The Eight Great Bodhisattvas (ashtamahabodhisattvas)

Description

Both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism paid great attention to the Bodhisattvas. Envisioned as saviours of sentient beings, the Bodhisattvas sacrificed their own salvation and the immediate goal of nirvana to help those in need. In this sculptural depiction from the Pala period, all the eight Bodhisattvas (ashtamahabodhisattva) appear alike, in the same posture. They all are dressed in princely attire and decked with ornaments, and their hair is drawn up in the form of a tall conical crown. At the center, Buddha is shown seated in an earth-touching pose (bhumisparsha mudra), covering only one shoulder (ekansika sanghati) with his robe.