A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c13.s1.13

c13.s1.13

One more illustration of the mediaeval art of Bihār may suffice—a beautifully modelled and exquisitely finished seated Buddha in black Monghyr stone found by Mr. Grierson near Rājgīr (Fig. 130). The standing figures are the Bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and Vajrapāṇi. The seated goddesses are the two forms of Tārā, the Green and the White. The composition as a whole is a compendium of the symbolism of Mahāyānist Buddhism. As a work of art its interest lies chiefly in the careful modelling of the principal figure. The script of the inscription, the usual ‘Buddhist creed’, indicates that the work is approximately contemporary with the Rājmahāl Sun-god.