Question

What do terracotta plaques on the walls of the temples and viharas depict?

Answer 1

Hint: The material fashion of Bengali Hindu temple design is one of a kind and closely related to the paddy roofed conventional building fashion of rustic Bengal.

Complete answer: The use of clay is quite prominent since the prehistoric times, which is used to add longevity to buildings or objects constructed. The terracotta or baked clay was widely used for architectural purposes especially in West Bengal because it lacks stone and is covered with alluvium therefore Terracotta Sculpture and Mural are extensively used in building temples. The use of terracotta began in the ancient times when the daily utensils or other objects like Jars, seals and toys were made from it and later around the 15th century was used for constructing temples.
Terracotta (Earthenware) plaques on the dividers of temples and viharas (Buddhist cloisters) delineate scenes of fish being dressed and taken to the market in wicker containers or baskets.
Conventional food habits are for the most part based on locally accessible things of food. Bengal is a riverine plain which produces a bounty of rice and fish. Justifiably, these two items figure conspicuously within the menu of even not economically well Bengalis. Fishing has always been an imperative occupation and Bengali literature contains a few references to fish.

Note: Brahmanas were not permitted to eat non-vegetarian food, but the ubiquity of fish in the local diet made the Brahmanical authorities unwind this prohibition for the Bengal Brahmanas. A thirteenth-century Sanskrit text from Benga, The Brihaddharma Purana, allowed the neighbourhood Brahmanas to eat certain assortments of fish.