The Buddhist Savioress Tara of the Eight Dangers
Himachal Pradesh or Jammu and Kashmir
10th–11th century
Wood with pigments; gilt bronze ring on reverse
H. 17 3/4 x W. 8 5/8 in. (45.1 x 21.9 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of The Kronos Collections, 1994, 1994.488

The goddess Tara was a popular Buddhist savior deity in the Kashmir region. This eight-armed figure of Tara embodies compassion and signifies protection against the eight great dangers, known as the Ashtamahabhaya. Most of the eight dangers—including lions, snakes, water demons, thieves, shackles, elephants, and fire—that were originally depicted on the sides of this panel are now damaged. The elephants and fire are the only two that are still clearly visible. Recovered in Kashmir's neighboring state of Himachal Pradesh, this wooden sculptural relief demonstrates the powerful influence of the arts of Kashmir on its neighboring Buddhist kingdoms in the late tenth and eleventh centuries.