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Udayana Buddha
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Udayana Buddha
CHINA; Qing dynasty (1644–1911); Gilt copper alloy; H: 30.5 cm; Capital Museum, Beijing, China
The Ekottara Agama relates that the Buddha ascended to Trayastrimsa Heaven for three months to teach his mother the Dharma. King Udayana of Kausambi missed the Buddha so much, that he commissioned artisans to create an image of the Buddha using sandalwood. Figures of the Buddha wearing a monastic robe with concentrically rippling folds extending down the chest subsequently became known as the Udayana Buddha.
This bronze statue depicts the Buddha standing on a lotus pedestal with the left hand lowered in the varada (wish-granting) mudra and the right hand raised in the abhaya (fearlessness) mudra. |
