The oldest Representation of the Sakta Cult in Bengal Art
Summary
The article investigates what may be the earliest representation of the Śākta cult in Bengal art—a terracotta plaque from Paharpur that depicts a man seated on a cushion, gripping his top‑knot with one hand and pressing a sword across his own neck as if about to cut off his head. Rao Bahadur K. N. Dikshit had initially suggested that this scene represented the Buddha cutting his hair before renouncing the world, but the author argues that it actually illustrates the extreme devotional act of offering one’s head to the goddess. The author compares the plaque with a series of Pallava and early Chola sculptures identified by Dr. J. Ph. Vogel that show a male figure kneeling beside a four‑armed goddess Durga and cutting his own head. These sculptures, from sites such as Mamallapuram, Trichinopoly and Pullamangai, depict devotees seizing a tuft of hair with one hand while wielding a sword with the other. The author notes that the Paharpur plaque lacks the goddess figure and shows the devotee seated rather than kneeling, suggesting that it may have been intended as a decorative design rather than a cult object. A similar motif appears on a terra‑cotta panel from Mathura Museum, where a bearded monk cuts his own throat. The article surveys textual references to head‑offering rituals in the Rāmāyaṇa and Purāṇic literature, citing the story of Rāvaṇa’s austerities and other legends in which devotees sever their heads in honour of the goddess. The practice is also attested in Tamil literature and Tantric nibandhas. By assembling sculptural and textual evidence, the author argues that the Paharpur plaque represents a votary performing the extreme rite of offering his own head to the goddess, making it perhaps the oldest known representation of the Śākta cult in Bengal art. The article thus illuminates the diffusion of self‑sacrifice motifs across South Indian and Bengali art and suggests that Tantric practices associated with goddess worship were more widespread than previously thought.
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Conclusion
The article concludes that the Paharpur plaque does not depict the Buddha cutting his hair but rather a devotee performing the head‑offering ritual to the goddess. By comparing it with Pallava and Chola sculptures and referencing literary texts, the author demonstrates that the motif of self‑decapitation was integral to early Śākta worship. The plaque therefore represents the earliest known evidence of such rites in Bengal art. This finding broadens our understanding of Tantric practices, showing that extreme forms of devotion, including self‑sacrifice, were not confined to southern India but were shared across regional artistic traditions.