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Synopsis Maitreya was known to early Indian Buddhists in three district roles – as a member of Sakyamuni’s audience, as a great Bodhisttva who rules over the Tusita heaven and welcomes believers to share its joys and as the Buddha-to-be, who in future will attain the Enlightenment and leads countless hosts to salvation. The art and iconography of Maitreya throw on the material culture of India for various centuries. But barring a few exceptions there was hardly any comprehensive study on Maitreya from the point of view of an art-historian and art-critic. This excellently illustrated the “Maitreya Buddha in Literature, History and Art” is a welcome beginning of specialized studies on Maitreya, the future Buddha. The present work shows the untiring zeal and the discriminating insight of the author in collecting and assessing the facts. The author with his extensive and intensive studies of both original Sanskrit and Pali Literature and Buddhist art evaluates as a part of a single scheme. She also exibites that objective descsription should be accompanied with an exposition of meaning of historical, literary, and religious inspiration which brought the art into existence. The books describes in detail the growth of Buddhist art and advent of Maitreya in the art and literature and the characteristics of its various forms in India and abroad. The book is accompanied by an admirably vivid and concise literary and historical records in which the wealth of beauty is produced. The splendour of the plates glow from the pages of this important work is undoubtedly offer a vast and instructive field of study. The book also rancks among the internationally acclaimed publications of academic excellence opening a new vista on the research study on Maitreya, the future hope of mankind.