Ellora Cave 8: Mahamayuri
Stone
Ellora Cave 8: Mahamayuri
INDIA, Maharashtra, Aurangabad
This figure is found along the wall of the right corridor of the main hall on the upper story of Cave 8. Mahamayuri stands barefoot on a double lotus pedestal. Her head is framed by a nimbus and adorned with a tall headdress. The figure has a shapely body and wears a long, diaphanous skirt twisted in a spiral pattern between the legs. Her body is adorned with necklaces, armlets, and earrings. She holds peacock feathers in her right hand and a fruit in her left.
Two apsaras hover above Mahamayuri. An attendant and a peacock flank her sides. The attendant is oriented to the viewer, whereas the peacock is turned towards Mahamayuri. A disciple holding an object is seated in the left corner. This image of Mahamayuri, along with the one found in Cave 6, are rare sculptural representations of the deity.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves A-E, page 343.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Johnson, Peter and Mankuang and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Caves A-E},
pages = 343,
title = {{Ellora Cave 8: Mahamayuri}},
volume = 5,
year = {2016}}