Unknown
The Buddhist Goddess Hariti with Her Childrencirca 1st century BCE

Not on view

Dark gray stone sculpture of a standing robed figure seen from behind, with a coiled headdress and a small carved figure held at shoulder height

Gray stone sculpture of a standing figure adorned with beaded necklaces and draped lower garment with carved folds; smaller attendant figures appear at the shoulder, waist, and base.

Gray schist sculpture of a standing figure with elaborate headdress, beaded necklace, and draped lower garment, holding a small figure at the chest with another perched on the shoulder; smaller attendant figures carved at the base and lower sides.

Gray schist sculpture of a standing deity figure with coiled hair, beaded necklace, and ornamental jewelry, holding a small figure in cupped hands at the torso, with a second small figure seated at the left shoulder.

Gray schist sculpture, partial view of a standing figure in draped garments with carved parallel folds, wearing bangles; a cluster of fruit and two smaller attendant figures at lower left, a seated figure in meditation at lower right.

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: The Buddhist Goddess Hariti with Her Children
Place Made: Pakistan, Swat Valley, Butkara I area, Gandhara region
Date Made: circa 1st century BCE
Medium: Foliated gray phyllite
Dimensions: 43 1/2 x 14 x 6 in. (110.49 x 35.56 x 15.24 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Lenart
Accession Number: M.78.105
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: Hariti was an ogress and queen of the demigods (yakshas) who lived in Rajagriha (modern Rajgir), Bihar when the Buddha also resided there (see also M.73.4.6 and M.83.66). Although she was a loving mother with hundreds of children herself, she abducted and devoured many of the local children. Their parents tried to propitiate her with offerings to no avail, so they appealed to the Buddha to save their children. To teach her the lesson of the pain she was causing the children’s parents, the Buddha hid her youngest son Pingala (or in some myths, her youngest daughter Priyankara) under his begging bowl. After frantically searching everywhere for her missing child, the Buddha asked her to imagine the suffering of the mothers of single children whom she had kidnapped. Hariti then converted to Buddhism, her child was returned, and thenceforth she became the revered protectress of children and women in childbirth. Hariti’s conversion reflects the absorption of fertility and spirit cults into mainstream Buddhism.

Hariti stands stiffly erect along with four of her children. She wears her hair in a bun tied with a garland. Her long locks fall to her shoulders and a long ponytail hangs down her roughly finished back. One of her children suckles at her bare breast, a boy perches on her left shoulder, and two more boys are by her right foot attempting to reach the grape bunch she dangles in her right hand. A seated figure between her feet likely represents the Buddha.
Selected Bibliography: Little, Stephen, Tushara Bindu Gude, Karina Romero Blanco, Silvia Seligson, Marco Antonio Karam. Las Huellas de Buda. Ciudad de México : Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 2018.
Little, Stephen, and Tushara Bindu Gude. Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art across Asia. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2025.

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