The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Mainly Based on the Sadhanamala and Other Cognate Tantric Texts of Rituals c9.s6.7

c9.s6.7

After the destruction of Buddhism from India the priests of the celebrated monasteries of Bengal and Magadha who could save their heads from the hostile sword of the Muhammadans, fled to Nepal which is protected on all sides by the mighty walls of the Himalayan mountains, and took refuge in that country, and thus kept the torch of Buddhism still burning there. The Bengal school of art which was carried by the priests was soon modified into a typical Nepalese art when it came in contact with the native artists, and thus became stereotyped. But after the 18th century it became debased and crude. The general impression of the visitor who inspects the numerous monasteries in Nepal which are the repositories of Buddhist images of diverse kinds, is that the dreamy sweetness and the sublime beauty THE BUDDHIST TRIAD.