Syllabus Section: Art and Culture

 

• A reclining Buddha statue or image represents The Buddha during his last illness, about to enter Parinirvana, the stage of great salvation after death that can only be attained by enlightened souls. 
• The Reclining Buddha is very well-recorded final moment of the Buddha’s life, which is why it could be recreated visually with such distinct details in statues and paintings.
• This also signifies the Buddha’s last deeksha — even while on his deathbed, he took a follower into the fold.
• The Reclining Buddha was first depicted in Gandhara art, which began in the period between 50 BC and 75 AD, and peaked during the Kushana period from the first to the fifth centuries AD.
• The largest Reclining Buddha in the world is the 600-foot WinseinTawya Buddha built in 1992 in Mawlamyine, Myanmar.
• Cave No. 26 of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ajanta contains a 24-foot-long and nine-foot-tall sculpture of the Reclining Buddha, believed to have been carved in the 5th century AD.

Source: Indian Express