FDC No. 6
Issued by: Indian Post & Telegraphs 23 March 1982
First Day Cover Illustration: A part of Stupa railing in red stone from Bharhut belonging to middle of 2nd century B.C: Sunga period.
Bharhut or Barhut is a location in Satna district in Madhya Pradesh, Central India, known for its famous Buddhist stupa. The Bharhut stupa may have been established by the Maurya king Asoka in the 3rd century BCE, but many works of art were apparently added during the Sunga period, with many friezes from the 2nd century BCE.
Read more
A relief from Barhut.
Yakshi reliefs. Bharhut, 2nd century BCE.
A yakshini is the female counterpart of the male yaksha, and they both attend on Kubera (also called Kuber), the Hindu god of wealth who rules in the mythical Himalayan kingdom of Alaka. They both look after treasure hidden in the earth and resemble that of fairies. Yakshinis are often depicted as beautiful and voluptuous, with wide hips, narrow waists, broad shoulders, and exaggerated, spherical breasts. In the Uddamareshvara Tantra, thirty-six yakshinis are described, including their mantras and ritual prescriptions. A similar list of yakshas and yakshinis is given in the Tantraraja Tantra, where it says that these beings are givers of whatever is desired. Although Yakshinis are usually benevolent, there are also yakshinis with malevolent characteristics in Indian folklore.
Read more
Information and Image Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
