Reclining buddha Statue
- India’s largest statue of the Reclining Buddha was to have been installed at the Buddha International Welfare Mission temple in Bodh Gaya.
- The Reclining Buddha was first depicted in Gandhara art, which began in the period between 50 BC and 75 AD and peaked during the Kushana period from the first to the fifth centuries AD.
- A reclining Buddha statue or image represents The Buddha during his last illness, about to enter Parinirvana, the stage of great salvation after death that can only be attained by enlightened souls.
- The largest Reclining Buddha in the world is the 600-foot Winsein Tawya Buddha built-in 1992 in Mawlamyine, Myanmar.
- Cave No. 26 of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ajanta contains a 24-foot-long and nine-foot-tall sculpture of the Reclining Buddha, believed to have been carved in the 5th century AD.
- At the Mahabodhi temple, the Buddha is sitting in the Bhoomi-sparsha mudra, where his hand is pointing towards the ground.
- It symbolises earth as being witness to his enlightenment.
- At Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon, the stone statue has a hand gesture called the dharma-chakra mudra, which signifies preaching.
- This is also the most popular depiction in India, along with the Bodhi tree depiction.
- Sitting Buddha is believed to be teaching or meditating, the Standing Buddha signifies rising to teach after reaching nirvana.
- The Walking Buddha is either beginning his journey toward enlightenment or returning after giving a sermon.