7 - Images of Devotion and Power in South and Southeast Bengal

Summary

THE IMPORTANCE OF BUDDHIST ART in Eastern India from the 8th up to the 12th century has been recognized since the late 19th century as a major source of inspiration for the arts of Tibet and Southeast Asia. This artistic period has been associated with ‘esoteric’ practices and rituals and shows aspects which can differ from region to region over the centuries. Eastern India is a vast geographical area that includes Bangladesh and the modern Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal. Bengal (Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal) and Odisha stretch along the Bay of Bengal, and the former region–in particular South and Southeast Bengal, an area which extends from the south of Dhaka up to Chittagong –was instrumental as the source of various aspects of Esoteric Buddhism in Southeast Asia.

This art is usually labelled as ‘Esoteric’ or ‘Tantric’ and belonging to the Vajrayāna, and in inscriptions which mention them or in colophons of manuscripts which they had ordered to be produced, the Buddhists of Eastern India defined themselves as followers of the ‘excellent Mahāyāna’ (pravaramahāyāna; see below). The creation and development of a rich pantheon of characters, male and female, from the 6th century onwards, culminated in 12th–century Eastern India. But how was it really perceived and viewed? What were its functions? And were all its different types of production, i.e. stone, terracotta, stucco or cast images, manuscript illuminations, cloth-paintings or murals, regarded in the same way, without forgetting that images could also be visualized? It is beyond the scope of this chapter to try to answer these questions, which have already been assessed by authors in various different ways. For a long period, a major interpretation was the sectarian view, according to which the images are seen as reflecting a conflict between the Buddhist community and Brahmanical or Hindu society. More recently, Rob Linrothe has put them in a new perspective, as reflecting or symbolizing philosophical or religious experiences. This should however not lead us to abandon completely the more basic interpretation of some of these images as picturing deep tensions occurring between the different faiths existing in the region, which could surface and find expression in the art–thus acting as a form of religious propaganda or helping to ease off the pressure.