Author Affiliation: National Museum of Oriental Art "Giuseppe Tucci", Italy.
摘要
In the reliefs of Gandhãra, Vajrapãni, the enigmatic Buddha's companion, displays a vajra of original form, departing from the customary thunderbolt stylisations of the Near-Eastern, classical and Indian worlds. It takes the form of two truncated pyramids on quadrangular, hexagonal, octagonal or polygonal base, joined at the smaller ends. Basically, it suggests the shape of an hourglass. We think that examining the significance and values expressed by this "hourglass vajra " may offer a key for interpretation intrinsic to the Vajrapãni figure itself.
In this study we will make a searching investigation of the topic, attempting to clarify in the light of the Vedic, Brahmanical and Buddhist texts and on the basis of comparison of the figurative and literary evidence the origins and functions of this vajra typology, a symbol typical of Gandhãran iconography but not, as we shall see, exclusively Gandhãran.
目次
Vajra: yūpa, axis mundi, omphalos 108 A few preliminary considerations 108 Literary investigation 109 The "bone vajra " and fire symbolism 115 Conclusions 120 Bibliography 122 Primary sources 122 Secondary sources 123 Abbreviations 126
