Pala school of art
Also called: Eastern Indian school of sculpture · Topic: Early Medieval North India: Harsha to the Rajputs · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Pala school of art was the art style of Bengal and Bihar under the Pala kings (c. 8th–12th centuries). It included sculptures carved in polished black stone and cast in bronze. It also included small paintings on palm-leaf manuscripts. The art showed both Buddhist and Hindu gods. The Palas were great patrons of Mahayana Buddhism, and monks and traders carried this style to Nepal, Tibet and Southeast Asia.
Example
Bronze images of the Buddha and of Buddhist goddesses such as Tara were made at Nalanda and Kurkihar in Bihar. Palm-leaf copies of the Buddhist text Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita were painted with small, bright images of deities.
Related concepts
- Tripartite struggle
- Matsyanyaya
- Gopala
- Pala dynasty
- Dharmapala
- Devapala
- Vikramashila
- Odantapuri
- Somapura Mahavihara
- Atisha Dipankara