In the twelfth century production of sculptures continued to be as prolific as in the preceding one.

In the twelfth century production of sculptures continued to be as prolific as in the preceding one. It would therefore be very difficult to discuss even the century's masterpieces. Here only a few would be mentioned for a general appreciation of the Pala-Sena style in its final phase. The Varendra Research Museum preserves, among many others, some of the finest examples of the sculptures of this phase, including the image of Shiva, Sadashiva (fig 15), Surya, Kartikeya (fig 16), and Syama Tata - all coming from different districts of north Bengal. The Avalokiteshvara of the West Bengal State Archaeological Museum, and the Brahma and the Khasarpana Avalokiteshvara of the Indian Museum, and hailing from same north Bengal, are also remarkable examples of the art at its most matured expression. The development in the south Bihar was similar, so far as emphasis on ornamentation and fulsome figures are concerned, though a slight variation may however be noted in several figures showing longish forms with a sharp bend at the waist.
The Khasarpana Avalokiteshvara from Nalanda and now in the Nalanda Museum is an instance of the style. Other remarkable sculptures from the region revealing the style in its best are the bronze trinity of Buddha, Avalokitesvara and Maitreya, found at Fatepur, now in Bodhgaya Site Museum, and the Lokanatha from Kurkihar, and preserved in the Patna Museum. Two images, one of the Mahisasuramardini, from the Hoogly district in West Bengal, and in the Asutosh Museum, and the other of the Garuda, from Rajshahi and in the Indian Museum, are remarkable for their distinctive accent on the bold curvacious forms, possibly bearing the imprint of the Hoysala art of Karnataka.
After the Muslim conquest of Bengal in the early thirteenth century, the defeated Senas retreated to the east of river Padma, and lingered as a royal power in the eastern most part of the country till about the middle of the century. In spite of their loss of resources, the Senas continued to encourage the art of image carving. But from the viewpoint of style, nothing new emerged in the period. Thus ends the long and varied story of the Pala-Sena sculpture as a regional East Indian style of distinction, flourishing in the early medieval period. Significantly, however, the style of the art spread, hand in hand with the Mahayana-Tantrayana Buddhism, much beyond the Bengal borders to continue and develop in Nepal and Tibet in the north, Myanmar and Thailand in the east and Sri Lanka and Indonesia in the south. (16 of 16)
[Asok K Bhattacharya]

This large image, which comes from Sankarbandha near Ramapal in the Dhaka district, is represented with weapon wielding ten hands

This large image, which comes from Sankarbandha near Ramapal in the Dhaka district, is represented with weapon wielding ten hands, which are swinging in the dancing rhythm of the god. Its elaborate backing and pedestal are also conceptually rich. These two forms of dancing images of Siva-Nataraja and Ganesa lead us into the twelfth century art of Bengal.
The twelfth century images, irrespective of their being in stone or bronze, represent the last and final phase of the East Indian sculpture. The style of this phase is an extension, elaboration and proliferation of that of the eleventh century. But a change in aesthetic emphasis is recognized in the style, effected chiefly by a political phenomenon that had serious impact on the socio-political life of the people of Bengal. In the beginning of the century the Senas, who hailed from Karnataka, displaced the Palas as rulers from the most parts of Bengal proper. They brought with them the orthodox social and religious practices of the Brahmanical faith; and as its result images of the Puranic deities, such as Visnu, Shiva, Shakti, Surya and Ganesha were numerously produced. Besides, several minor deities like Kartikeya, Sarasvati, Manasa and Ganga were given importance. Brahma, once a major divinity, was represented, too. All these images, as also those of the Mahayana-Tantrayana Buddhist gods and goddesses, introduced certain new composition of forms. But their stylistic distinction from those of the eleventh century's are marked not that much in the shapes of the images as in their overburdening ornamentation. The elaborate and overwhelming decorative motifs on the pedestal and the aureole became so dominating that the principal figure, the deity itself, appeared subservient to them.
The aureoles were now covered with the attending divinities, lion-on-elephants, swans, kinnaras and kinnaris, gandharvas and gandharvis, and finally at the top by the kirtimukha, a face of a mythical animal. The Senas, who were accustomed to it in their homeland Karnataka, introduced the last member kirtimukha in the Bengal art as a decorative feature. Occasionally architectural motifs, such as the façade of a temple or a stupa came to occupy the aureoles. The pedestals also grew more ornate and ratha projections increased in number, ranging from five to eleven. Undulating creepers and reptiles were introduced to cover the faces of the ratha planes, and in between their coils appeared floral as well as anthropomorphic forms. As a result the pedestals of multi-planes lost their sharp angles and became semi-circular in shape. But a more interesting change is noted in the cutting out of the backstone along the contour of the figure of the main deity, effecting fully rounded plastic forms in place of high reliefs, and succeeding in turning the aureole to a real halo or prabhamandala by providing for a light from behind. This device, initiated possibly in the late eleventh century, gave the images of the final phase a new stylistic dimension. (15 0f 16)

Though the lineal development of Bengal sculpture is best understood with the help of the Buddha and the Visnu images

Though the lineal development of Bengal sculpture is best understood with the help of the Buddha and the Visnu images as found in different centres of art in Bihar and Bengal, they represent mostly a single compositional type, that is of samapda or strictly frontal vertical form. But there are representations of other images, as of the Buddhist goddess Marichi or the Brahmanical goddess Mahisasuramardini, which show figures in diagonal pose, while the images of Yashoda and Krishna (?), also known as sadyajata or new born, and of Anantashayi-Visnu or Visnu lying on the snake Ananta represent examples of horizontal compositions. It is possible to witness other still more sophisticated forms, which include such images as of the Tantric-Buddhist deity Vajratara in the collection of Indian Museum. From the aesthetic viewpoint more significant however are the dancing figures of Ganesha and Shiva-Nataraja. An example of the former from the collection of Asutosh Museum, found at Hajinagar, Rajshahi, shows an excellent combination of curvacious modelling, rhythmic movement and flowing contour lines.
But still more interesting seems to be the Siva-Nataraja, both in concept and executional refinement. Most of the Shiva-Nataraja (fig 14) images have been found in the districts of Dhaka and Tippera in south-east extreme of Bengal. These images stand in contrast with those of south Indian Natarajas. Here the god is dancing in a soft cadence on his vehicle bull, who is also dancing in the corresponding rhythm of his Master, while the south Indian Nataraja dances in tandava, pressing under his feet the evil form of Apasmara. A supreme example of Siva-Nataraja, inscriptionally designated as Nattesvara, of Bengal version is now in the National Museum, Dhaka. (14 of 16)

The most significant Buddhist image, belonging however to the early eleventh century, comes from Mainamati-Dedvaparvata

But the most significant Buddhist image, belonging however to the early eleventh century, comes from Mainamati-Dedvaparvata (fig 13). The image in bronze is a colossal representation of the Bodhisattva-Vajrasattva, being 1.5 m high even in sitting position. It is the largest and possibly the best-preserved metal sculpture so far discovered in eastern India. In its anatomical proportions of the body, balanced pose of the hands and perfect geometrical composition the Vajrasattva is a remarkable creation, combining in one the previous experiences of Nalanda and Jhewari. With equal emphasis on plain surface, as of the body, and ornamentation, as of the crown and pendent earrings, the image stands between the classical and medieval ideals. It is one of the supreme expressions of Bengal's plastic art. From a contemporary bronze head of a life-size Bodhisattva-Avalokiteshvara image from the same site it seems that the Mainamati artist was a master in the cire perdue or hollow casting technique of bronze.
While the ninth and tenth century Pala sculptures thrived on the ideals of the Gupta classical art, from the eleventh century the art of Bengal began to show marked stylistic changes by introducing new features on the persons of the deities and their pedestals and aureoles. Though not divorced from the experiences of the two preceding centuries, they actually evolved a new aesthetic vision which has been termed the "medieval style" in the parlance of the art historians. The sculptures of the style relied more on decorative elements than the principal objects, and as a result they became more and more overwhelmed by the increasing number of subsidiary figures, boldly carved ornaments on them and multitude of motifs on pedestals and aureoles, especially as time passed from the eleventh to the twelfth century.
The bronzes of the eleventh century represent the medieval style in its early maturity, by exhibiting dexterously cast and chiselled figures and decorative elements. For instance, the crowned Buddha images, standing in protecting gesture on a double-petalled lotus based on a pancharartha pedestal and surrounded by an halo with stylized flame-motifs all along on its border, provide an archetype for the images of medieval Bengal style. What is significant is that the Buddha-type as evolved in the days of Vigrahapala III in south Bihar set norms also for the Vishnus in bronze found from different parts of Bengal proper. Two bronze Vishnus, both of the eleventh century and now in the Asutosh Museum, one from Sagardhighi in Murshidabad district and the other from Rangpur in north Bengal, may be cited as examples. But still more interesting is a silver Visnu from Sonarang in Vikrampur, Bangladesh, now in the Indian Museum, showing more elaborate and complicated decorative elements achieved in a skill rare even among the immaculately executed metal images of eastern India. (13 of 16)

While most of the Nalanda bronze Buddhas wear the upper robe covering both the shoulders, the Jhewari Buddhas (fig 12) leave their right shoulders bar

While most of the Nalanda bronze Buddhas wear the upper robe covering both the shoulders, the Jhewari Buddhas (fig 12) leave their right shoulders bare. The robes of the Nalanda images are with striations, while that of the Jhewari examples is diaphanous. Besides, the sharp nose, plastically treated arch of the brows, the half-closed eyes and sensitive leaps of the countenance of Jhewari Buddhas are points of departure. The treatment of the hairline in a separate plastic layer from that of the forehead, prominent nippers and incised double-curved line of the wrapping of the lower robe are other distinctive features. Altogether these Buddhas add, both formally and aesthetically, a new idiom to the representation of the Master. (12 of 16)

One from Tapan in West Dinajpur and another from Ghatnagar Porsha in Rajshahi (fig 10), both in the Varendra Research Museum

One from Tapan in West Dinajpur and another from Ghatnagar Porsha in Rajshahi (fig 10), both in the Varendra Research Museum, open up a new compositional diversion. Same may be said about another image of the same museum, showing Laksmi-Narayana in a pose not unlike that of Uma-Maheshvara. The Laksmi-Narayana couple (H. 24.4 cm) from Ehnail, West Dinajpur (fig 11), in their softly modelled embracing composition represents one of the most impressive sculptures of the century.
In comparison the Uma-Maheshvara (H. 35 cm) from Boram in the Purulia district of West Bengal, and preserved in the State Archaeological Museum in Calcutta, shows a distinctively different style. Here the God and the Goddess are also in an embracing position but in a detached mood befitting of a divine couple. But an interesting aspect of the image is its dichotomy in style. While the Maheshvara is presented with stance and features of the post-Gupta norms, the Uma is in the form of a woman of local ethnic type with wide-open eyes. In Bengal sculptures presence of the local popular trend is however found throughout the Pala-Sena period. Another interesting collection of the West Bengal State Archaeological Museum is the Kartikeya, found in the Kalikamora village in West Dinajpur. The god along with his vehicle peacock, on which he flies, is modelled in extreme pliability, as if not in black stone but clay, and moves lively in an informal way.
Tenth-century Bengal is also rich in Buddhist sculptures, both in stone and bronze, possibly more in bronze than stone. An interesting stone image of a Buddha in earth-touching pose (H. 69 cm), now in the State Archaeological Museum in Calcutta, comes from Bareya in the Nadia district. It shows the Master in the post-Gupta proportions but with an elaborate aureole, which represents five dhyani Buddhas above and two Bodhisattvas on two sides. What is significant is the conical shape of the usnisa crowned by a stupa-like object. This peculiarity of Buddha head is a typical development in the Pala period and the type of image later travelled from Bengal to Myanmar and Thailand.
Though some bronze Buddhas have appeared in different places of north Bengal, the important centre of it was southeast Bengal, which was known as Samatata or Harikela. The country was ruled from the middle of the 8th to the middle of the 11th centuries by two successive dynasties, Deva and Chandra, the kings of which were devout Buddhists. Archaeological discoveries at Mainamati-Devaparvata in Comilla district have revealed a number of Buddhist monasteries and stupas, as also a large quantity of terracotta plaques and stone and bronze images. Most of the bronze Buddhas of the site, generally small in size, show a physiognomic type with a weird look representing a popular art ideal.
Jhewari, a village about 16 km south-southeast from the city of Chittagang, is known for yielding a hoard of bronze sculptures consisting of sixty-one Buddhist images. These images were cast between the late 7th and the middle of the 11th centuries, but majority of them was of the 10th. They therefore represent the second phase of Buddhist bronzes, if we regard the early ninth century Nalanda bronzes associated with the Pala king Devapala as of the first phase. The Jhewari Buddhas are of three distinct stylistic types. The first type, represented by standing Buddha in diaphanous robes and protecting gesture, is unmistakably of the Sarnath style. The second type Buddhas are of the same popular style as the above-described Mainamati Buddhas. In the third type we find the stamp of the genius of the Chittagang artists, for they present one of the most exquisite Buddha forms ever cast or carved. The type shows the Master in his earth-touching pose, seated on a cushion. The finest examples of the type bear certain physical and stylistic features that make them distinct from their Nalanda counterparts. (11 of 16)

The Pala art steadily progressed under the immediate successors of Devapala.

The pala art steadily progressed under the immediate successors of Devapala. In nuThe Pala mbers, too, the carved and cast images much increased, not only in Bihar but also in the different parts of Bengal. The 10th century sculptures discovered from various parts of Bengal include a large number of Brahmanical cult deities along with the Buddhist images. For instance, several Manasa images represent an iconic type scarcely known in earlier sculptures of the region. (10 of 16)

The lyrically poised figure, with a face spiritually enlivened, this Manjushri is one of the finest bronze sculptures so far found in the 7th-8th cent

The lyrically poised figure, with a face spiritually enlivened, this Manjushri is one of the finest bronze sculptures so far found in the 7th-8th century Bengal. Another interesting bronze image, once gilt with gold-leaf, comes from Deulbari in the Comilla district, and represents the Brahmanical goddess Sarvani. The image, now lost, was dedicated by Prabhadevi, queen of Devakhadga, the ruler of south-east Bengal in the third quarter of the 7th century AD. Though the image is crude, especially in comparison with the Manjushri, the presence of these two images is important evidence to prove the introduction of the technique of metal casting in Bengal by the end of the 7th century AD.
Besides stone and metal, stucco was also practiced as a medium of plastic art in the early 7th century Bengal. Excavations at the site of raktamrttika-vihara, a monastery near karnasuvarna in the Murshidabad district, have yielded a number of much dilapidated stucco figures, including human heads. One of them, now in the West Bengal State Archaeological Museum, shows a softly smiling face, reminding some of the similar stucco faces of contemporary nalanda.
For about one hundred years, from c 650 AD to 750 AD, a period of turmoil in Bengal, there was no patronage for such a cost-oriented medium of art as sculpture. As a result no worth mentioning sculpture, whether in stone or metal, assignable to the late 7th or early 8th centuries could be found in Bengal proper, though in Bihar images of gods and goddesses were carved in isolated centres.
When in the middle of the 8th century the foundation of the Pala kingdom was laid, the situation began to improve. The kings were ardent devotees of the religion of Tathagata, and its Mahayana version received liberal patronage from them. While Dharmapala founded several monasteries and temples in Bengal and Bihar, Devapala's munificence brought new glories to olden Buddhist centres like Nalanda. The Buddhist monasteries of the period were great repositories of Indian knowledge and wisdom, and universities for their academic dissemination. Some of the monasteries included techniques of image making in their courses of learning, and maintained atelier and furnace for the purpose.
The art developed over a period of four hundred years and more in eastern India under the Palas and the Senas. It is natural that the art could not remain the same all through, and the laws of evolution would play its role in finalising the general features of the school, which is known as the 'Pala-Sena School'. Besides the time factor, the local ideals and preferences of forms also made some impression on the development of the style. The school's basic characteristics include its immense productivity, both in the mediums of stone and metal, preponderance of gods and goddesses, belonging to Buddhist as well as Brahmanical pantheon, and increasing stylization of figures and decorative elements. The artist had to adhere to the injunctions laid down in the iconographical texts on image making. But even working under such restrictions the artist did not fail altogether in leaving the stamp of his personal genius on his creations; and this he achieved by the dexterity of execution and attainment of visually perfect forms. What is important to note is that, in spite of obvious similarity in many Pala-Sena Buddhas or Visnus, no two images of any of the deity are fully identical. Variation, even in a minute form, is always there in the images of the school.
From the evidence of sculpture, it is possible to discern that there was a revival of art ideals of the Guptas under the Palas in eastern India and under the Gurjara-Pratiharas in the Ganga-Jamuna valley in the early 9th century. A testimony of Taranath, the 17th-century Tibetan historian of Indian Buddhism, is very relevant in this context. In his work he records that two artists, Dhimana and his son Vitpala, highly proficient in the techniques of metal-casting, engraving and painting, lived during the time of Dharmapala and Devapala, and they followed the tradition of Naga art, which, as we know, flourished in the post-Kusana and pre-Gupta Mathura region. This was the region where the Gupta classical art first emerged out of the experiences of the Kusana days. In all likelihood, Dhimana and Vitpala took initiative in reviving the Gupta classical norms in eastern Indian art in the late 8th and early 9th centuries.
Since Bihar was a part of the Pala kingdom from almost the beginning, it would be necessary to take into account the sculptures of the region, along with those of Bengal proper. Of the Pala sculptures the earliest dated example, assigned to the 26th regnal year of Dharmapala (c 775-810 AD), is from Gaya in Bihar. Two dated bronze Balaramas and a stone Tara of the days of Devapala also belong to the region. In fact, the hoard of bronze images, discovered at Nalanda from archaeological strata marked as of Devapala, provides the stylistic basis for the 9th century Pala sculpture. From this century onwards sculptures were carved and cast in abundance in various places of Bihar and Bengal, making it easier to examine the stylistic development of the school.
Stylistically speaking, the Pala-Sena art of the 9th to 12th century AD evolved in broad outlines almost parallel to the art of Ganga-Yamuna valley, though not without some of its distinctive features. The basic characteristic of the evolution through centuries in both regions is intentness for maintaining the rounded human forms as of the Gupta period. But feelings for floridness and multiplicity are among the features that made the sculptures of the period different from those of the Guptas. The floridness may be recognised in the execution of various motifs and designs on the stele, pedestal and ornaments on the person of the figure, while the multiplicity in the introduction of subsidiary figures on the sides and sometimes around the central one as parshvadevatas. Increase in the number of ratha projections on the pedestal, and stylisation in the treatment of lotuses providing asanas or seats for the figures are pointers to the sculptures of the later centuries. These are the general trends in style that may help distinguishing a 9th-10th century image from an example of the 11th-12th century.
In the chronological sequence of the Pala sculptures the first major examples are those stone reliefs on the basement of the Buddhist temple at Paharpur, which have already been mentioned above as belonging to the third group and datable with the foundation of the temple by Dharmapala sometime in the last quarter of the 8th century AD. This group of reliefs represents various subjects including the legend of Krsna. This Krsna is not however of the Brahmanical hierarchy, but Krsna who is popular in every Bengali household as a pet child of mother Yashoda, the eternal lover of the gopis, and a daring exploiter as the divine hero. This group of sculptures also depicts several scenes from the epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana. Though not as refined and rhythmically poised as the figures of the first group treated above as examples of the post-Gupta style, the large number of panels of the group show narrative scenes with several male and female forms in action. In these scenes the artist succeeded in expressing himself more freely, almost in a popular style found in the terracotta plaques discovered from the same site. These sculptures, though early products of the Pala school, are unique for their lively themes and popular expressions. But such examples are rare in the development of the school in the following centuries, when images meant for worship by the devotees of different religions and creeds dominated the entire scene with iconographical characteristics.
A great centre of the Pala art is Nalanda, where Buddhist images in stone and metal were profusely produced throughout the Pala period from 9th century onwards. The two major features of the images are their pedestal and the backing or aureole. Two types of pedestal are found in this early Pala phase: singhasana or lion-borne seat and triratha or base with single projection and receding moulds. The Nalanda images of Panchika and Hariti, both in bronze and with inscribed dates of Devapala, are found in seated posture on the singhasana, while the two Balarama figures of the same time, one from Nalanda and the other from Kurkihar or Kukkutarama-vihara, also in south Bihar, stand on triratha base. The Balaramas show over the transverse bar a seven-hooded snake as providing a canopy for the god, but in other images the place is occupied by an oval-shape halo with flame motifs on its border, which is typical of the style. The vertical bars on sides of the figure are adorned with gaja-singha or lion-on-elephant forms, and occasionally with swans. Such pedestals and aureoles are undoubted derivations from the Gupta tradition, both in their concepts and motifs, but here they are found to be more stylized. In the following centuries, more specifically in the 11th and 12th centuries, they became conventionalized and even cumbrous.
As for the figurers of the early Pala phase, they retained the plastic modelling and gliding contour lines of the Gupta style, as also the sensitivity of the flesh and, in cases, meditative yogic eyes and blissful smile. For example, the bronze image of the Buddhist god Panchika referred to above, bear all these characteristics in its excellently preserved form represented in a balanced ratio with the pedestal and the aureole. The image is now in the possession of National Museum, New Delhi. The Balarama from Kurkihar is also remarkable for his relaxed stance and sensitive plastic modelling.
In comparison, however, Bengal has so far yielded only a few sculptures of the time, and they mostly represent Visnu. Two standing bronze Visnus, one from Kumarpur, Rajshahi (H. 26 cm) now in the Varendra Research Museum (fig 9), and the other of unknown provenance in the possession of the Bangladesh National Museum, Dhaka, show similar composition with oval halo surrounding the head and strictly frontal pose. More interesting seems, however, a Visnu on flying Garuda from Agradigun in Dinajpur. Carved in black basalt, and preserved in the Asutosh Museum, it shows the god in a relaxed pose with soft and sensitive modelling in a composition balanced by the stylized spread of the wings of the bird, which is in a human form. (09 of 16)

Their vitality, plastic modelling and meditative faces endow them with real qualities of a worshipable icon.

Their vitality, plastic modelling and meditative faces endow them with real qualities of a worshipable icon. The Kasipur Visnu, about 90-cm high, is in black basalt, and seems to be one of the best examples of Bengal art in her artist's favourite stone. The Visnu from Deora is carved in bluish basalt. The former Surya is in the collection of Asutosh Museum, Kolkata, and the latter is in the Varendra Research Museum, Rajshahi.
Some of the museums in Europe and United States of America are now rich with Indian sculptures of the ancient and medieval periods, including examples from the 6th-7th century Eastern India. For an instance, The Cleveland Museum of Art possesses a boldly carved Visnu seated on his vehicle Garuda in black stone (H. 80 cm) and a number of Buddha images belonging to the period and the region. But for more examples of Buddhist images, especially for various Bodhisattva and Tara forms, the collections of Nalanda Museum and Indian Museum are extremely significant. A fine representative of the expression may be recognised in a standing gilt bronze Manjushri discovered from Salar, near Mahasthan in Bogra, and now in the Varendra Research Museum (fig 8). In his slightly moving stance, the Boddhisttva is in the gesture of boon giving by his right hand and protection by the left. (08 of 16)

But aesthetically more interesting is the Visnu from Benisagar

But aesthetically more interesting is the Visnu from Benisagar, in the Singbhum district of Bihar, and now in the Patna Museum. This image, about only 40 cm high, retains many features of the Gupta classicism. But its soft and sensitive plastic modelling, fully rounded and defined form, balanced composition complete with two subsidiary figures of Gadadevi and Chakrapurusa and the halo makes it further advanced from the early Gupta images found in Bengal region. Among the Visnus an interesting variation is that of Chaitanpur in the district of Bardhaman in West Bengal.
The god with his usual iconographic features and pose is shown with a desiccated sinewy physical form. So far a unique type of Visnu, the image is believed to be a representation of the god's abhicharika or malevolent aspect, is the large image, now in Indian Museum, and tentatively assigned to the 7th century AD. Of the Brahmanical deities, two Surya/ Visnu images from Bengal, one discovered at Kasipur in the 24 Parganas, and the other from Deora in Bogra district (fig 7) appear to be find immaculate examples of the 7th century post-Gupta style. Both the images are carved and complete with their charioteer, other attending men and women and the chariot drawn by seven galloping horses. (07 of 16)

As an example more important than the Biharoil Buddha, the Mainamati Buddha appears

As an example more important than the Biharoil Buddha, the Mainamati Buddha appears to be a product of the local craftsman trained under a master-carver from Sarnath atelier. Another great example is the immense standing bronze Buddha from Sultanganj in the Bhagalpur district of Bihar and now in the Birmingham Museum.
Post-Gupta sculpture Seventh-century Bengal saw an increase in the execution of sculptures in her different areas. Besides, in Bihar too, a proliferation of the art in the period is noted. The art of the century is marked by a style that is known as post-Gupta. The characteristic of the style is a further enlivening of the Gupta classical human forms with a more appreciable movement by shedding their volumes and accentuating the contour lines with rhythmic flexion. The countenances are also found to be lit up with sentiments. These qualities are marked in the images of the period in various degrees, but in them a stylistic change, not as much in form as in psyche, is invariably found.
Among the gods, the popularity of Visnu continues, and his images came to light from several districts of Bengal and Bihar. Of the Bengal Visnus belonging to the 7th century reference may be made to one found at Gajol in the Malda district and now in the Malda Museum. In comparison the Visnu from Khiarmahmudpur, Dinajpur district, (fig 6) now in the National Museum of Bangladesh, is far more advanced in concept and execution. The 110 cm high large image, boldly carved with clear outline of form and showing usual weapon symbols, two of which in human forms, gives a feeling of pleasant lyricism with the vanamala or garland of forest flower flowing in harmony around his body. (6 of 16)

Standing with the weight of the body on his left leg, and the right in slight bend at the knee

Standing with the weight of the body on his left leg, and the right in slight bend at the knee, the image wears diaphanous under and upper garments, the existence of which is marked only by falling edges and the thin fold around the neck. Its halo and forearms, along with their mudras or symbolic gestures are lost. The masterly chiselling of a proportionate balanced figure and a blissful countenance with inwardly looking drooping eyes makes the Buddha image spiritually richer than the Visnu images discussed above. It is however more probable of being carried down stream by the Ganga from Varanasi to north Bengal; to Biharoil in the Rajshahi district, its find spot, than being a product of a Bengal carver. From stylistic consideration it is unmistakably assignable to the closing years of the 5th or the early years of the 6th century AD.
Another comparable standing Buddha image of immense significance has recently been discovered almost in situ in the main eastern chapel of the Rupban Mura stupa at Mainamati-Devaparvata site, situated in the Comilla district of Bangladesh. (fig 5) The excellent preservation, colossal size (about 2.6 m high), and aesthetic attainment of the Buddha make it one of the greatest finds so far as Bengal art is concerned. The slightly moving stance with a raised right hand in abhaya mudra or gesture of protection, least variation in the plastic modelling of the body and a countenance enlivened towards the outer world with a faint smile and slightly open eyes of the colossus sculpture betray the characteristics of the 7th century post-Gupta style. (05 of 16)

The Khaira Visnu in grey sandstone, now in mutilated state, stands erect but shows a change in iconographic features, introducing anthropomorphic

The Khaira Visnu in grey sandstone, now in mutilated state, stands erect but shows a change in iconographic features, introducing anthropomorphic forms of the weapon-symbols gada and chakra. From this stage it is, however, not difficult to trace the line of evolution of the typical Visnu type of Bengal that dominates the art of the region in the following five hundred years.
Paharpur sculptures The Gupta sculptures of Bengal are mostly icons and their forms were determined by the characteristics of the gods as prescribed by the priests of Madhyadesha or central India. In such forms the artist's imagination can play only a marginal role. From a series of panels discovered in somapura mahavihara, at paharpur (Bangladesh), it is possible to have at least some glimpses of the formal and aesthetic preferences of the Bengal sculptor. Built in the latter half of the 8th century AD there are as many as sixty-three stone sculptures fixed around the basement wall of the shrine. The sculptures are carved in high relief on stone slabs, not unlike those found on the faces of the basement of a ruined Buddhist shrine at Nalanda.
On stylistic consideration the Paharpur sculptures are divided into three groups. The third group, which includes the large majority of pieces, was most possibly executed along with the shrine itself, and therefore assignable to the 8th century AD. But the first group, which is best represented by the image of Radha-Krsna (?) group, Yamuna, Balarama and Shiva, shows an unmistakable affinity with the Gupta classical art.
The second group of Paharpur sculptures is stylistically placed in between the 6th and 8th century AD. The Gupta classical art is not only significant for finalising the ideated human forms, and establishing the features of male and female beauties, but also for endowing such physical forms with sentiments and lively gestures. The art style makes human form its vehicle of expressions, and such expressions include both mundane and supra mundane. An isolated standing Buddha (fig.4) in gray sandstone, now preserved in the varendra research museum, is an example of spiritual beauty carved on stone, and bears all the stylistic features of the famous Sarnath Buddhas of similar stance but in larger size. (04 of 16)

Such an unfinished image of Visnu comes from Karaicherchar in Dinajpur,

Such an unfinished image of Visnu comes from Karaicherchar in Dinajpur, and shows the god in his usual standing posture with four hands carrying the four weapons mentioned above. It is assignable to the 5th century AD, as also the similar image of the god discovered at a place in Khulna district.
This Khulna Visnu, though miniature in size (H. 19 cm), is fully carved in buff sandstone, and shows the Gupta modelling and the physical features more clearly. While the stele of the former Visnu is oval in shape, in the latter its circular form is in cut out. It appears that in the following century the artist of Bengal became sufficiently trained in handling stone material. Such examples as one from Narhata in Bogra district and the other from Khaira in Rajshahi district are indicative of the fact (fig.3). The Visnu from Narhata is carved in the round with a feeling for soft flesh of a relaxed figure and a slight movement. It is being of black basalt, a favoured variety of stone of the Bengal carvers of the following centuries, further strengthens the view. (03 of 16)

So far as the quality of carving is concerned the Niyamatpur specimen does not improve much.

So far as the quality of carving is concerned the Niyamatpur specimen does not improve much. Its full standing frontal posture, wearing a flat cap and long tunic, as noted in the Kaniska figures on his coins, are however indicative of its affinity with the Kusana Suryas. The third image of the same style, found at Hankrail in the district of Malda, West Bengal, represents standing Visnu. He also wears a tunic down to the knees with a waistband, and shows some other features of the Kusana style. Carved in buff-coloured sandstone, the image exhibits better chiselling of limbs and apparels, and sensitivity almost totally absent in the images of Surya. It is assignable, on stylistic consideration, to the closing years of the 3rd or the beginning of the 4th century AD.
The above discussed sculptures, datable between the 2nd and the 4th century AD, and broadly identifiable as belonging to the Kusana style, clearly suggest that in the period, the art of stone sculpting was in the initial stage. The Asutosh Museum Buddha-Bodhisattva and Kartikeya images were more possibly the products of the Ganga-Yamuna valley than of Bengal. Their material, red sandstone, style and size indicate that the Ganga carried them down stream from the region of Mathura to the river shores of Bengal. On the other hand, the two Surya images of the Varendra Research Museum are so crude in handling the chisel and shape the desired form that they testify to the hesitant use of the tool by the artist of local origin. The Hankrail Visnu of the later date is no doubt indicative of the fact that the art of carving had been somewhat learnt by the artist by that time. In the following two centuries, which correspond to the Gupta period, things were much different and availability of stone sculpture was much frequent and more numerous in Bengal.
Gupta sculpture In the long history of Indian representational art the importance of the Gupta age (c 300 AD-550 AD) can hardly be over emphasised. So far as Indian sculpture is concerned this period witnessed the climax of the art. This climax, of course, pre-supposes continuous experimentation by the artists during the next five hundred years and more. In the Gupta art the laws of proportion, stance and flexion were settled, and iconic features of the gods and goddesses of the three major Indian religions were codified. Above all the art saw the realisation of a three-dimensional aesthetic vision of human forms with two basic characteristics, viz (i) plastic volume and (ii) gliding linearism. Besides, robustness and a cultured restrain in expression endowed the figures of the period with a certain quality that is marked as classical.
Though Bengal, barring her south-eastern region, was an integral part of the Gupta kingdom almost from the beginning, she remained a peripheral region so far as the dominant culture of the period is concerned. Nevertheless, from the presence of quite a number of images stylistically assignable to the period it is possible to trace a connected development of the art in the region at least from the 4th-5th century AD. Here it should, however, be remembered that the examples of sculptures of the same period found in various sites of south Bihar are important as comparable materials for the reason that the Gupta kings ruled their empire from their capital situated in the region, viz Pataliputra, where from, in all possibility, the art of the style spread towards the east.
The Gupta rulers were devoted Vaishnavas, and early Gupta images are found to be mostly representations of Visnu or any of his incarnations. One of the most representative sculptures of the period is an image of Narasingha discovered at Shahkund in the Bhagalpur district of Bihar. The four-handed image bears the four weapons of Visnu, viz shangkha, chakra, gada and padma, and in size and shape is typical of the period. But what makes the image unique is its fully rounded robust form with a lion head on strong shoulder with flowing manes. The proficiency in carving with a clear sense of the plastic variations in apparels, ornaments and the body and limbs of the deity, and the expressive angry look of the lion-face, shape the image differently from those of the preceding Kusana style.
Of the Gupta sculptures in Bengal proper the earliest example seems to be the Visnu from Machmoil Bagmara (fig 2) in the district of Rajshahi carved in gray sandstone. The image shows a broken form of the god in a strict frontally standing pose. Though modelling and iconic features betray its early Gupta style, its aesthetic attainment is so negligible that it may be stylistically placed in a point of transition between the Kusana and the Gupta phases. The image is preserved with quite a number of other Visnus of the Gupta period in the Varendra Research Museum. (02 of 16)

Sculpture In ancient and early medieval periods (up to 1200 AD)

Sculpture In ancient and early medieval periods (up to 1200 AD), Bengal saw both expansion and contraction of her political control over eastern India and, as a consequence, her cultural influence in the region also fluctuated. For an orderly presentation of the story of Bengal sculpture it is imperative to keep in mind such important historical factors. In the best days of the Pala kings, who ruled between c 750 AD and 1200 AD, Bengal achieved her widest political hegemony over northeast India. Though the homeland of the Palas was north Bengal, in the larger part of their long rule Bihar was an integral part of their kingdom. But before them, except shashanka (c 600 AD - 625 AD), no other Bengal king is known to have ruled outside his own land. So it would be out of our scope to take into account the achievement of the Maurya emperor Ashoka (c BC 273-232) as the patron of glyptic art, though his atelier was situated at Chunar, a place not far from Benaras, and his capital was Pataliputra in south Bihar.
It is actually difficult to pinpoint the beginnings of the art of sculpting in Bengal proper. For, though the lower Ganga valley or south Bengal was a prolific centre of terracotta art at least from the 2nd century BC, there is no clear evidence to show that the art of sculpting was similarly practised in the area from about the same time. The terracotta figures are however extremely significant in determining the stylistic character of Bengal representational art as flourished between the 2nd century BC and the 2nd-3rd century AD. They show that from the very beginning Bengal art was an extension of the art of Ganga-Jamuna valley. The well-known Bharhut style, exhibiting low relief and strict frontality of the figures, and an early sophistication in execution, is as effective in the terracottas of upper Ganga sites as in those of lower Ganga valley. But what is conspicuous is that while in north-central India there is no dearth of stone relief, in Bengal they are totally absent. It seems that art of carving on stone had a late start in Bengal, and for easy availability of plastic clay the artist of the region was satisfied with the technique of modelling and moulding. But the art of carving on materials less resistant than stone appears to have been known to him. Several small examples of figures in wood and bone, recently discovered from chandraketugarh in North 24 Parganas and Mangalkot in Bardhaman, both in West Bengal, support the view that carving on wood and bone, and possibly also on ivory, was in practice in this early phase of Bengal art.
Wood and Bone figures Most of the minute carvings, now in the collection of the West Bengal State Archaeological Museum at Calcutta, are broken or abraded. They include six wooden and four bone made figures. The woods represent two slender yaksis, a fish and a handle of a stick or dagger. The bone examples are much more significant from the viewpoint of sculpting, as they show relief as well as figure in round. A medallion of the diameter of 5 cm depicts an amorous couple in a style that is known as Shunga in Indian art history.
While the headgear and the ornaments of heavy beads of the couple remind us of similar figures of Bharhut, their voluptuousness that of Mathura yaksas and yaksis. Another plaque in rectangular shape is relief of a yaksi under a tree and two devotees below, but its craftsmanship is cruder, if compared with that of the medallion. Two yaksis, one in the round and the other in relief, and 6 cm and 10 cm in height, respectively, are very close to similar terracotta figures of the period in their plastic modelling and strict frontality in stance. But a different style is found in a broken as well as highly corroded winged lion, 9 cm in height, also from Chandraketugarh. The subject, the technique of chiselling, and the lotus capital on which the lion is crouched indicate that the piece of art bears affinity of the art of West Asia, and in all likelihood, it was brought to south Bengal from the Gandhara region of north-west India and Afghanistan. But of all the tiny figures most attractive is the sculpture in the round in fossilised bone found at Mangalkot. In a least abraded state of preservation, this work, 14 cm in height, represents on the front two figures, a yaksa and a yaksi below him, both frontally poised. The backside shows the back of a yaksi.
The plastic treatment of the figures is much more sensitive than those of other bone figures, and hair and apparels are chiselled in minute detail. In sitting posture of the yaksi and in the individual treatment of the ornaments of the figures mastery over the carving tools is clearly manifested. It is also a product of the same early Indian style of the Shungas, but appears to be of a late date, 1st or 2nd century AD.
Early stone sculpture Stone sculptures so far discovered from Bengal proper and assignable to the early three centuries of the Christian era are few. These sculptures in general represent a style, which is, in the development of the art in north India, recognised as of the Kusanas. The centre of the art was Mathura, where evolved during the period the images of the deities worshipped by the followers of the three major religions of the time, namely, Brahmanism, Buddhism and Jainism.
The characteristic features of the figures in Mathura style include emphasis on volume and stolidity, domination of frontality of the earlier days and use of mottled red sandstone as material. Two of the early examples of sculptures found in Bengal are in similar red stone and bear the characteristics of Kusana style, and now preserved in the Asutosh Museum. One of them discovered from Chandraketugarh, shows a Buddha-Bodhisattva exhibiting all the characteristic traits of colossal Kusana Buddha-Bodhisattvas discovered from Mathura region. Though only the upper part of the body remains, the sturdiness of form and the treatment of the upper garment, which covers the left shoulder leaving the right bare, with ridges typical of the Mathura prototype, clearly assign it to the Kusana style of about the 2nd century AD. The other one, of about 55 cm in height, represents the torso of a standing male figure holding a staff, and tentatively identified as of Kartikeya.
Discovered from mahasthan in Bangladesh, the image is also in the same Kusana style, but stylistically belongs to a slightly later date, about the middle of the 3rd century AD. The chiselling of the figure is more sophisticated and the apparel which includes a waistband with a loop-like knot on the side and an under garment of a fine cloth clearly anticipate the diaphanous treatment of the same in the Gupta classical period, two centuries later. The same may be stated about the sensitive plastic presentation of the body and fleshy and lively execution of arms and fingers of the left hand holding the staff.
Three other images, bearing the idioms of Kusana style, are now in the collection of Varendra Research Museum, Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Two of them, representing Surya, are in coarse-grained sandstone. One was found at Kumarpur and the other at Niyamatpur, both in the district of Rajshahi. An extremely coagulated form, the Kumarpur Surya (fig 1) stands on a raised pedestal between two attendants and is drawn on a chariot by seven horses. Aruna, the charioteer, squats in front of the stunted figure of the Sun god. The crude carving of form and wrong anatomical features of the horses show that it is a product of a novice carver who tried his best to imitate a Surya image of the Kusana style. (1 of 16).

Indian National Congress Founded in 1885

Indian National Congress Founded in 1885 by a narrowly based national elite, the Indian National Congress (INC) gradually transformed into a broadbased nationalist organisation from the beginning of the 20th century. The Anglo-Indian agitation against the Ilbert Bill during ripon's viceroyalty served to underline the efficacy of an all-India political organisation as India's English educated politicians wished to speak effectively and authoritatively to the British rulers. surendranath benerjee, who had been playing a key role in organising nationalist forums like the indian association (1876) and the National Conference (1883), welcomed the move of AO Hume, a retired British ICS officer, for establishing an organisation by the western educated upper class Indians to function as a 'safety valve' for the escape of growing resentment of Indians against British rule. Hume had the blessings of viceroy dufferin who accepted the idea of such an organisation as the 'loyal opposition' to the British Raj. Barrister WC Banerjee was chosen as the first president of the INC's inaugural session in Bombay in December 1885.
Surendranath Benerjee joined the INC at its second session in Calcutta in 1886. The INC was then not a full-fledged political party, rather a loose association of influential men in provincial politics trying to build up a national platform. Leading public figures such as Dadabhai Naoroji, Feroze Shah Mehta, Badruddin Tayabji, KT Telang and others associated themselves with the INC.
The Indian National Congress initially had little year round activity and was active only in its annual gatherings. Its delegates were mostly upper caste Hindus and its leaders primarily came from the legal profession. Known for their loyalty to the Raj, they did not like radical sort of political or social change and were interested in having some say in government administration and structures of political life. Until 1905 these moderate leaders confined themselves to political agitation by 'prayer-petition-protest'.
At the beginning the Muslims were not attracted to INC in significant numbers. Sir Sayyed Ahmad advised the Muslims to keep themselves away from INC in the interest of furthering Muslim solidarity. Aswini Datta, the mass leader of Barisal, described each of the sessions of the INC as 'three-day opera'. The moderate leaders of the INC believed that British rule in India was a good dispensation, which can be made better through negotiations. They shunned the violence of small groups of terrorists and revolutionaries in Bengal, the Punjab and Bombay provinces.
Viceroy Curzon's measure of partitioning the province of Bengal in 1905 evoked strong protest from the Bangali Hindu leaders and ultimately gave rise to militant politics of aurobindo ghosh, Bipin Chandra Pal, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai. The Calcutta-based swadeshi movement and the programme of boycotting British goods were instrumental in creating the extremist faction within the INC. The moderate and extremist leaders openly and violently clashed in the Surat session (1907) over the 'policy of mendicancy' pursued by the moderates. The INC suffered a split as the extremists came out of it. Congressmen were divided by personal animosities, and factionalism became endemic within the INC at national, provincial and local levels. Meanwhile, the muslim league (ML) was formed in 1906 to protect the interests of the Muslims.
When the British government involved India in Britain's war efforts in 1914 without consulting Indian opinion, strong Indian resentment against this policy brought the INC and the ML closer. The leaders of INC and ML entered into 'Lucknow Pact' (1916) to strengthen India's demand for self-government. The growing popularity of the Home Rule Leagues led by Annie Besant and B.G Tilak and the 'Lucknow Pact' persuaded the British government to promise in 1917 self-government on a gradual basis. But the political situation suddenly changed for the worse in the wake of the Jalianwala Bagh massacre in 1919.
By the 1920s the old uncertainties of imperial paternalism were gone. There were clear signs of the beginning of a more popular politics, being welded into a nationalist movement by a new leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who had experience of launching non-violent Satyagraha movement in South Africa and had emerged in Indian politics at this hour with his new technique of offering resistance to injustice. He received support from the Congress leadership and also from the national revolutionaries who agreed to give him a chance of realising his stated goal of achieving 'Swaraj' (self-government) in one year's time. Gandhi utilised the grievances of the Indian Muslims over the issue of Khilafat for forging unity among the Hindus and the Muslims against British imperialism.
Gandhi launched in 1920 his non-cooperation movement which was the first truly national and popular political campaign against the British government. Gandhi's strategy boosted the significance of the INC in Indian politics. The INC undoubtedly owed much of its success into building itself as the organisations of mainstream nationalism in the 1920s to Gandhi and a number of other leaders like Motilal Nehru, Madan Mohan Malavya and chitta ranjan das. Later emerged a new generation of leaders who were content to work with Gandhi and submit to his authority. Prominent among this group were C Raja Gopalachari, Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Abul Kalam Azad and Sardar Vallabbhai Patel. subhas chandra bose was initially a part of this group but soon was unwilling to submit to Gandhi. Though the INC accepted in 1929 complete independence of India as its goal, its main aim was to force concessions from the British imperialists. Through the non-cooperation movement (1920-22) and the civil disobedience movement (1930-34) Gandhi exercised his charisma over millions of men and women to make INC a mass-based political forum.
When the British government arranged the Round Table conferences and offered the 'communal award' for reservation of seats in legislatures for different communities and scheduled castes, Gandhi resisted it by undertaking a fast unto death, but the superior skill of political dialogue and divisive strategy of the British imperialism ultimately got Gandhi and the INC outwitted. The Government of India Act (1935) did not introduce full responsible government at the central level but introduced responsible autonomy at the provincial level. There was much resentment within the INC against the proposed federation with the 'native states' and the formidable 'special power' in the governor general's hand.
An inner pressure group of leftists and socialists within the INC was formed in 1934 styled as the Congress Socialist Party (CSP) with Acharya Narendra Dev as chairman and Jayaprakash Narayan as general secretary. Nehru and Subhas Bose sympathised with the cause of socialism but did not formally join the CSP. The leaders and workers of the Communist Party of India, which was banned at that time, worked through the CSP. The group of MN Roy and the Krishak Sabha maintained close contact with the INC and the CSP. The consolidation of leftist forces within the INC caused some consternation in Gandhi and the rightist camp of the INC.
In the elections held in 1937 under the Government of India Act 1935, the INC achieved great successes in the general seats and formed its own government in six Hindu-majority provinces. It failed electorally in Sind and the Punjab and became the single largest party in Assam, Bengal and NWFP. In Bengal the INC's decision to reject the coalition offer from ak fazlul huq's krishak praja party paved the way for the Muslim League-Krishak Praja Party coalition. The ML's desire to form a coalition government with the INC in UP was also sabotaged by Nehru's insistence on ML accepting the 'congress creed'. In order to take the wind out of the leftist sail Gandhi nominated the leftist leader Subhas Bose as the Congress president at the Haripura session (1938). Bose refused to be an obedient disciple of Gandhi, and showed dynamic leadership bent on a massive struggle against imperialism and laying the broad principles of planned economic development of India. Gandhi and the rightist leaders refused to re-elect Bose for the next year, but their nominee was defeated by Bose with the help of the leftists. This confrontation eventually pushed Bose out of the INC. Meanwhile, the ML adopted the lahore resolution (1940) calling for establishing independent Muslim states in the subcontinent. In 1941, Bose left India to Europe and from there to the East Asian war theatres to launch armed struggle against British imperialism.
Gandhi launched the quit india movement in August 1942, which went in a violent way and was suppressed quickly. This was followed by a series of negotiations between the British government, the INC and the ML for transfer of power. Viceroy Wavell called all concerned parties to the Simla Conference in June-July 1945, but nothing concrete emerged. The search for a consensus between the INC and ML proved illusive.
Between December 1945 and February 1946 fresh elections were held in which the Indians were found to be clearly divided in their allegiance to the INC and the ML. Meanwhile there was a massive popular upsurge against British rule in the wake of the trial of the officers of Indian National Army of Subhas Bose, followed by revolts in the Royal Indian Navy in February 1946 and also wide discontent in the army, police and civil service. The British Prime Minister Attlee announced the appointment of a high power cabinet mission for negotiation with the Indian leaders. The mission recommended a Constituent Assembly and a responsible interim government to be formed by Indian ministers. The ML's demand for Pakistan was not accepted, but a grouping of provinces was recommended to accommodate the demand for powerful provinces on the communal divide. Both the Congress and the League grudgingly accepted the recommendations, but the whole plan was ruined as Nehru indiscreetly asserted the INC's rights to proceed on constitution making without any precondition. This attitude alienated mohammed ali jinnah and the ML which began sabotaging Nehru's interim cabinet and organised violent campaigns to force the British government to concede the demand for partition of India in early 1947. Attlee sent lord mountbatten as the new viceroy and set the deadline of June 1948 for ending British rule in India. Things now began moving fast. The partition of India took place on 14 August 1947. [Asok Kumar Mukhopadhyay]

In the evolution of Pala painting at least two distinctive stylistic phases can be clearly marked.

In the evolution of Pala painting at least two distinctive stylistic phases can be clearly marked. The first one includes the paintings of the late tenth and early eleventh centuries, as noted in the manuscripts of the reigns of Mahipala I (c 995-1043 AD) and Nayapala (c 1043-1058 AD), while the second phase is represented by those of the reign of ramapala (c 1082-1124 AD) and his successors, that is to say, the late 11th to the end of the 12th centuries. The style of the first phase is found to be closely linked with that of classical Ajanta.

Whether in composition or colour scheme, modelling of forms or rhythmic flowing line, the Pala miniature of this phase emulated the ideals of Ajanta murals, though in slightly diluted form. From the discovery of some fragments of Pala mural paintings in an excavated Buddhist shrine at Nalanda it is now evident that murals were also executed in the period.
Descent of Buddha, Ashtasahasrika-Prajnaparamita, c 1180 AD
In the second phase two different aesthetic visions appear to have flourished simultaneously. The more dominant of the two was that found in the miniatures associated with Ramapala and Govindapala, one of his successors. The miniatures of this trend show, not unlike contemporary sculpture, voluptuous figures, especially in representing female deities, with colours more saturated in character. These characteristics are also manifested in the paintings of a manuscript of Astasahasrika-Prajnaparamita prepared in the 19th regnal year of the Varman King Harivarmadeva (c 1073-1127 AD) of southeast Bangladesh. This manuscript's now preserved at the Varendra Research Museum at Rajshahi. But the paintings of the Panchavingshatisahasrika-Prajnaparamita, completed in the 8th regnal year of the same king, and now in the collection of Baroda Museum in India, represent quite a different style.
The two-dimensionally conceived figures of the manuscript are delineated in flat colours and delicately nervous lines. They show sensitive fingers, angular limbs, and eyes extended beyond their normal proportions, indicating features of the 'medieval style', which first appeared in the wall paintings of the Elora caves and matured in western India in the Jain manuscript paintings from about the twelfth century. Eastern India witnessed the presence of the style in a few copper plate drawings of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Though some of the Pala miniatures show this medieval trend, it was never a dominant style, as in Western India. But two Buddhist manuscripts, both retrieved from Bihar and of as late a period as the fifteenth century, exhibit paintings of the medieval style albeit in a fragile expression.
Most painted manuscripts of the Pala period are of the authentic Mahayanist Buddhist text, Astasahasrika-Prajnaparamita. The other manuscripts with paintings are of the Vajrayanist cult, namely, Pancharaksa, Karandavyuha, Kalachakrayana-tantra, etc. What is extremely interesting is that there is no thematic connection between the texts and their paintings. The paintings are not the illustrations of the texts of the manuscripts. They are, on the contrary, independent of the content of the texts and, as such, autonomous in the selection of their forms. Irrespective of the texts, the subjects treated in paintings are chiefly from the life of the Gautam Buddha, and depict the events known as his miracles. The eight miracles represented are: (1) Birth at Lumbini garden; (2) Attainment of Bodhihood at Bodhgaya; (3) First sermon at Sarnath; (4) Passing away at Kushinagara; (5) Miracle at Shravasti; (6) Descent from heaven at Sankishya; (7) Supression of the elephant Nalagiri at Rajagriha; and (8) Acceptance of honey from a monkey at Vaishali.
Of these, the first four are recognised as major or more important miracles, representing the cardinal events of the Master's life. Since the paintings belong to a period when the Vajrayana-Tantrayana cult was a dominant force of Buddhism, especially in Eastern India, the depiction of the Tantric-Buddhist gods and goddesses are also found profusely in the miniatures of the time. More popular among the deities painted were Prajna-paramita, Tara, Lokanatha, Maitreya, Vajrapani, Padmapani, Vasudhara, Mahakala, Kurukulla, Chunda, Vajrasattva and Manjushri.
A relevant question is: who patronized the preparation of the painted manuscripts, and why? It is not difficult to answer the first question, as some light on it is thrown by the dedicatory verses of the manuscripts known as Dana-puspika. The manuscripts were prepared under the patronage and close supervision of Buddhist monks, who are mentioned as Sthavira, Upasaka and Bhiksu. In some texts Buddhist followers such as a feudal lord and high state officials are mentioned as donors. The purpose of the patronage was to gain virtue, not only for himself, but also for parents, teachers and preceptors.
Apart from this immediate reason, a deeper source of inspiration for this virtuous work can be noted in the text of the Prajnaparamita itself. The theology preached by the text is found to glorify the nature of the perfect knowledge and its proper application for mankind as well as all living beings. For this liberal humanist viewpoint the Prajnaparamita text was recited in almost all religious functions of Bengali Buddhists. The prestige of the text became so enormous that the votaries of Buddhism worshipped its manuscripts. In fact, many of the Astasahasrika-Prajnaparamita texts bear the marks of sandal paste and incense. Moreover, in the text it has been repeatedly mentioned that copying of the text is itself a pious act. A terracotta plaque recently discovered from a monastic site at Jagjivanpur (Malda, West Bengal), shows a manuscript, most likely of the Prajnaparamita, placed on a lotus as an object of worship. The representation of Tantric Buddhist deities in miniature in the text is possibly another reason of the paramount position held by it.
Bengal was the most powerful centre of Mahayana Buddhism in India from the 8th to 12th century AD; and from here the faith spread to different countries­ - Nepal and Tibet in the north and Myanmar and Thailand in the east. Along with the monks the manuscripts also went to these places resulting in the wide dissemination of the Pala style of painting. In the late 12th and early 13th century, many Buddhists migrated to neighbouring countries with manuscripts and small bronze images. In the following centuries the Pala art style further developed in those foreign lands. In fact, to have a total view of the Pala miniature style it is essential to take into consideration the painted manuscripts of Nepal. [Ashok Bhattacharyya]

(06 of 06)
Bibliography Sarasikumar Saraswati, Palyuger Chitrakala, Calcutta, 1978; Jeremiah P Losty, The Art of the Book in India, London, 1982; Asok Bhattacharya, Banglar Chitrakala (in Bengali), Calcutta, 1994; Claudine Bautze-Picron, 'Buddhist Painting during the reign of Harivarmadeva in Southeast Bangladesh', Journal of Bengal Art, 4, 1999.

According to him, art reached a high watermark during the rule of two early Pala kings dharmapala (c 781-821 AD)

According to him, art reached a high watermark during the rule of two early Pala kings dharmapala (c 781-821 AD) and devapala (c 821-861 AD), when two artists of Varendra or North Bengal, Dhimana and his son Vitapala, attained eminence. They were masters in image making in stone and metal as well as in painting. But in style the son differed from the father. While Dhimana pursued the "eastern style", Vitapala painted in a style termed as "middle-country", which meant Magadha or South Bihar in the Buddhist tradition.
Taranath's observation shows that the painting of eastern India of the Pala age had a recognized style with two distinct regional expressions of Varendra and Magadha. But to understand its character it will be necessary to refer to the classical painting of fifth-sixth century India.
Indian art reached its zenith during the days of the Imperial Guptas (c 320-675 AD) and their immediate followers. The murals of the period, as found at Ajanta, Bagh and Badami caves, are marked out as the best examples of Indian classical painting for their technical mastery and aesthetic superiority. The main stylistic characteristics of the classical paintings are the uninterrupted flow of rhythmic line and the fully developed modelling. The latter was achieved by the application of colours in terms of light and shade and the deft manipulation of line. The sculpture and painting of the classical period pursued the same artistic ideals and both emphasized plasticity and linearism. There is reason to believe that Dhimana and Vitapala revived classical art under the Palas, for Taranath records that Dhiman was a follower of the "Naga" style. One of the centres of Naga power was Mathura in North India, and the city is well known as the epicentre of Indian classical art. The figures of the Pala-miniatures show similar emphasis on sculputesque modelling and rhythmic linearism. In fact, if the tiny miniatures are blown up they will show almost the same features of the classical murals with continuous lines and modelled forms; and for that they are clearly distinguished from the European miniatures which exhibit, among others, broken minute lines. The other significant aspect of the Pala miniature is that they follow artistic ideals similar to those contemporary images made in stone and metal.
Because Pala miniatures were painted over a number of centuries, they did not remain the same in style. Coming from different centres of the Pala Empire and belonging to different centuries, they reveal more than one trend in pictorial composition and representation of forms. ( To be continue 05 of 06)

Painting is a very complicated art. But in comparison with murals

Painting is a very complicated art. But in comparison with murals the technique of manuscript painting is simple. Usually a background colour was laid before the preliminary drawings, but in some examples the drawings were done directly on the leaf. The figures were then filled up with intended colours. For achieving modelling of forms shades and highlights were applied. Then, and in accordance with the tradition of Indian painting, an outline was given in a shade close to the colour of the figure with a medium brush. Finally, fine outlines were drawn in black or red following the previous lines for modelling.
The colours generally used were yellow, chalk white, indigo blue, black of the lamp-shoot, cinnabar red (sindura) and a green prepared by mixing blue and yellow. Most of the colours were tempered by adding a little white. Since the subjects treated were mainly Buddhist gods and goddesses, the painter had to follow the iconographical injunctions of the Sadhanamala and other texts. However, they left glimpses of their aesthetic preferences in spaces where trees, architectural, and other forms were painted around the deities as background. Most of the deities have been done in yellow or deep red colour. The backgrounds are also mostly in yellow or red.
In determining the stylistic character of Pala painting, a reference to the account left by the Tibetan historian Taranath is of relevance. To be continue (04 of 06)

Surprisingly, even after a thousand of years, quite a number of illustrated

Surprisingly, even after a thousand of years, quite a number of illustrated Pala manuscripts have survived. This fact itself provides an idea about the strength and productivity of the art during the Pala rule, which is well known for bountiful creation of images in stone and metal. For an estimate of the quantum of painting so far found it would suffice to state that the number of miniatures delineated on dated manuscripts alone comes to three hundred and more. If paintings of undated manuscripts are added the number increases further.
The manuscripts were written and painted on palm-leaf pages. Palm-leaf is fragile, and therefore many of them are now in a brittle state. In comparison with later palm-leaf manuscripts those of the Pala period, however, are better preserved. This is because they were made of the best quality of palm-leaves obtained from a variety of palms known as Shritada. The leaves of the Shritada are thin and elastic, and therefore less susceptible to breakage. They grow as long as 90 cm in length and 7BD cm in breadth. They were processed for about a month by being kept under water and then dried up, then made smooth by abrading a conch on them, and cut into size. After holes were perforated for the binding cord, they were written on and painted.
The scribe wrote five to seven lines of the text following the length of the leaves on each page, but left out spaces for painting where necessary. In one page usually three paintings of the dimension of 6 cm x 7 cm were drawn, one placed in the centre and two on the flanks. In some manuscripts only two paintings on the sides have been found. (To be continue 03 of 06)

The Pala rule in eastern India

The Pala rule in eastern India, which continued for about four hundred years (c 750-1200 AD), saw the first consolidation of Bengal culture. In this period Bengali genius expressed itself in various creative mediums - architecture, sculpture and painting. Since no painting of any earlier periods has been discovered, and since the practice of miniature persisted throughout the Pala period, and continued in a diluted style even after the fall of the dynasty, Pala painting is considered to be virtually synonymous with early Bengal painting.
The Pala kings were Buddhists, and remarkably liberal in their attitude to other faiths. In the days of the Palas the Mahayana cult of the faith developed its Tantrayana-Vajrayana-Kalachakrayana aspects. The Pala miniatures are in a sense visual expression of these cults. To be continue (2 of 6)

Pala Painting The earliest examples of Bengal painting

Pala Painting The earliest examples of Bengal painting are the twelve extant miniatures delineated on the palm-leaves of a manuscript of the Buddhist text, Astasahasrika-prajnaparamita, dated in the sixth regnal year of the Pala king mahipala i (c 983 AD). This rare manuscript is now in the possession of The asiatic society, Calcutta. There are two more painted manuscripts which belong to Mahipala I's reign, but they are later in date. Many more manuscripts with paintings, belonging to the following two centuries, have come to light. Since they were painted in a period when the kings of the Pala dynasty were ruling the region, they are also known as Pala-miniatures. Technically, these miniatures are so well done that it is impossible to believe that they are the earliest expression of the art in Bengal. They represent a mature style that could only have evolved through generations. But, lamentably, since painting is a very fragile medium, no extant specimen of it ascribable to a date earlier than that of the Palas has so far been discovered in Eastern India.
There is, however, a story in the Vitashokavadana section of the Buddhist text, Divyavadana, indicating that painting was practised in Bengal as early as the third century BC.
According to it, the Nirgranthi-upasakas of Pundravardhana, a city in North Bengal, drew a painting showing Buddhdeva as prostrating before the feet of Nirgrantha (Gosala). For the audacious acts of the Ajivikas of the city, they were totally annihilated by Ashoka. Whatever may be the historical value of the narrative, it suggests the prevalence of the art of painting in Bengal even in the pre-Christian period. To be continue (1 of 6)

Gupta Coins The establishment of the Gupta Empire in the fourth century AD heralded a new era in the history of numismatics.

Gupta Coins The establishment of the Gupta Empire in the fourth century AD heralded a new era in the history of numismatics. The Gupta coinage started with a remarkable series in gold issued by Chandragupta I, the third ruler of the dynasty, who issued a single type- the king and queen - depicting the portraits of Chandragupta and his queen Kumaradevi with their names on the obverse and the goddess seated on a lion with the legend Lichchhavyah on the reverse. Though some specimens of this type have been discovered from the districts of 24-Parganas (North) and Burdwan, Bengal did not come under the Gupta rule till the time of Samudragupta, whose Allahabad inscription places samatata amongst the frontier kingdoms.
Of the seven types of gold coins issued by Samudragupta three viz. Standard, Archer and Ashvamedha are known to be from Bengal. The standard type discovered from Bangladesh, Midnapore, Burdwan, hughli and 24-Parganas (North) depict the standing king holding a standard and offering oblations on a fire-altar. The reverse show a goddess seated on a throne holding a cornucopia and the legend Parakramah. The Archer type, found from 24-Parganas (North), depicts the king standing, holding a bow and arrow with Samudra written under his left arm. The reverse is the same as on the standard type except the legend, which reads Apratirathah ie 'matchless warrior'. The Ashvamedha type, discovered in the Comilla district, shows an uncaparisoned horse in front of a sacrificial post with a flowing banner. The reverse shows a female (probably the chief queen) standing in front of an ornamental spear (suchi) with a flywhisk over her right shoulder and the legend shvamedhaparakramah. No specimens of the battle-axe, tiger-slayer, lyrist and Kacha types of Samudragupta are known from Bengal.
1-2, Samudragupta's Archer type coin, 3, 1st Kumaragupta'slion-slayer and 4, 2nd Chandragupta's archer type coin
Only two types of coins of Chandragupta II, who incorporated vanga in the Gupta Empire, are known from Bengal. His Archer type coins, which became the most popular type of coinage with the Gupta rulers after Kumaragupta I, have been found in Faridpur, Bogra, Jessore and Comilla districts of Bangladesh and Kalighat (Calcutta), Hughli, Burdwan, 24-Parganas (North) and Murshidabad of West Bengal. This type has two classes (one with an enthroned goddess and the other with a goddess seated on lotus on reverse) with several varieties. His Chhatra (Umbrella) type depicting a king offering incense on an altar while an attendant holds an umbrella over him on obverse and a goddess standing on lotus on reverse is known from the single specimen discovered from Hughli district. His Lion-slayer, Horseman, Couch, Standard, Chakravikrama and King and Queen on Couch types have not been found in Bengal.
Kumaragupta I, who issued as many as sixteen types of gold coins, is represented by Archer (Hughli), Horseman (Midnapore and Hughli), Elephant-rider (Hughli), Lion-slayer (Bogra, Hughli and Burdwan) and Karttikeya (Burdwan) types in Bengal. The Horseman type coins depict the king riding a caparisoned horse with weapons like a bow and a sword on the obverse and a goddess sitting on a wicker stool, sometimes feeding grapes to a peacock, on the reverse side. The Elephant-rider type shows a king riding on an elephant holding a goad. An attendant holding an umbrella sits behind him. Its reverse has a goddess standing on a lotus with the legend Mahendragajah. The Lion-slayer type has a king, armed with a bow and an arrow, either combating or trampling a lion on the obverse and a goddess seated on a couchant lion and the legend Sri-Mahendrasinghah on reverse. The most beautiful in the entire series is the Karttikeya (or Peacock) type depicting the king in tribhanga posture feeding a bunch of grapes to a peacock on the obverse and the god Karttikeya seated on a peacock and the legend Mahendrakumarah on reverse.
Two types-Archer (Faridpur, Bogra, Hughli, Burdwan) and King and Queen (Midnapore) - of the four known types of Skandagupta, have been found in Bengal. The latter depicts a king and a queen (identified as goddess Laksmi by some) standing facing each other on the obverse and a goddess seated on a lotus and the legend Sri Skandaguptah on the reverse. Archer type coins of Kumaragupta II (Kalighat, North and South 24-Parganas, Midnapore), Vainyagupta (Khaligha and Hughli) Narasinghagupta (Kalighat, Hughli, Murshidabad, Birbhum and Nadia), Kumaragupta III (Hughli and Burdwan) and Visnugupta (Kalighat, Hughli and 24-Parganas, North) have been found in Bengal. Most have metrical legends inscribed in chaste Sanskrit, highlighting the issuer's achievements on the obverse of the coins. A symbol in geometrical design is usually found on the reverse of Gupta coins and a large number bear a Garuda standard on the obverse.
The Guptas followed a complex metrology for their gold coins. Though they were generally believed to have followed the Kusana weight standard of 122 grains for their early coinage after the Roman aurei, and the Indian suvarna standard of 144 grains from the time of Skandagupta onwards, yet we find a gradual increase in their weight from about 112 in the time of Chandragupta 1 to 148 grains for the coins of the last rulers. It is to be noted that their pure gold content remained 113 grains throughout except for the coins of the last three rulers. It is possible that gold coins were not accepted at their face value but at their real value. The Gupta inscriptions use the terms, dinara and suvarna for them, apparently to distinguish the lighter and heavier types respectively.
Some silver coins of Chandragupta II, Kumaragupta I and Skandagupta were discovered at Muhammadpur near Jessore in 1852 and one coin of Skandagupta has been reported from chandraketugarh. Apart from these coins, no other specimens of silver coins are known from Bengal but reference to them in the Gupta epigraphs from Bengal definitely indicate their prevalence in the country. They were issued on the weight standard of 32 grains and referred to as rupaka in the inscriptions. No copper issues of the Guptas have been reported from Bengal. [Ashvini Agrawal]
Bibliography AS Altekar, The Coinage of the Gupta Empire, Varanasi, 1957; BN Mukherji, Coins and Currency System in Gupta Bengal, New Delhi, 1992.