Chandragomin (circa 600-650) was a Buddhist practitioner and lay scholar who lived in eastern Bengal. Tibetan sources record that he engaged in a renowned years-long theological debate with the revered scholar Chandrakirti (circa 600-670) at Nalanda Monastic University in Bihar. Chandragomin was a devotee of the Buddhist goddess of compassion, Tara, who according to legend created an island in the Ganges River to save him from drowning. Chandragomin is nimbate and has a shorn head, elongated earlobes, and a sectarian marking on his forehead. He wears a loincloth rather than a monk’s robe, and the Brahmanical sacred thread (yajnopavita) worn over his left shoulder. He is enthroned on a double lotus pedestal and sits in the "posture of perfection" (siddha asana) often used for teachers, with his right knee supported by a meditation band (yoga banda). His right hand is now missing, but may have originally held a rosary. At the apex of the sculpture is a now-damaged figure of the goddess Tara. Flanking her at the corners of the stele are two meditating ascetics with long hair who may be mahasiddhas. The one on the left sits under a tree, while the other on the right is seated in a mountain cave. Diminutive donor figures kneel on either side of the lotus base. The one on the left is male and holds his hands in the gesture of adoration (anjali mudra). The one on the right is female and holds her long ponytail in her hands. The dedicatory inscription in corrupt Sanskrit on the base reads, This image is the gift of a lady called Alasi. (Translation by Gouriswar Bhattacharya.)