Lime Stone- Standing Buddha in full round, right hand
missing. Eyes and upwards mended.
Detailed Description
This sculpture of the Benevolent Teacher standing in Samabhanga with frontal pose was discovered in several fragments from Site-4. It is the most attractive colossal sculpture I the collection and the largest image (measuring about 3 m in height) discovered in the valley. Its right hand (broken) indicated abhaya (bestowing protection) pose and the left hand held the hem of the garments (sanghati). It is draped in long, thick robes, the incised parallel lines of which are organized into a design of overlapping schematic rhythm attuning to the movement of the body underneath. This pattern of garment is a refinement over the Amaravati and Ganhara styles.
Besides presenting the familiar iconographic features the sculpture harmoniously combines the feminine redeeming quality of Buddha being an ocean compassion (dhaya sagara) with the typical anatomical features of a chakravarti purusha with the pronounced masculinity of the Gandhara tradition.
