Some Observations on Vārāhī in Bihar and Bengal
The sheer intensity of the encounter between the Buddhist and Hindu pantheons in ‘Eastern India’ (comprising the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and present Bangladesh) from the 7th to the 12th century, was unmatched in any other region.1 It left, above all, a visual and textual trai...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Ksiegarnia Akademicka Publishing
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Cracow Indological Studies |
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| Online Access: | http://journals.akademicka.pl/cis/article/view/4807 |
| _version_ | 1828062998186426368 |
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| author | Claudine Bautze-Picron |
| author_facet | Claudine Bautze-Picron |
| author_sort | Claudine Bautze-Picron |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
The sheer intensity of the encounter between the Buddhist and Hindu pantheons in ‘Eastern India’ (comprising the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and present Bangladesh) from the 7th to the 12th century, was unmatched in any other region.1 It left, above all, a visual and textual trail in the Buddhist iconography, as attested by the presence of two Mātṛkas (Mothers) among the members of Māra’s army attacking the Buddha on the night of his Awakening, Brahmanical deities being incorporated into the Buddhist world: Vārāhī appears in the Jagdishpur sculpture, and Cāmuṇḍā in a large fragment from a sculpture which must have been as large as the Jagdishpur image and used to stand in Lakhisarai, more fragments of it being preserved in the Indian Museum (Fig. 1).2 Further, the key component of Vārāhī iconography,3 the hog head, became an integral part of the images of Buddhist deities like Mārīcī and Vajravārāhī. The cultural background within which the images of the goddess were incorporated helps to understand this twofold phenomenon, the representation of her being transferred to a Buddhist context and some of her specific features being embedded in the iconography of Buddhist deities.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T22:36:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-66d0f49061f045c38e22dc063df7dd64 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1732-0917 2449-8696 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T22:36:10Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Ksiegarnia Akademicka Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cracow Indological Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-66d0f49061f045c38e22dc063df7dd642023-01-16T14:18:23ZengKsiegarnia Akademicka PublishingCracow Indological Studies1732-09172449-86962022-12-0124210.12797/CIS.24.2022.02.05Some Observations on Vārāhī in Bihar and BengalClaudine Bautze-Picron0Chargée de recherche honoraire GREI— Groupe de recherches en études indiennes, Paris, Sorbonne Nouvelle The sheer intensity of the encounter between the Buddhist and Hindu pantheons in ‘Eastern India’ (comprising the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and present Bangladesh) from the 7th to the 12th century, was unmatched in any other region.1 It left, above all, a visual and textual trail in the Buddhist iconography, as attested by the presence of two Mātṛkas (Mothers) among the members of Māra’s army attacking the Buddha on the night of his Awakening, Brahmanical deities being incorporated into the Buddhist world: Vārāhī appears in the Jagdishpur sculpture, and Cāmuṇḍā in a large fragment from a sculpture which must have been as large as the Jagdishpur image and used to stand in Lakhisarai, more fragments of it being preserved in the Indian Museum (Fig. 1).2 Further, the key component of Vārāhī iconography,3 the hog head, became an integral part of the images of Buddhist deities like Mārīcī and Vajravārāhī. The cultural background within which the images of the goddess were incorporated helps to understand this twofold phenomenon, the representation of her being transferred to a Buddhist context and some of her specific features being embedded in the iconography of Buddhist deities. http://journals.akademicka.pl/cis/article/view/4807VārāhīCāmuṇḍāMātṛkasBiharBengalGaya |
| spellingShingle | Claudine Bautze-Picron Some Observations on Vārāhī in Bihar and Bengal Cracow Indological Studies Vārāhī Cāmuṇḍā Mātṛkas Bihar Bengal Gaya |
| title | Some Observations on Vārāhī in Bihar and Bengal |
| title_full | Some Observations on Vārāhī in Bihar and Bengal |
| title_fullStr | Some Observations on Vārāhī in Bihar and Bengal |
| title_full_unstemmed | Some Observations on Vārāhī in Bihar and Bengal |
| title_short | Some Observations on Vārāhī in Bihar and Bengal |
| title_sort | some observations on varahi in bihar and bengal |
| topic | Vārāhī Cāmuṇḍā Mātṛkas Bihar Bengal Gaya |
| url | http://journals.akademicka.pl/cis/article/view/4807 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT claudinebautzepicron someobservationsonvarahiinbiharandbengal |