The ''Dhyana Buddha'' is a statue of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

seated in a meditative posture located in Amaravathi of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Completed in 2015, the statue is tall and is situated on a 4.5-acre site on the banks of the Krishna river. It is embellished with modern reproductions of sculptures from the

Amaravati School The Amarāvati ''Stupa'', is a ruined Buddhist '' stūpa'' at the village of Amaravathi, Palnadu district, Andhra Pradesh, India, probably built in phases between the third century BCE and about 250 CE. It was enlarged and new sculptures repla ...

of art which flourished in the region in 200 BC to 200 AD.

History

Amaravathi mahachaitya art in Dhyana Buddha Statue

The recorded history of Amaravati and nearby

Dharanikota Dharanikota is a village in Palnadu district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Amaravathi mandal of Guntur revenue division. The village forms a part of Andhra Pradesh Capital Region, under the jurisdiction of APCRDA. H ...

dates to the 5th century BC. It was the capital of

Satavahana The Satavahanas (''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the late ...

s who ruled from the 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD who also patronized Buddhism along with Hinduism. The most important historic monument in Amaravathi town is the Mahachaitya. It is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India which maintains a site museum known as old museum. The project was conceived by R. Mallikarjuna Rao in 2002, who was then serving as the Deputy Director, Social Welfare Department in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. Mallikarjuna Rao was inspired by the magnificence of the Amaravati School of Art which flourished in the region circa 200 BC – 200 AD and wanted to recreate it. The Guntur district administration provided 4.5 acre of land and the construction work began in 2003–04. The funds for the project were provided by the Andhra Pradesh state government, Guntur district administration,

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

, Tourism Department, Kalachakra organisers Norbulingka, and also from the sale of greeting cards and paintings done by Mallikarjuna Rao. The Department of Tourism took over the project in 2007. The construction was completed in 2015.

Location and structure

The Dhyana Buddha statue of is located at

Amaravati Amaravati () is the capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the river Krishna in Guntur district. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone at a ceremonial event in Uddandara ...

. It is situated on the banks of Krishna river in with eight pillars on a Lotus pandal.

Structure and significance

The statue was commissioned in 2003 and completed in 2015. The statue stands on massive Lotus pandal supported by eight pillars symbolizing the Buddha's eight fold path to attain salvation. The area is divided into four zones depicting the noble truths and five ayaka pillars for stages of life. APTDC is going to complete the Theme Park in front of the statue which is said to be opened for the public in 2018. The statue has a three-layered museum in the base underneath it, which consists of sculptures of Amaravati Art depicting scenes with Buddhist significance, most modern copies of the original

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

s from the Amaravati Mahachaitya stupa which are now in museums around India and the world.

References

{{Amaravati topics Buddha statues in India Buildings and structures in Guntur district Stone Buddha statues Concrete Buddha statues Colossal statues in India Amaravati 2015 establishments in Andhra Pradesh 2015 sculptures

History

Location and structure

Structure and significance

See also

References