________________
figures and possessing 4 to 8 arms, either seated in lalitāsana or standing in tribhanga, bear various attributes with their respective vāhanas. On the basis of the iconographical characteristics, identification of some of the figures with Acchuptā, Vairotyä, Gāndhāri, Mahāmānasi, Gauri, Apraticakrā and Purusadattā Mahāvidyās is possible. So far as the collective rendering of the 16 Mahāvidyās is concerned, only a few examples are so far known. These examples are in the Sāntinātha temple at Kumbhāriä (Banaskantha, Gujarat: ceiling: A.D. 1077), and the Vimala Vasahi (two sets, one in the rangamandapa ceiling: C. A.D. 1150, and the other in the corridor ceiling of cell No. 41: C. A.D. 1185), Lūna Vasahi (rangamandapa ceiling, A.D. 1230) and the Kharatara Vasahi (two sets, c. A.D. 1459) in Delvādā at Mt. Abú (Rajasthan).
Ambika 15
