NORTHEASTERN INDIA, BIHAR, PALA PERIOD, 10TH CENTURY

Uniting erudition with nature's mysteries, Vasudhara is a beloved goddess who combines Buddhist traditions and local customs in an accessible, sensuous form. Her attributes of sheaf of grain and raining jewels associate her with fertility and wealth, while the manuscript associates her with scholarly wisdom. Because of her connection to the land, she is a particularly popular household deity in agrarian-based areas. While the six-armed form seen here is typical for images of Vasudhara from Nepal, it is rarely found in bronzes of Eastern India.

For a similar treatment of the dhoti in a figure of Avalokiteshvara from the same region, see P. Pal, Indian Sculpture, vol. 2, 1988, p. 170, cat. no. 76