Nepal, various female deities (10)

Circa 10th century, Nepal, Sarasvati, copper with traces of gilding, 14,1 cm, photo: courtesy of Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet Volume One, Visual Dharma Publications, Hong Kong, p. 483 pl. 152D, Potala Collection, Sa gsum lha khang inventory nº 434, Lhasa (Tibet).

The goddess of the Arts and Speech in her one-head and four-arm form, standing, holding a rosary in her upper right hand, a grain in the lower one, a manuscript in the upper left hand, a water pot in the lower one. We saw a similar statue on Art Institute of Chicago

10th-11th century, Nepal, Chunda, copper with traces of gilding, 16 cm, photo as before (p. 487 pl. 154G), Potala Collection, inventory nº 815 at the Lima Lhakhang, Lhasa (Tibet).

Chunda’s most common form has one head and four hands, in which she holds a variety of implements. When her main hands hold a vase or a bowl, the upper right hand holds a rosary and the left one clutches a book, as above.

Circa 10th century, Nepal, attendant deity, copper, 13,4 cm, Buddhist or Brahmanical, photo as before (p. 482, pl. 152 A), Potala Collection, inventory nº 1321 at the Lima Lhakhang, Lhasa (Tibet).

Pala India, Chunda (2)

9th-10th century, Northeastern India, Chunda, brass, cold gold, pigment, 13,7 cm, photo: courtesy of Ulrich von Schroeder (Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Volume One, Visual Dharma Publications, Hong Kong, p. 231, pl. 68E), Potala Collection, inventory nº 533 at the Lima Lakhang in Lhasa (Tibet).

A four-arm female deity seated with her legs locked, her lower right hand in the gesture of supreme generosity and displaying a jewel, the upper one clutching a rosary; the upper left hand holds a book placed on a lotus (which identifies her as Chunda), the lower one is cupped to hold a stemless flower.

Pala India, Chunda

Sometimes confused with Prajnaparamita, who has one head and 2 or 4 arms, Chunda (also spelled Cunda, with a diacratic not available here) has one head and 2, 16, or 18 arms or three heads and 26 arms (on paintings). See more on HAR .

Early 8th century, Northeastern India, Chunda, stone, photo from the article The Buddhist Deity Vajrapani by Gouriswar Bhattacharya on academia.edu, at the National Museum in New Delhi (India).

Chunda in her four-arm form, seated in the vajra position, her lower right hand extended in the boon-granting gesture and holding a small jewel between thumb and forefinger, the other holding a bowl. In her upper right hand she has a rosary, in the upper left one she clutches a lotus topped with a book.

8th-9th century, Northeastern India, Cunda, bronze, 14 cm, photo nº 2291 on VMIS , inventory nº 8367 at the Patna Museum (India).

The same entity in her 18-arm form, her main hands making the ‘turning the wheel of dharma‘ gesture, one of her right hands is raised in the fear-allaying gesture, another is lowered in the gesture of supreme generosity, the remaining hands hold peaceful and wrathful implements. She has a third eye on her forehead.

12th century, Northeastern India, Cunda, sandstone, 35 cm, photo by D.P. Nanda on VMIS, inventory nº 10550 at the Patna Museum (India).

9th century, India, Bihar, Nalanda, Chunda, bronze, photo on arts and culture, at the National Museum in New Delhi (India).

Nepal, Chunda (2)

10th-11th century, Nepal, Chunda, copper, cold gold, pigment, 14,8 cm, photo: courtesy of Ulrich von Schroeder (Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Volume One, Visual Dharma Publications, Hong Kong, p. 484, pl. 153A), Potala Collection, inventory nº 404 at the Lima Lakhang in Lhasa (Tibet).

A rare and early Nepalese example of the eighteen-arm form of this deity (see more on HAR ), in the same style as the four-arm form seen in the previous post. Her main right hand makes the fear-allaying gesture, the left one holds a large alms bowl. Her other right hands hold a variety of implements such as a rosary, a vajra sceptre, possibly a hammer, an elephant goad, a jewel, a small sword, the last hand makes the gesture of supreme generosity. On the other side she holds a manuscript, a water pot, two items difficult to identify, a conch shell, a noose, a closed lotus, a ritual water pot.

Nepal, Chunda

11th century, Nepal, Cunda, copper with remains of gilding, cold gold, pigment, 19,8 cm, photo: courtesy of Ulrich von Schroeder (Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Volume One, Visual Dharma Publications, Hong Kong, p. 484, pl. 153A), Potala Collection, inventory nº 404 at the Lima Lakhang in Lhasa (Tibet).

The embodiment of a mantra, Cunda/Chunda (the correct spelling includes a diacratic, not available here) is usually depicted with one head and four arms, although in Nepal she may have one head and sixteen or eighteen arms. In her four-arm form she holds a variety of attributes such as a rosary and a manuscript in her upper hands and a bowl in the lower ones, or a club and a flower in her upper hands, a knife and a staff in the lower ones, or a vajra sceptre and a manuscript in the upper ones, a rosary and a vessel in the lower ones. The above has a rosary and a manuscript in her upper hands, a large bowl in the lower left one, the lower right hand makes the gesture of supreme generosity and displays a jewel.

Tibet, various female deities (10)

Circa 1386, Tibet, Densatil, Dhvajagrakeyura, gilt copper alloy, private collection, photo after Sotheby’s in an article on Densatil by Jean-Luc Estournel (Fig. 165).

We are told in the above article that this eight-arm deity, thought to be Dhvajagrakeyura (see on wisdomlib and HAR ) has four heads. She holds a broken attribute, a bow, a jewelled lotus, the hilt of a (broken) sword in her right hands, an arrow, another broken object, a (partly broken) lasso, and a vajra-tipped implement? in her left hands.

 

Circa 1360, Tibet, Densatil, possibly Chunda, gilt copper alloy, photo from the same article by Jean-Luc Estournel (Fig. 69), at the Capital Museum in Beijing (China).

Chunda, the embodiment of a mantra, has one head and four arms (or 16 to 18 on paintings). In the Himalayas she may hold a rosary and a book in her upper hands and a vase in the main ones, or a club, a lotus, a knife, staff, or a vajra sceptre, a book, a rosary, a bowl. The above holds a lotus and a triple gem on a lotus in her upper hands, a vajra sceptre pointing to her heart in her lower right hand, the left one makes a gesture to bestow refuge. She has a third eye and is adorned with a crown and princely jewellery. We saw a similar deity from Densatil labelled ‘Chunda’ (Fig. 26) in the same article but ‘Pancha Raksha’ on HAR (where she is dated 1500-1599).

Circa 1370, Tibet, Densatil, possibly Chunda, gilt copper alloy, photo on HAR, Fig. 104 in the above article, at the Tibet Museum in Lhasa.

A similar character with a vajra sceptre pointing to her heart and a rosary in her lower hands, the stem of a (broken) lotus and a triple gem on a lotus in her upper ones.