The Avukana Buddha Statue is a rock-cut Buddha statue located on the premises of Avukana Raja Maha Viharaya in ancient Anuradhapura city.
Avukana Buddha Statue
The Avukana Buddha Statue (Sinhala: අවුකන බුද්ධ ප්රථිමාව) is an ancient rock-cut Buddha statue located on the premises of Avukana Raja Maha Viharaya in Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka. History
From the inscriptions found on the premises, the history of the Avukana temple can be dated back to the 1st century A.D. (Nicholas, 1963; Paranavitana, 1970). Period: 1st century A.D. Script: Later Brahmi Language: Old Sinhala Transcript: Pukana lene Padagama Data jetha tipati dina Pusa mahata vare Translation: The cave of the members of the Corporation. The alderman, Datta of Padagama, gave the three categories of revenue (to the cave) on the day when Phussa was president. Citation: Paranavitana, 1970
There is a controversy regarding the time of the Avukana image. Scholars have pointed out that the Buddha statue at Avukana could be the same statue mentioned in the Sri Lankan historical record Culavamsa. According to Culavamsa, an image of Buddha had
been constructed during the reign o…
