Essay name: Buddhist iconography in and outside India (Study)
Author:
Purabi Gangopadhyay
Affiliation: University of Calcutta / Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture
This work aims to systematically present the development and expansion of Mahayana-Vajrayana Buddhist iconography from India to other countries, such as China, Korea, and Japan. This study includes a historical account of Indian Buddhist iconography and the integration of Brahmanical gods into the Mahayana-Vajrayana phase.
Chapter 3: Influence of Indian Buddhist Art on China and Korea
24 (of 38)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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-70- the top. Ma帽ju艣r墨 or Wen-Chu and Samantbhadra or Pu-Lien are also worshipped by the Buddhists in China. A discussion should also be necessary for a comparative study of the icons of Indian and Chinese Buddhist deities, mainly of the Brahmanical deities in China in Buddhist garb. Brahmanical deities in China 1 Agni, the Brahmanical god of fire is known to the Chinese
麓as Hou-tien or Agni-deva. In one of the representations the
deity is seated in a ardhaparyanka attitude on a lotus pedestal.
He is bearded and he has four hands. He holds a pasa, trident,
a damaru-like object and in the fourth hand he holds a container
which has an arch-shaped cover. He is clad in heavenly ornaments.
His top hair knot looks like that of an ascetic's tuft of hairs.
It appears that he is in a thinking mood. Sometimes he is also
depicted as sitting in the dhy膩n膩sana attitude.
In Indian representations he is generally depicted as
bearded and four-armed. In Indian images a vessel is held in
the deity's hand. Thus there are similarities in some aspects
in the representations of Agni deva of China and Indian Agni
(Pl.XVI,Fig.1. ).
Brahma, the important deity of the Hindu Triad is also
1. TLP, Vol. II, No. 87.
