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Peripheral Female Goddesses associated with Buddhist worship

Description: This text explains the functional roles that many peripheral gods and goddesses held in the Buddhist system of worship. Many peripheral gods and goddesses held positions of veneration or occupied certain functional roles within Buddhism. This phenomenon is noticed in the earliest Buddhist sculpture in India, at Bharhut, Sanchi and later at Amaravati. Supernatural beings provided models for Sri Lankan sculptors and they adorn these temples in both a protective and a devotional capacity.
Contributor: Co-Author: Seneviratna, Harsha