Green Tara Dispensing Boons to Ecstatic Devotees: Folio from a Manuscript of the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom)

Mahavihara Master

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tara, a bodhisattva of compassion and protection, is shown dispensing boons to the surrounding devotees, as indicated by her lower hand held in varada mudra. From the tips of her fingers she drips nectar into the mouth of the hungry ghost (preta) who sits below, his belly swollen because of starvation. Unlike the male bodhisattvas in palm-leaf illuminations, she is presented in a dynamic twisting posture that emphasizes the volumes of her body and shows clear connections with the larger pan-Indian goddess traditions.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art