Veheragala Standing Buddha Statue

The Veheragala Standing Buddha Statue is presently on the display in the Gallery of Anuradhapura Period in Colombo National Museum, Sri Lanka. It is considered a unique product among the galaxy of Buddha statues in the country.

This gilt bronze was discovered along with a group of Buddhist images (Bodhisattva Statue, Seated Buddha Statue etc.) from Veheragala monastery in Anuradhapura District (Chutiwongs et al., 2007). It was later brought to the present location for conservation.

The statue is 66 cm in height and depicted in the Samabhanga position (Chutiwongs et al., 2007). The right-hand shows Abhaya-mudra while the bent left-hand carry the robe falling over the forearm (Chutiwongs et al., 2007). The transparent robe touches the body of the Buddha smoothly and its pleats are shown by regular linear ridges. The eyes of the statue are embedded with crystal eye-balls. This statue is believed to be an object of worship displayed in a shrine (Chutiwongs et al., 2007).

The statue has been dated by scholars to the 9th century A.D. (Chutiwongs et al., 2007).