The Buddhist goddess Hariti, comparable to the brahmanical Sitala, has a dramatic life story with many ups and downs. Born to a Yakhsa king, married into another important yaksha family, she turns into a child-eating ogress. Ultimately she is converted by Sakyamuni Buddha himself and attains arhatship. Riding on the Buddhist wave, she becomes a cult figure and travels to Central Asia, Nepal, Tibet, China, Java, and Japan.
This book, researched by Madhurika Maheshwari, has more than 160 photographs and line drawings of Hariti’s images from different parts of the world.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Madhurika K. Maheshwari
Madhurika K. Maheshwari, a 1962 Arts Graduate from Calcutta University, specialised in Hindi. She followed up with a Visharada degree in Hindi from Allahabad University. Her command over the language was put to good use when she began to adept and translate English plays into Hindi- what’s more these plays were staged successfully all over India. Married to internationally-Known numismatist Dr. K.K. Maheshwari, Madhurika continued to nurture her interest in history and even more so, mythology, even as she was occupied as housewife and mother. While her first publication is centred on the Buddhist Goddess Hariti, she has already begun work on the second: a companion volume on Hariti’s consort, Kubera.
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