Four Buddha Statues (Ruwanweliseya)
Four standing Buddha statues made of stone are found housed on the verandah of the modern shrine constructed on the compound of the Ruwanweliseya Stupa in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. They were discovered in 1873 or 1894 during the excavations of an image house located southeast of the Ruwanweliseya Stupa (Bopearachchi, 2012; Vanarathana, 1990; Wikramagamage, 2004). According to popular opinion, these statues represent the four previous Buddhas of this eon (Wikramagamage, 2004). The statues are made of limestone. The broken parts of them that were found among the ruins have been collected and restored to their present form (Vanarathana, 1990). The right hands of the statues are in the Abhaya Mudra while the left hands are in the ring hand attitude (Wikramagamage, 2004). The hair is depicted schematically and the robe is draped on one shoulder and rests above the ankles (Wijesekera, 1962). The three ribbed folds and the gathered piece are shown in Amaravati style while the body resembles t…
