an image. In this work, therefore, problems such as these have been treated and enough information is given in order to understand a Buddhist image from different view-points. The scope of this work thus is limited, and it does not claim to unravel the mystery of all stones on which something is carved. But within the limited scope, it has enough information of the highest practical value to the students of iconography, and this value is enhanced by the inclusion of photographs of excellent sculptures, bronzes and original Nepalese drawings procured with difficulty and at high cost.