Vastu-shastra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v2.c75.s3.24

v2.c75.s3.24

Iconographical Accounts:—vide Pratimā-laksanas, p. 98-99 can be relied upon from the five principal Hindu texts, the Br. Saṃhitā, the Agni and the V.D. Purāṇas, and the two Śilpa-texts, the Mānasāra and the Rūpa-maṇḍana. According to the first (B.-S.) Buddha should have the palms of his hands and the soles of his feet marked with lotus, he should be placed in form and his hair should be very short (Sunīca; a variant reading is sunīta meaning “well arranged” both readings would suit a Buddha image—Banerjea) He should be seated on a lotus-seat and should appear as the father of the whole world. The Agni calls him Śāntātmā and bestows upon him lambakarṇas (*i. e.* his lobes of ears must be made pendant) and fair complexion and enjoins his hands to be in varada and abhaya poses. The V. D. further adds some more marks. According to it the body should be covered with the kāṣāya, the yellow garb of the ascetics and on the shoulder there should be a piece of balkala (cīvara) or clothing made out of the bark of certain trees. It designates him as Dhyāni (cf. Dhyāni Buddhas in the Vajrayāna pantheon). The Rūpa-maṇḍana's description is nothing new. It simply gives him a red colour that may be taken as full of lustre. As regards the description of the Buddha-images in the Mānasāra, it is said there that these figures, which may be either erect or in the sitting posture, are placed on a throne (Siṁhāsana) and are distinguished by the Aśvattha (holy fig) tree as well as by the Kalpa-vṛkṣa (mythic wonder tree), the latter, as we have seen, is represented in connection with other divine beings as well; but the aśvattha or ficus religious is characteristic of Buddha as the Bodhi tree, under which he attained enlightenment (Bodhi), belongs to that species. Another peculiar mark as has been duly noted by the author of the Mānasāra, is uṣṇīṣa or protuberance of the skull (uṣṇīśojjvalamaukika). For the rest, the appearance of Buddha is purely human. He has a full face, a long nose, smiling eyes and elongated ears. His body is fleshy, his chest broad, his belly round and his arms long. He wears a yellow garment (Pītāmbaradhara) and his complexion is white—Acharya's version.