Puvarasankulama Buddha Statue (Sinhala: පුවරසන්කුලම බුද්ධ ප්රථිමාව) is an ancient seated Buddha statue discovered from Puvarasankulam village in Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka. It is presently preserved in the Anuradhapura Archaeological Museum.
History
This statue has been dated by scholars to the period between the 6-7th centuries A.D. (Chutiwongs et al., 2007).
The statue
The statue is 1.6 m tall and has been carved out from a crystalline limestone block (Chutiwongs et al., 2007). It is in the Samadhi posture (the posture of deep meditation) with hands placed on the lap. The right leg of the statue lies over the left leg depicting Virasana posture (the seat of enlightenment). The body
of the Buddha is covered by a flimsy robe (wet drapery) but, it does not cover the
right shoulder. The presence of the robe is suggested by the grooved lines of the hem across the chest (Chutiwongs et al., 2007).
The Usnisa (protuberance) is present over the head covered with snail-shell curls (Chutiwongs et al., 2007). To fix a Siraspata (the flame of knowledge) there was a hole (now closed) over the top of the head (Chutiwongs et al., 2007). The features of this statue come closer to the famous Samadhi Buddha Statue at Anuradhapura (Chutiwongs et al., 2007).
References
1) Chutiwongs, N.; Prematilleke, L.; Silva, R., 2007. Sri Lanka Murthi: Buddha (Sri Lanka Sculpture: Buddha). Central Cultural Fund. Ministry of Cultural Affairs. pp.76-77.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 2 January 2022