Iconography of Hindus Buddhist and Jains

SR No.: 011008
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: R S Gupte
Publisher: D B Taraporewale Sons and Co Pvt Ltd
Publication Year: 1980
Total Pages: 262
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 12 MB

Page 169

BUDDHIST ICONOGRAPHY
world is created by the fifth Dhyani Bodhisattva Visvapani. According to some, this period is 4000 years and according to Chinese tradition, it is of 3000 years. Sakyamuni Gautama, the fourth Manushi Buddha, went to the Tuṣitā Heavens to meet Maitreya and nominated him as his successor. During the period between the fourth Manushi Buddha Gautama and Maitreya, Avalokitesvara is to rule over the earth. Since Maitreya is the Buddha-designate, all the Buddhist sages seek communion with him and seek his advice and sanction for their thoughts and deeds. That is how the great Tantric sage Asanga sought Maitreya out in the Tusita Heavens by means of his supernatural powers. It was here that Maitreya initiated Asanga into the mysteries of Tantra. This legend gives the Tantrayana a respectability which it could not have otherwise got. Maitreya is the only Bodhisattva who is respected alike by the Hinayänists and Mahāyānists. His image can be found from the times of the Gandhara school of sculpture down to modern times. Statues of him are found in Ceylon, Burma and Siam. usually in the company of the Buddha.
In Gandhara sculpture, Maitreya is shown seated as a Buddha with his long hair drawn up into a knot on his head forming the uşnişa, his hands in the dharmachakra mudra or as a Bodhisattva. in which case he is shown standing with his long hair hanging over his shoulders. His hands are either in the vitarka or the varada mudra. In Indian sculpture he is shown as a sitting or a standing Bodhisattva, sometimes alone, sometimes with other Bodhisattvas, sometimes as a dvarapala (gate-keeper) outside Buddha shrines or as an attendant of the Buddha in the shrine. His hair is arranged mitre-shaped. His hands are not always in the dharmachakra mudra, says Getty. Sometimes he is shown with a jata mukuta, sometimes with a kirita mukuta. Sometimes the mukuța (crown) is very decorative and ornamental. In the left hand he holds a kalasa (vase) which is round in shape. In Gandhara sculpture the kalasa is oval or pointed in shape. Getty says that Maitreya was known in Central Asia in the 5th century A.D. A temple in Turfan of A.D. 469 is dedicated to him. In Java, he appears seated in Chandi Mendut. His hands are in the dharmachakra mudra. In early Mongolian images he is shown standing, his hands in the vitarka or varada mudra, with one hand holding the stems of flowers called Champa. In bronzes and
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sculptures, this looks like a lotus. In Tibet he is depicted both as Buddha and Bodhisattva. As Buddha he has short curly hair, uşnişa, urna and long-lobed ears. He wears the monastic garment with the right shoulder bare and the hands in the dharmachakra mudra. His legs, however, are in the pralambapāda asana (seated with both legs pendant) and not in the padmasana. As Bodhisattva he is usually shown seated in pralambapada. but sometimes in paryanka (cross-legged). He is represented as an Indian prince with all the Bodhisattva oriraments, and in the crown is generally a stupa-shaped ornament which is his distinctive mark, but he may be without a crown and have the stupa in his hair. Like Avalokites. vara, he too may have an ajina (deer-skin) over his left shoulder. His hands are in vitarka or varada poses and he carries either the kalasa and chakra. which rest on lotus flowers. It is in this attitude that he is represented in the group of eight Bodhisattvas, says Getty. As Maitreya, he is depicted with an ajina over his left shoulder, wearing a jaṭā mukuta, his hands in the vitarka or the varada pose. He holds a kalasa (vase) in one hand and a champā flower which looks like a lotus in another hand. Without the chaitya in his crown, he is difficult to distinguish from Avalokitesvara. The two important cognizances of Maitreya are the chaitya in his head-dress and the cloth wound round his waist and tied on the left side with the ends falling to the feet. But even these may be missing. Grundwedel says that such sculptures should be identified with Maitreya since he is a more popular deity than Avalokitesvara. At Ellora, however, in such cases, the sculpture should be identified with Avalokitesvara, since here he is the more popular of the two deities. The stupa which Maitreya wears in his crown is symbolic of the stupa in the mount Kukkuṭapāda near Bodh Gaya where the third Manushi Buddha lies. Kasyapa, the third Manushi Buddha, who ruled in the Kalpa preceding that of Sakyamuni Gautama, lived on earth for 20,000 years. He nominated Sakyamuni as his successor. This Kasyapa is believed to have been buried in the mount Kukkuṭapāda. When Maitreya descends to the Earth as the fifth Manushi Buddha, he will first go to this mountain, which will open as if by magic. Kasyapa will then come forth from the depths of the mountain and give to Maitreya the garments of a Buddha. The Gandhara school represents Maitreya in very large size. Yuan Chwang (7th century A.D.) describes a Maitreya