The Buddha Images: Re-examining Aniconism in Buddhist Art

Abstract

 Image of Śākyamuni Buddha in Buddhist art from the early days to the Pāla periods, is shown in two ways, one is in a symbolic and other in iconic form. This study is about the transformation of Buddha image from symbolic to iconic form which is based on the writings of the Buddhist scholars archaeological remains, sculptures and other facts. At the beginning of Buddhism after the Mahāparinirvāna of Śākyamuni Buddha in buddhist art tradition the Buddha was not shown as a person but used symbols like the stūpa, bodhi tree, empty throne, footprints and dharmacakra instead but some modern scholars, like S. L. Huntington doubted if these symbols really mean the Buddha. So this study looks again at what these old symbols mean and how Buddha images started to appear during the different time period. This research also discusses about how Buddha was depicted in images and have changed over time during the Kuṣāṇa, Gupta and Pāla periods. This study shows that in the Buddhist art the images related with the Buddha changed slowly because of philosophical and devotional reasons. This helps us understand visual culture and its implication on creating Buddha images developed in South Asia.