Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c28.s8.t3.2

v1.c28.s8.t3.2

I-Tsing described that collective worship of the images by the students was a distinct feature of the Nālandā curriculum. "The morning bath is followed by the ablution of an image (of Buddha, Hariti, Avalokiteśvara, Bodhisattva etc.) made of gold, silver, copper or stone by the resident members; in individual apartments of a monastery, priests bathe an image everyday so carefully that no ceremony is omitted" (Takakusu, 1896, translating I-Tsing quoted by Akhtar, 1984: 126) Akhtar has commented (1984: 126-27) that this mode of worship was mainly responsible for the mass production of images at Nālandā. No site in the entire sub-continent has yielded as many bronze images as in the monastery complexes of Nālandā, Kurkihar, and Vikramśilā. At Nālandā, the sculptures were found mainly in the dwelling places indicating individual worship. The bronzes are often more ornately decked than their counterpart in stone.