India
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Location: East Bengal
Date range: Pala Dynasty. The statue on the right has been dated between 1001 to 1100.
Size: The statue on the right is 112 cm, 44 in.
There is at least 1 other similar stone scrulpture being found. The above 2 scrulptures are excellent specimens of Bengal artistic style.
On top are the 5 Dyani Buddhas with Buddha Amoghasiddhi at the center which associates Parnashavari with the Karma (Action) Family. She is semi-wrathful with 3 faces and 6 arms. Here, her main face is showing an angry laugh with hair raising, and wears an array of jewelled ornaments as her crown, earrings, necklaces around her neck and belly, as well as on her arms, wrists and ankles. As a healing deity, she is especially invoked for the handling of epidemics and her healing qualities are depicted by her skirt of leaves and the branches of leaves holding in her top right hand. Waving in the air is her other left hand holding a vajra. Her second pair holds an arrow and bow. The lower right hand holds a Paraśu (axe) and the last left hand at the heart area is displaying the mudra of Tarjanīpāśa (threatening gesture). She trambles on 2 figures representing diseases and pandemics in human form, and on the left stone image, small circulars marks can be seen on the body possibly illustrating small pox.
To the lower right and left are two local popular divinities: Hayagrīva, the Hindu god of Fever, and Sītalā, the Hindu goddess of small-pox.
Location: Odisha
Date range: 901 to 1000.
This stone scrulpture is originally from Odisha which is situated next to West Bengal and is dated to be 1 to 2 centuries earlier than the above 2 stone sculptures.
This is a rare 3 heads 6 arms Parnashavari in a seated Ardha Padmasana or half lotus position on a lotus throne.
Her 6 hands should be holding a vajra, a bunch of leaves, an arrow, a bow, an axe with her left hand making the threatening gesture.
Tibet
Lineage: Drikung Kagyu
This thangka is painted according to the sadhana of Drikung Kagyu tradition.
The central figure is the Golden-colored Parnashavari (Loma Gyonma in Tibetan) wearing a robe of leaves and sits on a lotus seat midst of masses of fire with her right leg drawn in and left lef outstreched. She has 3 faces with her main face in yellow, her right face blue, and her left face white. She has 6 arms. The top 2 arms are holding a bow and arrow, the next 2 arms are holding a battle ax and a bundle of branches, and the last 2 arms are holding a vajra and a lasso.
She is headed by Buddha Amoghasiddhi of the Karma Family depicted at the top center of the thangka. On the left is 4-armed Avalokiteshvara and Vajrasattva is on the right.
The 2 Drikung figures on top have been identified as the current 2 throneholders: the 36th Drikung Kyabgon Chuntsang Rinpoche and the 37th Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang Rinpoche.
At the bottom are the 2 protectors who are especially important in the Drikung school, the 4-armed Mahakala on the left and and Achi Chokyi Drolma on the right.
Date range: 1800 to 1899.
The central deity, Loma Gyonma, has 3 faces and 6 arms, with the hair tied with a snake in a topknot on the crown of her head. Her main face is slightly wrathful with three eyes, with a lustrous red face on the left and a semi peaceful [white] face on the right. Her main pair of hands hold a gold vajra and a vajra lasso at the heart level. In the second pair raised up high is a vajra axe and a bow, with the lower pair of hands holding an arrow and a bunch of leaves. Adorned with gold and jewel ornaments on her body such as around her neck, belly, wrists, arms, ankles and so forth. Her skirt of green leaves is one of her key identification traits. She sits with bended knees with her left knee on the sun disc and lotus seat with her left knee.
At the top center is a blue Buddha (possibly Buddha Akshobhya although his usual Vajra attribute is not depicted here but Parnashavari is known to asscoate with this Buddha in some sadhana practices). At the left is the Four-armed Avalokiteshvara and White Tara is seated at the right.
At the lower center, Jeff Watt identified the 3-Faced 6-Armed figure as the wrathful Hindu goddess Chandika (also known as Chandi). At the bottom left is the 2-Armed Achala standing on Vignayaraja with an elephant head according to the Nartang Gyatsa. At the bottom right side is the wrathful Lion-Faced Dakini, Simhamukha