12th C/ Bagan or Pala ..?  

Posted by ေရွးျမန္မာ in



12th century AD..... Bagan or Pala
The Buddha emerging from a lotus-flower
Both stone and metal images were made during the Pala dynasty in eastern India (about the eighth to the twelfth century AD). While the stone reliefs are often up to two metres high, metal images such as this one are rarely more than twenty centimetres high. They were placed on altars within a monastery or temple. As they are more portable, many were carried further afield to Tibet, Burma and Indonesia.
This object is a small shrine in the form of a lotus flower. The lotus is a common symbol in all Indian religions and many images sit or stand on one. The lotus is a metaphor for purity for it grows out of mud yet remains untouched by it. The lotus flower also opens and closes its petals each day, and thus symbolizes the endless cycle of life and death. The petals of this metal lotus shrine open to reveal the Cosmic Buddha Akshobhya at the centre. In front of him is his symbol the vajra (thunderbolt). On the inside of each petal are eight bodhisattva. Deities support the lotus from beneath. The inscription around the base is a dedication by a Buddhist layman.
W. Zwalf (ed.), Buddhism: art and faith (London, The British Museum Press, 1985)
Eastern Pala Dyansty is quite influence to Bagan as we knew, but if we can read the ancient inscreption which is wrote on base of mandala could indentify Pala or Bagan.

This entry was posted on Jan 14, 2009 at Wednesday, January 14, 2009 and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the comments feed .

1 comments

Please feel free to pass the meanings of Inscreption as a comment or any link..please. This blog is meant for the student who are doing Theses and Research.. TKS

January 15, 2009 at 8:50 PM

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