Art Institute of Chicago

Goddess Hariti Seated Holding a Child

Pakistan

Date

2nd/3rd century

Medium

Gray schist

Culture

Gandhara

Department

Arts of Asia

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Originally a child-devouring demoness, Hariti ultimately became a benevolent protector of children after the Buddha kidnapped one of her own to demonstrate the distress she had been inflicting upon other parents. Hariti, who herself had hundreds of children, is here shown with one child in her lap tugging on her necklace, another tapping her left shoulder, and a third clinging to her skirt by her left knee. As a Buddhist goddess, she was propitiated by female devotees for fertility and healthy childbirth. Hariti was also venerated as a protector of the monastic community at large, and shrines housing her image were typically located near a monastery’s entrance or refectory. She was especially popular in the Gandharan region, where Greco-Roman stylistic conventions were salient in the fabrication of sculptures.

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