A KaNNaki-Pattini icon (around 700 AD) from Abhayagiri vihAra

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A KaNNaki-Pattini icon (around 700 AD) from Abhayagiri vihAra

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An early bronze, excavated from the Abhayagiri Buddha vihAra,

is most likely a KaNNaki-Pattini icon. This icon is about

13 centuries old, and hence one of the earliest KaNNaki-Pattini

statues ever found. Given the interactions between the

Lankan king, Maanavamma and successors, and the Pallava court

at Kanchipuram in 7th and 8th centuries, it's likely that

this icon of Pattini was made then. A tentative identification

of the bronze as Ardhanaarii'svara does not hold good upon

close examination.

 

A brief note identifying the KaNNaki-Pattini image from

the ancient Abhayagiri vihaaram is at:

http://home.houston.rr.com/speri/ganesan/kannagi.html

 

Any comments welcome,

N. Ganesan