Standing Deity Black stone Eastern India, Pala Period

The portly figure standing on a lotus pedestal, clad in a short striped dhoti, holding a lotus flower in his left hand and a bud in the palm of his pendent right hand. He is flanked by attendants and vidyadharas set within clouds above.

Potbellied figures often appear in Pala sculpture as either Vamana, Manjusri or Mahakala, identifiable by their attributes. A precise identification is not possible here, although the sculpture may be compared with a deity in the Rajshahi Museum, published in N. G. Majumdar, "A Note on the Additions to the Museum," Annual Report of the Varendra Research Museum for 1925-26, Rajshahi, pl. II.6, and variously identified as 'Batuka Bhairava' by Haque and 'Bodhisattva' by Rahman.