Portrait of Dharmakirti

Dharmakirti, believed to have lived in the sixth or seventh century CE, was a teacher and philosopher of Indian Buddhism. He is well-known for his masterwork, the Pramanavarttika (Commentary on Epistemology), and as a foundational thinker of the epistemological school of Buddhist thought. His teachings were foundational to the development of Mahayana Buddhism in Central Asia. This miniature portrait sculpture would be set out on occasions when his work was being read, and his image serves to check that it is being understood correctly.