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Jambhala, another important Buddhist deity has some similarity with the Hindu god Kubera, the god of wealth. Usually he has one face and two hands. Left hand holds a citron and the right one holds a mongoose and he is vomitting jewels. According to the Hindu mythology he is regarded as the regent of the North and his special emblem is Dhvaja or flag. He is dressed like that of a warrior. But in Buddhism he was regarded as the Dharmapala. He is sometimes also regarded as a Lokapala. He is the guardian of law as well as the god of wealth. He is yellow in complexion and his attributes are caityas, dhvaja, Kalasa, Kolbok, Nakula, roaring lion and vomitting cintamani. A dragon is generally regarded as his Vahana. Sometimes white horse is also regarded as his Vahana. His emblems are generally regarded as Jambhara (lemon), Nakula (mongoose), Sankha (conchshell), Trisula (trident) and etc. In the Hindu Iconography Kubera is considered to be the god of wealth. In one representation he is depicted as having bags and vases overflowing with coins. These are shown beneath

34 鈥� the branches of the tree. A conch shell and a lotus flower are also associated with Kubera. Padma, Mahapadma, Sankha, Makara, Kacchapa, Mukunda, Nanda, Nila and Kharva are regarded as the nine gems of Kubera¹, But this list of nine gems are not always same in all texts. + According to the Hindu mythology Kubera was the son of the sage called Vaisravas or Vaisravana and he was the guardian of all treasurers of the earth. We may cite here an illustration of Kubera discovered from Nalanda (Pl.XXI, Fig. 2. ). In Indian Buddhism Jambhala is regarded as one of the emanations of Ratnasambhava. Jambhala is the deity of wealth or Buddhist Kubera. But the meaning of Ratnasambhava, is "Jewel born". Vasudhara is regarded as the consort of Jambhala. The Sadhanamala describes Jambhala in different forms. He is represented either in single form or in Yab-Yum attitude. When he is depicted as a single deity he is of golden complexion and carries the mongoose in the left hand and a citron in the right hand. When he is represented in Yab-Yum form with his Sakti he is white in colour. He has three faces and six arms. In one representation (Pl.XXI.Fig. 3. ) we find that Jambhala is seated on a pedestal. He is four-armed and hold a Jambhara (lemon) which is placed in his lower right hand. 1. Development of Hindu Iconography, p. 30.

35 Jambhara, as is already noted, is one of the main identification symbols of Jambhala. In his other hands he holds a pasa, a flower and one hand is placed over his left foot which is folded horizontally. Thus the similarity between the Hindu Kubera and Buddhist Jambhala can be traced in many aspects. The eight jars of wealth (which are called Astanidhis of Kubera in Hinduism) are the attributes of Buddhist Jambhala and Hindu Kubera. This is however, a strong point of similarity between Jambhala and Kubera. Moreover the conceptual aspect of these two gods are more or less the same. Both are the guardians and protectors of all earthly treasures and wealth. It may not be out of place to mention here about Kuberani. A representation of Kuberani is illustrated in our work (Pl.XXIV,Fig. 1. ). The goddess is standing on a lotus pedestal which is placed over five jars full of gems. One of her hands (right hand) shows Varada mudra. While in the left hand she holds the flower stalk.