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| Monday, 24 January 2005 |
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Mudra of the standing Buddha image in the Gal Vihara, Polonnaruwa by Sirinimal Lakdusinghe, Former Director/Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, and Department of National Museums The mudra in the standing image at Gal Vihara Polonnaruwa, has been a focal point of scholarly discussion over a long period of time. There are four images at this site, two of which are seated; one is recumbent and other standing, and all are carved out of the living rock. The standing image, which is the subject of this paper, is 22 feet 9 inches in height and manifests a special mudra or hand posture, which is not common among images of the Buddha. The identification of this image has been the subject of much dispute among scholars. Such interpretations can be categorized into two groups, namely, those who believe that it is a representation of Ananda, the chief disciple and the beloved companion of the Master and those who believe the image is that of the Buddha.
The theory, that has so far drawn the bulk of scholarly attention is that presented by C.E. Godakumbura and P. L. Prematillake, which records that it is the Buddha in the second week after his enlightenment performing the animisa-locana puja. Painted depictions at the famous Dambulla Cave Temple (Matale District), Yapahuva Cave Temple (Kurunegala District), the Madavela Gangarama, Lankathilaka, Bambaragala, temples (Kandy District) and at several other shrines are parallel representations of the same mudra. If this image was intended to depict the animisa-locana puja, as suggested by the last interpretation there should be a Bodhi tree in front of the image. But this image with a living Bodhi tree or this being artistically depicted is not to be found at the Gal Vihara. However, a ground plan of the Gal Vihara complex as published by Bell, in the Annual Report of the Archaeological Commissioner in the year 1908, shows the remains of a foundation to some edifice, which may be identified as a Bodhi-mandapa, but not in front of the standing image, but instead, it is in front of one of the seated statues. Further more, the eyes of the image have been delineated, as half closed and seen to be pointed downward, rather than gazing at an object in front. Hence, it is difficult to accept that the Image in question has a depiction of the Buddha engaged in the act of performing the animisa-locana puja. This paper, therefore, suggests that in resolving the problem of the identification of the standing image at Gal Vihara, we may direct our attention toward the ancient Buddhist art tradition of Siam. A. B. Griswold, a well-known scholar in his book entitled, "The Dated Buddha images in Northern Siam", states that there is a tradition in Thailand, in making a set of seven images to depict the scenes of the seven weeks after the enlightenment of the Buddha. He reproduces five images of such a set of which two are missing. Accordingly the mudra or the posture with the hand across the chest should be taken as a feature representing meditation or contemplation, because it is said, that the Master spent the fourth week in the ratanaghara contemplating over the metaphysics. According to Griswold, this tradition in Thai art has come down from the thirteenth century. At this point we would like to draw the attention of the scholars to yet another type of Buddha image, which is presently very popular in Thai art, namely, the walking Buddha. There is a beautiful walking image, representing the Buddha descending from the Tavatimsa heaven, at Wat Trapang Tong Lang, east of the old town of Sukhothai. M. C. Subadradis-Diskul, the eminent Thai historian and archaeologist, states that this image is very similar to the mural painting that depicts the same scene at the Tivanka image house, in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka. He further presumes that the relief at Wat Trapang Tong Long might have been the prototype of the Sukhothai walking Buddha that is cast in bronze. The edifice known as Satmahal Prasada at Polonnaruwa, which is in the form of a stepped Pyramid reminds one of the stupa type, popular in North Siam. A similar example to this is that at Wat Kukut at the place called Lamphun. These examples indicate that elements of art and architecture were regularly exchanged between these two friendly nations. In the light of such evidence, it will be fair to presume that Siamese artisans were continuously present in Polonnaruwa and were inspired by these two remarkable examples of Buddhist art, namely, the mural depicting the Buddha descending from Tavatimsa Heaven, at the Tivanka image house and Standing Buddha figure at the Gal Vihara in Polonnaruwa. If this is the case, it would be appropriate to look at this parallel images in Siam to derive the correct interpretation of the standing figure of the Buddha at Gal Vihara, the background influence for which, evidence seem to have disappear and the traditions forgotten in the land that it originated. Thus we can identify this Gal Vihara standing image as a portrayal of the Buddha engaged in the act of contemplating over the metaphysics of the dhamma. |
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There is also a great difference of opinion within the second category
in identifying the attitude of the Master as depicted by this image. Some
of the main theories can be summarized thus; S. M. Burrows stated that
this figure has generally been taken to be a Buddha. A. M. Horcart
pronounced that "the figure is simply a standing Buddha, one of the
three positions in which he is represented" Gunapala Senadeera
identified the hand posture of the image as svastika mudra. Siri
Gunasinghe thought that it should be a form of dhyana mudra or the
meditative posture. Anura Manatunga, recently, proposed to identify this
hand posture as that of the vajarahumkara mudra.
