SALE CLOSES IN

Look Inside

Buddhist Art of Bengal (From The 3rd Century B.C. To The 13th Century A.D.) (An Old and Rare Book)

FREE Delivery
$47.92
$71
(10% + 25% off)
Quantity
Delivery Usually ships in 5 days
Item Code: UAP185
Publisher: Rahul Publishing House
Author: ANUSUA SENGUPTA
Language: English
Edition: 1993
ISBN: 8173880069
Pages: 274 (Throughout B/w Illustrations)
Cover: HARDCOVER
Other Details 9.50 X 7.50 inch
Weight 720 gm
Fully insured
Fully insured
Shipped to 153 countries
Shipped to 153 countries
More than 1M+ customers worldwide
More than 1M+ customers worldwide
100% Made in India
100% Made in India
23 years in business
23 years in business
Book Description
About The Book

The present work is an outcome of a survey and research of Buddhism and Buddhist Art in undivided Bengal in an evolutionary sequence from the earliest period the thirteenth century A.D. It is a comprehensive survey of the socio-economic background of the growth and spread on the religion concerned alongwith the structural characteristics of Buddhist monuments and the stylistics and iconographic features of the Buddhist icons in stone, bronze, stucco, terracotta and paintings in the perspectives of their respective sources.

About the Author

The present work is an outcome of a survey and research of Buddhism and Buddhist Art in undivided Bengal in an evolutionary sequence from the earliest period the thirteenth century A.D. It is a comprehensive survey of the socio-economic background of the growth and spread on the religion concerned alongwith the structural characteristics of Buddhist monuments and the stylistics and iconographic features of the Buddhist icons in stone, bronze, stucco, terracotta and paintings in the perspectives of their respective sources.

Preface

The present book is the revised form of my research work entitled "A Survey of Buddhist Art of Bengal from the third century B.C. to the thirteenth century A.D." taken up in the year 1980 for the Ph. D. degree of the University of Calcutta under the guidance of my esteemed teacher Prof. Amita Ray.

Prof. B.N. Mukherjee, Carmichael Professor, Department of An cient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta, who, inspite of his busy schedule offered valuable help.

I am also grateful to Prof. A. Chakraborty, Dr. N.N. Bhattacharyya, Dr. C. Gupta and Dr. M. Mitra for their useful suggestions. I also shared memorable moments with Dr. Chhanda Mukherjee, Smt. Syamali Ray, Dr. Somenath Mukherjee and Dr. (Mrs.) Santipriya Mukherjee.

The staff of the Libraries of the Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta. The Asiatic Society and the Indian Museum, Calcutta, and the authorities of the different museums deserve my sincere thanks for their multiple help. I must also thank Mr. A. Joshi who has kindly helped me in the preparation of the map and sketches, and Sri. S. Pal who has prepared the typed script.

Introduction

The present work is an outcome of my survey and research of Buddhism and Buddhist Art in Bengal (undivided) in an evolutionary sequence from the earliest period to about the thirteenth century A.D... From the available archaeological and literary materials it appears that Buddhism had a continuous existence in Bengal from the third century B.C. to the thirteenth century A.D. Historically speaking, from the Gupta period onwards this religion had its spread in this part of the Indian sub-continent. Under the parama-saugata Pālas it succeeded in establishing a strong foothold all over the undivided Bengal. By this time there were numerous celebrated monasteries manned by emi nent Buddhist teachers. But what happened to this religion despite unquestionable organisational strength behind it? Very soon it was lost into oblivion, leaving faint traces of survival among the tribal people in the fringe areas of Bengal. The reason of this change seems to be the changing structural set-up of Buddhism which was caused because of the lack of a central organisational control.

Whatever could have been the early stage of Buddhism in Bengal, it is found that the Buddhist creed slowly and steadily came under the influence of Mahayana Buddhism. In fact, the religion practised by the Pāla kings had a Mahayanic trend from the very beginning. This aspect of Buddhism appears to have been completely different from the Buddhism of the earlier period. The ancient schools like Samma tiya or Sarvästivada are no longer spoken of in this part of the country. The religion now developed forms of mysticism-known as Vajrayana and Tantrayana, the leaders of which are celebrated in Buddhist tradition as Siddhas, who were supposed to be eighty-four in number. This mystic Buddhism is said to have assumed three important forms: Vajrayana, Sahajayana and Kalachakrayana. In Bengal mystic Bud dhism became so popular that subsequently it became the substratum of the Buddhist religion of later days. During the period between the tenth and the twelfth centuries A.D. there were a few Buddhist monas teries in Bengal in which only a handful of sophisticated intellectuals of the earlier order were engaged in formulating the subtlest logic to prove the unreality of the world. The general trend was to practise religious rites and rituals necessary for attainment of worldly require ments through mystical means. These conditions led to the emergence of numerous flexible systems. Unfortunately, we have limited data which can throw light on these changing phases of Buddhism. But we have evidence to indicate that in Bengal a large number of monaster ies, namely, the Somapura,the Traikutaka, the Devikota, the Pandita, the Pattikeraka, the Vikramapuri and the Jagaddala grew up in the Gupta/post-Gupta period, where the siddhacharyas are said to have practised their mystic activities.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages













Frequently Asked Questions
  • Q. What locations do you deliver to ?
    A. Exotic India delivers orders to all countries having diplomatic relations with India.
  • Q. Do you offer free shipping ?
    A. Exotic India offers free shipping on all orders of value of $30 USD or more.
  • Q. Can I return the book?
    A. All returns must be postmarked within seven (7) days of the delivery date. All returned items must be in new and unused condition, with all original tags and labels attached. To know more please view our return policy
  • Q. Do you offer express shipping ?
    A. Yes, we do have a chargeable express shipping facility available. You can select express shipping while checking out on the website.
  • Q. I accidentally entered wrong delivery address, can I change the address ?
    A. Delivery addresses can only be changed only incase the order has not been shipped yet. Incase of an address change, you can reach us at help@exoticindia.com
  • Q. How do I track my order ?
    A. You can track your orders simply entering your order number through here or through your past orders if you are signed in on the website.
  • Q. How can I cancel an order ?
    A. An order can only be cancelled if it has not been shipped. To cancel an order, kindly reach out to us through help@exoticindia.com.
Add a review
Have A Question

For privacy concerns, please view our Privacy Policy

Book Categories