Sculptural Art of the Images of Buddhist Goddess Tārā in Early Medieval North Bengal: An Iconographic Survey
Abstract
Tārā is one of the most important and popular female divinities of Mahāyāna as well as Tantrayāna Buddhist pantheon. The White Tārā and the Green Tārā are the two most common forms. She later one was very popular in Eastern India as a protective goddess against all sorts of dangerous, calamities and sufferings. She holds a very high position in Buddhism, goddess Dūrgā occupies the same place in Brāhmanism. The goddess Tārā is considered to be the great Mother goddess, the symbol of primitive female energy or ‘Śakti’, consort of Avalokiteśvara, just as Dūrgā is regarded as the consort of Śiva. She is the mother of all Buddhas and Boddhisattvas, at least in Mahāyāna Buddhist pantheon. The images of various sculptures of the Buddhist goddess Tārā as chief deity of Buddhism have been found from various parts of North Bengal during the early medieval period. Different types of sculptural forms of the goddess Tārā in sitting, standing, or in dancing postures have been discovered from North Bengal during the period of our study.
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