Name: Tanmay Sen
Country: India

Year: 2025
Volume: Volume-12, Issue-2 (July-December)
Page Number: 114-120
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17164750

ABSTRACT
This paper analyses from the perspective of Fine Arts how the sculptures of the terracotta
temples of Bishnupur region of Bankura district of West Bengal reflect diverse aspects of
folk life beyond religious depictions. In addition to gods and goddesses, the Malla dynasty
temples of Bishnupur also depict agriculture, dance and music, politics, hunting and general
public life. Through these scenes, the temples are considered not only places of worship, but
also as a moving social and cultural document. The article analyzes the patterns of terracotta
panels from temples like Jor Bangla, Shyam Rai, Madan Mohan and Rasmancha, where the
daily lives of farmers, musicians, soldiers, kings and subjects are depicted with imagination
and artistic technique. The similarities and differences between the terracotta art of Bishnupur
and the depiction of daily life in Ajanta cave paintings and Mughal miniatures are also
discussed. This article proves that folk culture and social reality are an important part of
temple-based pictorial language. Through sculpture, artists have not only highlighted
religion, but also the underlying form and rhythm of life. From this perspective, the terracotta
art of Bishnupur is not only a symbol of religious practice, but also a historical and aesthetic
socio-pictorial.
Keywords: 1. Bishnupur Temple Sculpture 2. Terracotta art 3. Folk life and culture 4. Social
history of Bishnupur 5. Visual documentation and art theory