Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T07:05:27.505Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

9 - Imagery, Ritual, and Ideology: Examining the Mahāvihāra at Ratnagiri

from II - ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND MATERIAL CULTURE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2017

Natasha Reichle
Affiliation:
the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Get access

Summary

THE MAIN MONASTERY OF RATNAGIRI in Odisha (formerly known as Orissa) was built over a period of several centuries to fit the needs of a changing Buddhist community. Unlike the structure of a Hindu temple with power radiating outward from the sacred centre, the plan of the Mahāvihāra of Ratnagiri features a central axis leading through the monastery to the rear shrine. This axis is deliberately broken up by a series of portals or façades which serve both as demarcations of sacred space and as markers of developing theologies. At least two stages of construction of the monastery are evident, and while some of the underlying modifications were for purely structural purposes, transformations in religious ideology and ritual practice are reflected in changes in architecture and iconography. The imagery used in earlier stages of building suggests links to long-standing traditions in India, including worship of deities associated with nature, like the river goddess Yamunā, as well as figures connected with notions of wealth and fertility, like Pāñcika and Hārītī. The Mahāyāna roots of the monastery are evident in the frequent depictions of Bodhisattvas, especially paired images of Avalokiteśvara and Vajrapāṇi, who can be seen as role models for the monastic community. Evidence from later parts of the monastery demonstrates the relevance of a wider range of deities, as well as what seems to be an increasing interest in Tantric Buddhist practices. Aspects of iconography found at Ratnagiri are also seen at temple sites in Java and Sumatra and may reflect similarities in the development of religious practices across maritime Southeast Asia. Beginning with an overview of connections between ancient Odisha and Southeast Asia and a summary of past scholarship on the site of Ratnagiri, this chapter will then look closely at the monastery itself. In particular it will explore how the development of religious practices is mirrored in the architectural framework of the monastery and, when applicable, in Buddhist sites in island Southeast Asia.

ODISHA AND MARITIME SOUTHEAST ASIA

The ancient region of Kaliṇga (which encompassed much of Odisha, northern regions of Andhra Pradesh, and parts of Madhya Pradesh) is perhaps best known for its conquest by the Mauryan emperor Aśoka in the 3rd century BC.

Type
Chapter
Information
Esoteric Buddhism in Mediaeval Maritime Asia
Networks of Masters, Texts, Icons
, pp. 211 - 236
Publisher: ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
Print publication year: 2016

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×