Iconography Of The Buddhist Sculpture Of Orissa Text

The Present Book On The Iconography Of The Buddhist Sculpture Of Orissa Utilizes The Author'S Expertise Of Orissan Brahmanical Art To Develop A Similar Consistent And Reliable Iconographic And Stylistic Evolution For The Buddhist Arts Of Orissa And Its Adherence To, Or Deviation From, Surviving Textual Icono-Graphic Peculiarities. There Is Little Doubt That Orissa Played A Major Role In The Creation, Development And Dissemination Of Buddhist Doctrines And Concepts Throughout India And The Buddhist World, Particularly In Respect To Vajrayana Buddhism And The Iconography Of Sculptural Mandalas. Particular Emphasis In This Book Is Placed On The Reciprocal Influence Between Brahmanical And Buddhist Art In Orissa, Both Religions Expanding At The Same Time In Regard To The Proliferation Of Deities And Their Variant Forms, And Each Apparently Competing With The Other For Patronage And Converts.

Utilizing knowledge of the Orissan Brahmanical Art, this text seeks to develop a similar consistent and reliable iconographic and stylistic evolution for the Buddhist Arts of Orissa and its adherence to, or deviation from, surviving textual iconographic peculiarities. The reciprocal influence between Brahmanical and Buddhist Art in Orissa is emphasized with both religions expanding at the same time in regard to proliferation of deities and variant forms, and each apparently competing with the other for patronage and converts.

Utilizing knowledge of the Orissan Brahmanical Art, this text seeks to develop a similar consistent and reliable iconographic and stylistic evolution for the Buddhist Arts of Orissa and its adherence to, or deviation from, surviving textual iconographic peculiarities. The reciprocal influence between Brahmanical and Buddhist Art in Orissa is emphasized with both religions expanding at the same time in regard to proliferation of deities and variant forms, and each apparently competing with the other for patronage and converts.

This Work Analyses The Vaisnava Iconography Of Orissa. Vaisnava Iconography Proper Including Hari-Hara And Other Composite Images And Those Of Visnu S Female Consorts; Images Of Visnu In His Avataras; Depiction Of Balarama, Krsna And Jagannatha; And Iconography Of The Secondary Figures Like Garuda And Hanumana.

This volume advocates a trans-regional, and maritime-focused, approach to studying the genesis, development and circulation of Esoteric (or Tantric) Buddhism across Maritime Asia from the seventh to the thirteenth centuries ce. The book lays emphasis on the mobile networks of human agents (‘Masters’), textual sources (‘Texts’) and images (‘Icons’) through which Esoteric Buddhist traditions spread. Capitalising on recent research and making use of both disciplinary and area-focused perspectives, this book highlights the role played by Esoteric Buddhist maritime networks in shaping intra-Asian connectivity. In doing so, it reveals the limits of a historiography that is premised on land-based transmission of Buddhism from a South Asian ‘homeland’, and advances an alternative historical narrative that overturns the popular perception regarding Southeast Asia as a ‘periphery’ that passively received overseas influences. Thus, a strong point is made for the appreciation of the region as both a crossroads and rightful terminus of Buddhist cults, and for the re-evaluation of the creative and transformative force of Southeast Asian agents in the transmission of Esoteric Buddhism across mediaeval Asia.

This diverse anthology of original Buddhist texts in translation provides a historical and conceptual framework that will transform contemporary scholarship on Pure Land Buddhism and instigate its recognition as an essential field of Buddhist studies. Traditional and contemporary primary sources carefully selected from Buddhist cultures across historical, geopolitical, and literary boundaries are organized by genre rather than chronologically, geographically, or by religious lineage—a novel juxtaposition that reveals their wider importance in fresh contexts. Together these fundamental texts from different Asian traditions, expertly translated by eminent and up-and-coming scholars, illustrate that the Buddhism of pure lands is not just an East Asian cult or a marginal type of Buddhism, but a pan-Asian and deeply entrenched religious phenomenon. The volume is organized into six parts: Ritual Practices, Contemplative Visualizations, Doctrinal Expositions, Life Writing and Poetry, Ethical and Aesthetic Explications, and Worlds beyond Sukhāvatī. Each part is introduced and summarized, and each translated piece is prefaced by its translator to supply historical and sectarian context as well as insight into the significance of the work. Common and less-common issues of practice, doctrine, and intra-religious transfer are explored, and deeper understandings of the meaning of “pure lands” are gained through the study of the celestial, cosmological, internal, and earthly pure lands associated with various buddhas, bodhisattvas, and devotional figures. The introduction by the volume editors ties the diverse themes of the book together and provides a historical background to Pure Land Buddhist studies. Scholars of Buddhism and Asian religion, including graduate and post-graduate students, as well as Buddhist practitioners, will appreciate the range of translated materials and accompanied discussions made accessible in one essential collection, the first of its kind to center on the formerly-neglected topic of Buddhist pure lands.

“Here there be dragons”—this notation was often made on ancient maps to indicate the edges of the known world and what lay beyond. Heroes who ventured there were only as great as the beasts they encountered. This encyclopedia contains more than 2,200 monsters of myth and folklore, who both made life difficult for humans and fought by their side. Entries describe the appearance, behavior, and cultural origin of mythic creatures well-known and obscure, collected from traditions around the world.