REDDISH BROWN SANDSTONE BUDDHAPADA RELIEF.

SOUTHERN INDIA.

ANDHRA PRADESH.

AMARAVATI SCHOOL.

CIRCA 1ST CENTURY BC - 1ST CENTURY AD.

H. 69 CMS, 27 INS.

A reddish brown sandstone relief with a depiction of the Buddhapada (the Buddha’s footprints), decorated with a pair of wheels (chakras), swastikas and lotuses supporting triratna (‘three jewels’) motifs.

Amaravati, near Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, was once the eastern capital of the Satavahanas, who ruled from the 2nd century B.C. to the 2nd century A.D. The great stupa at Amaravati was erected by Ashoka to house relics of the Buddha and is the most important in southern India. Most of its sculptures, unlike this example, are of marble.

Along with the Bodhi tree, the stupa, the empty throne, the flaming pillar and the wheel, the footprints of Buddha Sakyamuni were an important symbol in early Buddhist art. Before images of the Buddha began to appear in human form during the 2nd century AD the Buddha was generally represented by these symbols. The footprints not only symbolize the presence of the Buddha they also carry a cosmic significance- the infant Buddha takes seven steps immediately after his birth to symbolize his spiritual domination of the universe.

For two examples of Amaravati reliefs showing worship of the Buddha’s footprints see plate 61 in D. Klimburg-Salter, Buddha in Indien: Die frühindische Skulptur von König Asoka bis zur Guptazeit, Exhibition Catalogue, Milan and Vienna: Skira editore and Kunsthistorisches Museum, 1995 and plate 120 in M. Taddei, India, Geneva: Nagel Publishers, 1970. For an explanation of the symbols on Buddhapada reliefs see no. 67 in P. Pal et al. Light of Asia: Buddha Sakyamuni in Asian Art. Los Angeles: L.A. County Museum of Art, 1984.