Development Of Buddhist Iconography In Eastern India: A Study Of Tara, Pranas OfFive Tathagatas And Bhrikuti

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This book represents an important landmark in the study of the Buddhist iconography, particularly of the Buddhist female divinities. It goes to the credit of Dr (Mrs) Mallar Ghosh to brave her way through a wide maze of literary and archaeological data gleaned not merely from Indian context but also from Burma, China, java, Nepal and Tibet to produce this erudite and, at the same time, admirably readable volume, Being a painstaking scholar noted for meticulousness, she has incorporated in all minuteness the description of the iconographical features of deities and their various forms, all based on textual prescriptions and visual representations. Equally significant and illuminating is her attempt to trace the rise and development of the concept of certain Buddhist deities.The book has five chapters, the first one dealing with a general introduction. In the second, a critical reassessment of the existing notions about the origin has been made. She has shown here that Tara owed her origin to the concept of Devi and it was eastern India which gave rise to this most powerful goddess of the Buddhist pantheon. The third chapter is devoted to Tara and seven of her manifestations. Dr Ghosh has clearly brought out how Tara’s gradual evolution resulted in myriads of forms, including a few which are her own