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From the study of the Buddhist sculptures of Orissa
it is evident, that the 'Mahayana' doctrine gradually transformed itself
into 'Vajrayana' about the middle of the ninth century A.D. and the
overwhelming number of 'Vajrayana' images would point out that Vajrayana
found a most fertile soil in ancient Orissa. King 'Indrabhuti' and his
sister 'Lakshminakara' of 'Uddiyana', identified with Orissa, were great
exponents of Vajrayana, also called "Tantric-Buddhism".
Tantric-Buddhism
The introduction of Tantric form of worship in the Mahayana Buddhism
ushered in a new stage in the development of the history of Buddhism in
Orissa, which attained its pinnacle of glory during the "Bhauma-Kara"
regime.
Apart from Buddha figures the other important feature of Buddhist plastic
art in Orissa is the representation of "Boddhisattva Avalokitesvara"
in his different varieties such as 'Padmapani', 'Lokesvara', 'Vajrapani',
'Tara', 'Manjusri', 'Amoghasiddhi' etc. in this period.
A
Lokesvara image found at
Bhubaneswar
, Amoghasiddhi from G. Udaigiri of Phulbani
district, Buddha in "Bhumi-Sparsamudra" from 'Khadipada' and "Avalokitesvara
Padmapani" in standing pose from Khadipada are displayed in the
Orissa
State Museum at Bhubaneswar. Most of these Buddhist sculptures are
very big in dimensions. The museum at Lalitagiri preserves colossal
Boddhisattva figures inside it. Many more such figures are located at
nearby Udaigiri
and Ratnagiri.
VAJRAYANA SCULPTURES
From epigraphical sources it is known that
Buddhism
was popular until the end of the 'Somavamsi' rule in Orissa.
From these sources it is also known that "Ratnagiri Mahavihara"
was a great centre of Buddhism. To support this there are a large number
of Vajrayana sculptures at Ratnagiri. These are different forms of
'Avalokitesvara', 'Manjusri', 'Heruka', 'Jambhala', 'Kurukulla',
'Mahakala', 'Vajrasattva', 'Aparchana', 'Vajrapani', 'Tara', 'Aparajita',
'Marichi', 'Arya Sarasvati', 'Vajra Tara' etc.
Other important Buddhist sculptures deserving mention are the Tara
sculpture of Solampur, the three 'Vajrasattva' figures along with a Buddha
image from Haripur, 'Prajnaparamita' from 'Banesvaranasi', Tara image at
Banapur, a 'Maitreya' image at Natara near Kendupatna, Avalokitesvara
Padmapani and 'Yamantaka' images at Kuruma, Marichi and Vajravarahi at
Ayodhya, Buddha from Khiching and Buddha figures of Ganiapalli.
Development In Buddhist Art
It is also interesting to note here that the back slab of a Buddha image
at Solampur contains the story of Buddha, from his life to nirvana. The
excavation at Ratnagiri revealed the fact that Buddhist art in Orissa
developed from about the 5th century A.D. and continued up to the 12th
century A.D. In fact Buddhist sculptural art was one of the main
constituents of medieval Orissan sculptural art.