Bihar: Maitreya Bodhisattva and Attendants

INDIA, Bihar

This statue was unearthed in Bihar and is dated to around the 10th century during the Pala period (circa 8th–12th century). Maitreya Bodhisattva stands in the tribhanga posture on a lotus pedestal. The nimbus consists of a floral garland. A stole flows down from the left shoulder together with a long sacred thread. The body is adorned with a heavy necklace, large armlets, bracelets, and an intricate belt. A diaphanous dhoti with a circular design covers the lower part of the body. The right hand forms the varada (wish-granting) mudra and there is a Dharma wheel on the palm. The left hand is missing but it is believed that it once held a dragon flower. Characteristics such as the high topknot with a headdress featuring a stupa and the presence of a dragon flower are unique to the Pala period.
Two smaller figures of four-armed heavenly beings flank Maitreya. They wear different types of headdresses and garments, and their tribhanga postures are more exaggerated.