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Mahapratisara, the Buddhist Protectress

10th century
Not on view
The eight-armed goddess Mahapratisara is an emanation of Ratnasambhava, the “jewel-born” meditation Buddha. She sits in deep meditation in a yogic posture (sattvasana), enthroned on a lotus seat and resting on a cloth-draped lion throne. She holds an array of attributes, mostly the weapons employed in the Buddhist notion of “cutting away illusions”—axe, sword, club, and discus—and in her lower hands holds a vajra (thunderbolt scepter) and a rosary. Another lowered hand holds a palm-leaf manuscript (pustaka), an attribute commonly associated with the wisdom goddess Prajnaparamita. An inscription on the backplate provides a passage of Buddhist creed, probably a magical charm (dharani), often found on Pala period Buddhist steles. A kneeling donor is depicted before the lion throne.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Mahapratisara, the Buddhist Protectress
  • Period: Pala period
  • Date: 10th century
  • Culture: India, Bihar
  • Medium: Black stone
  • Dimensions: H. 23 in. (58.4 cm); W. 15 1/2 in. (39.4 cm); D. 7 in. (17.8 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Gift, 1991
  • Object Number: 1991.108
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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Goddess Durga Slaying the Demon Mahisha, Schist, Eastern India, Bihar, probably Gaya district
Goddess Durga Slaying the Demon Mahisha
Eastern India, Bihar, probably Gaya district
second half of the 9th century
Vishnu Flanked by His Personified Attributes, Bronze, India (Bihar)
Vishnu Flanked by His Personified Attributes
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early 9th century
Shiva Seated with Uma (Umamaheshvara) , Bronze, India (Bihar)

Shiva Seated with Uma (Umamaheshvara)

India (Bihar)
10th century
Buddha Offering Protection, Copper alloy, India (probably Bihar)
Buddha Offering Protection
India (probably Bihar)
late 6th–early 7th century

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