Buddhist Sculpture

The study of Buddhist statue and art from the relics and monuments in Orissa points to the gradual transformation of the Mahayana form of Buddhism into the Vajrayana form of Buddhism by the heart of the ninth century A.D. The huge number of Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhist images and figurines found in Orissa suggest that this form of Buddhism found a fertile growing ground in Orissa. King Indrabhuti and his sister Lakshminkara of Uddiyana were great exponents of this form of Buddhism. Uddiyan of ancient India has been identified with Orissa. The introduction of Tantric form of worship in the Mahayana Buddhism ushered in a new stage in the growth of the history of Buddhism in Orissa, which attained its pinnacle of glory during the Bhauma-Kara regime. Apart from the Buddha figures, the other important feature of Buddhist plastic art in Orissa is the representation of Boddhisattva Avalokiteswara in his different forms such as Padmapani, Lokeswara, Vajrapani etc. We also find sculptures of Tara, Manjusri, Amoghasiddhi etc. in this period. A Lokeswara image found at Bhubaneswar, Amoghasiddhi from G.Udaygiri near Phulbani, Buddha in Bhumi-sparsa mudra from Khadipada, and Avalokiteswara Padmapani in standing pose from Khadipada are displayed at the Orissa State Museum in Bhubaneswar. Most of these Buddhist sculptures are very big in dimension. The museum at Lalitgiri conserve colossal Boddhisattva figures in it. Many more such figures are located at nearby Udayagiri and Ratnagiri.