Chudamani Vihara was a
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
vihara (monastery) in
Nagapattinam,
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. Chudamani Vihara was constructed in 1006 CE
by the
Srivijaya
Srivijaya (), also spelled Sri Vijaya, was a Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia) that influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important ...
n king Sri Vijaya
Maravijayattungavarman with the patronage of
Rajaraja Chola I
Rajaraja I (Middle Tamil: ''Rājarāja Cōḻaṉ''; Classical Sanskrit: ''Rājarāja Śōḷa''; 3 November 947 – January/February 1014), also known as Rajaraja the Great, was a Chola Empire, Chola emperor who reigned from 985 to 1014. He ...
. The vihara building survived in dilapidated condition. Since 1856, about 350 Buddha bronzes have been found at Nagapattinam, dating from the 11th to the 16th century.
History
The heritage of Nagapattinam is mentioned in the
Burmese historical text of 3rd century B.C. which mentions a Buddha vihara built by the emperor
Ashoka
Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
.
The Anaimangalam copperplate of
Kulothunga Chola I mentions that Kasiba Thera (Buddhist Monk) renovated the shrine in 6th century AD with the help of monks of "Naganadu" (Nagapattinam). The Pallava King
Rajasimha (690–728) permitted a Chinese king to build Buddha vihara in Nagappattinam.
According to the copperplate record of
Chola king Rajaraja, the Sailendra king, Sri Mara-vijayottunga-varman constructed the vihara with the support of Rajaraja. The copperplate is in Leiden University (Holland).
One statue, now at John D. Rockefeller Collection of Asian Art in New York, has an inscription that mentions that this Buddha was created to be carried in a procession during the temple’s sacred festival. The inscription has been translated by Vidya Dehejia as:
:''Well-being
ndprosperity. The nayakar
uddha of all of the eighteen countries, of the metalworkers. The procession image, for the sacred festival of the
alvar temple, which was caused to be taken in procession by the respected one (utaiyar) endowed of the four gunas from Cirutavur;
nthe perum-palli (great place of worship or great vihara) of the metalworkers,
nthe perum-palli of Rajendra Chola.''
Asia Society: The Collection In Context
Notes
* The Chudamani Vihara was demolished by a tsunami a while after the visit of The Chinese traveler Xuanzang
Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...
References
*
External links
Buddha 14th century
Formerly in the collection of Mrs. W. van Hoogstraten-Fetlaer, Netherlands.
Bodhi's Tamil Afterglow
Outlook India, 7 July 2004
at the Chennai Museum
Buddha Shakyamuni
Norton Simon Museum
Buddha Shakyamuni
Art Institute of Chicago
procession Buddha
John D. Rockefeller Collection of Asian Art in New York
Buddha, 12th century
Art Institute of Chicago
Hindustan Times 23 March 2006
{{Nagapattinam district
Defunct Buddhist monasteries
Buddhist monasteries in India
History of Tamil Nadu
Buddhism amongst Tamils