The first statues and busts of the Buddha were made in the Kandahar region of Afghanistan. Their makers were either descendants of Greeks who settled in the after Alexander the Great’s arrival or were influenced by Hellenistic styles. Before any such statues were made, the Buddha was symbolised by the Dharma Wheel or a stupa.
The first Buddhas were made nearly 300 years after his death. Although the holy texts and canons have some information about his looks little is known of their exact authorship and when they were written.
Some statues and heads exist where the Buddha has a moustache which was common on men of high status at that time. Later though the Buddha is always shown clean shaven and without a beard or moustache. In the Pali Scriptures a writing is shown many times which records how the Buddha began his quest for enlightenment.
"So, at a later time, while still a young black-haired young man endowed with the blessings of youth and in the first stage of my life — and while my parents, unwilling, were crying - I shaved off my hair and beard, put on the saffron robe and went forth from my home life to that of being homeless.
Difficult for me to believe that no one in the Buddha's homeland thought of making a sculpture of him till 300 years after his death and someone in Kandahar did it.
ReplyDeleteWell it is not so difficult. According to the tradition first Buddhists in India, after Buddha passed away, did not accept the concept of creating statues portraying Buddha himself but instead Buddha was depicted in stupas or Dharma wheels. In Gandhara people influenced by Greeks or being Greek descendants themselves they did not have any problem creating statues of Buddha.
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