Seated Buddha, At Once Carefree And Contemplative

Bodh Gaya is the home of Enlightenment. It is under the Bodhi tree located therein that the erstwhile Shakyamuni had attained Buddhahood, after years of having wandered the subcontinent as an ascetic and a mendicant. A renunciate in the truest sense of the term, He is depicted in this murti as a carefree, contemplative soul, nothing like the profound solemnity of His usual padmasana iconography.

He is seated on the ground with the right knee raised, upon which He rests His gentle head. Beneath His head He makes a cushion of both His palms, the long and slender fingers of each hand carved with as much skill as shraddha. The robe draped over a single shoulder, an asana (seat) of lotus petals - these are the indispensable aspects of His iconography. What adds to it and makes it a signature Buddha sculpture is the composure of equanimity and bliss on that supremely handsome countenance. Fine, princely features - wide-set brow and a lotus-like mouth and wise ears. Set off by a mass of thick hair pulled back into a coil on the crown of His head, making for an inimitable silhouette.

The signature gambhar wood medium gives the composition a pale and even monotone. In fact, it is the flaxen colour of this kind of wood that makes it so recognisable.