The Indian Buddhist Iconography
by Benoytosh Bhattachacharyya | 1958 | 51,392 words | ISBN-10: 8173053138 | ISBN-13: 9788173053139
This page contains an iconography image of Eight Dikpalas: Agni and represents figure 237 of the book Indian Buddhist Iconography, based on extracts of the Sadhanamala English translation. These plates and illustrations represent either photographs of sculptures or line-drawing reproductions of paintings or other representations of Buddhist artwork.
Figure 237 - Eight Dikpālas: Agni
Fig. 237: Agni
(Peiping)
The eight Dikpālas [viz., Agni] or the Lords of the Eight Quarters are described in the Dharmadhātuvāgīśvara-maṇḍala and other places in the Niṣpannayogāvalī. They are the Lords or rather the embodiments of the four principal directions and the four intermediate corners, and resemble the Yamāntaka group of deities of the Buddhists. Their forms are described below in the same order as they appear in the Dharmadhātuvāgīśvara-maṇḍala. Here only one typical form is given, although there are many more, even with their female counterparts.
Agni:
Colour: red;
Arms: two;
Vehicle: goat;
Direction: Agni.
The sixth in the series of direction gods is Agni the Lord of the Agni corner. His form is described thus: “"In the Agni corner there is Agni riding on a Goat. He is red in colour and holds in his two hands the Śruva (ladle) and the Kamaṇḍalu (water bowl)”.
As Agnideva his forms occur twice in the Chinese collection. Fig, 237 illustrates one of the two statuettes from Peiping.