The Beginnings of Buddhist Art and Other Essays in Indian and Central-Asian Archaeology c11.s1.168

c11.s1.168

To sum up : in the personages who decorate the exterior of the three unpierced faces of the temple of Mendut we propose at first sight to recognize, in the middle, two images of Cundâ with four and eight arms, and one of Avalokiteçvara with four arms; on the sides, two replicas each of Maitreya, Vajrapâni and Mañjuçrî : all being important figures of the Buddhist pantheon. But, naturally, this preliminary review would have to be severely tested. It would be necessary, in particular, to examine these bas-reliefs more closely with the help of ladders or a hanging stage, so that no detail could escape; and, this minute labour accomplished, it would still be necessary to verify by comparison with other Buddhist statues of Javanese origin whether there is not occasion to modify in some measure, for local reasons, the Indian attribution of these images. At that cost only could these too rapid identifications become reasonably certain.