A Study of Tantric Buddhist Art in Cuttuck District, Orissa

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Tantric Buddhism flourished in Orissa from the eighth to the tenth centuries. Numerous sculptures representing Buddhist deities have been excavated from this area, especially from Cuttack District, located on the east side of Orissa. Three archaeological sites in Cuttack, i. e. Ratnagiri, Lalitagiri and Udayagiri, deserve special mention. In this research, I clarify the iconographic characteristics of the sculptured deities excavated from Cuttack based upon the results of the field survey. Following points should be indicated.In the class of Buddha (Tathagata), in half or more of the works the Buddha displays bhiamispraa-mudra. It is noteworthy that the life of Sakyamuni is rarely represented and the crowned Buddha has not been discovered from Cuttack, both of which are commonly found in the Buddhist art belonging to the Pala dynasty.As to the most representative deity of Bodhisattvas, Avalokitesvara, we should note that the four-armed AvaIokitesvara was relatively popular in Cuttack. Some of them can be identified with Amoghapaa-Lokesvara because they possess the iconographic characteristics described in some tantric texts. Avalokitesvara with eight or more arms has never been known in this area. The sculptures of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas excavated from Lalitagiri have significance from the point of the history of Tantric Buddhist art. Some of them are represented with attendants, who are identified with some deities in Garbha-udbhava-mandala.In the class of female deities, representations of Tara, Marici, Cunda and Vasudha.ra are popular. Most of them are depicted with the same iconographical characteristics as those found in Bengal arid Bihar. Hevajra and Samvara, the most important deities of the Mother tantra class, were discovered in Ratnagiri. This fact indicates that the Mother-tantra religious movement was transmitted to Orissa.