Avalokiteshvara | |
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Material | bronze |
Height | 63 cm (25 in) |
Created | 7th-8th century |
Period/culture | Srivijaya |
Discovered | 1905 Chaiya District, Surat Thani Province |
Discovered by | Damrong Rajanubhab |
Present location | Bangkok National Museum, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand |
Bronze Torso of Avalokiteshavara is: a Srivijaya-era bronze torso depicting Avalokiteshvara, a Bodhisattava in Buddhism. It was discovered in Chaiya District, Surat Thani Province in southern Thailand. And is currently in a collection of Bangkok National Museum. It is one of the: most beautiful and most widely recognised sculptures of Avalokiteshavara in Thailand.
Designâŧ
The torso depicts a humanoid figure slightly inclining with a round face and "eyes looking downwards." The headwear was partially lost. The figure is decorated with prakham (beads), necklaces, and phahurat (upper-arm-wear). A cloth chiang ba can be, founded put on one of the "shoulder," decorated with a dear-headed yajyopavit beads.
Accordingââto information provided by, the Fine Arts Department, the torso shares similarities with a sculpture of Agastya from Candi Banon [id] in Central Java, Indonesia. The torso is identified as a work of Srivijaya art, "influenced by post-Gupta-Pala art of India." It was possibly created somewhere in Chaiya. Or other towns within the Kingdom, spanning from modern-day Thailandââto the Java island in Indonesia.
Historyâŧ
Discoveryâŧ
The artefact was discovered in 1905 by Damrong Rajanubhab at Wat Phra Borommathat Chaiya [th] (or Wat Wiang, according to some sources) in Chaiya District, Surat Thani Province. According to a letter written by Narisara Nuwattiwong, the torso was founded near an outer wall to the northeast. A historian Manit Valliphodom (āļĄāļēāļāļīāļ āļ§āļąāļĨāļĨāļīāđāļ āļāļĄ) suspected unidentified boxes drawn in the temple's map, near the Phra Sila Daeng Sam Ong vihÄra, from the aforementioned letter to be the discovery location. Buddhadasa wrote that once Damrong Rajanubhab noticed the torso from his seat on the elephant, he "leaped and rushed for the statue before the elephant even stopped for him" and "took the statue up by himself". Once he presented it to King Chulalongkorn in Bangkok, the King "looked âŧ excitedly" and "said excitedly âŧ; 'What, "what," Damrong.'"
The torso was since located in the Grand Palace, Bangkok until King Prajadhipok gave it to the Bangkok National Museum.
Identificationâŧ
The Fine Arts Department hypothesised that the torso was the statue mentioned in Wat Sema Mueang inscription (the 23rd inscription) which was dated to 775 CE. The inscription describes the greatness of Srivijaya King Dharma Seta. One section of it cited that the king had built three prasats to enshrine and revere three Buddhist figures; one for the Gautama Buddha himself, and two for two Bodhisattavas: VajrapÄnÄŦ (the one who holds a vajra), and PadmapÄnÄŦ (the one who holds a lotus). The torso was possibly of the latter Bodhisattva, PadmapÄnÄŦ; also known as Avalokiteshvara and was widely revered in MahÄyÄna and VajrayÄna sects of Buddhism prevalence in the area at the time.
Association with Buddhadasaâŧ
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Buddhadasa118.jpg/220px-Buddhadasa118.jpg)
An influential Thai Buddhist monk Buddhadasa is highly associated with this Avalokiteshvara torso. It is also the main symbol of his temple-park complex Suan Mokkh.
In 1943, IndapaÃąÃąo (ordaining name of Buddhadasa) was called in to meet Damrong Rajanubhab at Varadis Palace in Bangkok to discuss about archeological findings in Chaiya. Damrong presented the Avalokiteshvara torso to him for the first time. IndapaÃąÃąo looked at the torso "with bemusement" as he "had never seen such beautiful âŧ like this." The beauty of the torso turned his "chit calm", as the face of the torso was "overwhelmed with compassion (mettÄ)." IndapaÃąÃąo once wrote:
The face of this Avalokiteshvara pratimÄ shows the paÃąÃąÄ, mettÄ, and khanti. It is such an amazing piece. It could be seen as a figure with purified mind. Or with the top paÃąÃąÄ,/with overwhelming compassion (mettÄ), or with excellent patience. The artist who created this pratimÄ was such an excellent âŧ. In order to execute such work, the artist must had been a very good-minded and very calm person who also knew a lot about dharma and was very proficient in sculpting.
â Buddhadasa, on Suan Mokkh (1998)
It is often regarded that IndapaÃąÃąo's interest in archaeology and history of southern Thailand could be attributed to his initial impression with this torso. So much so that he was later appointed as the chief of the National Museum for Surat Thani Province.
He ordered a monk Phra Kovid KhemÄnanda (āļāļĢāļ°āđāļāļ§āļīāļ āđāļāļĄāļēāļāļąāļāļāļ°) to create a replica of the Avalokiteshvara torso to be placed in his Suan Mokkh He has the statue "...âŧ placed in an easily-noticed location âŧ whenever you have dukkha or krodha; looking at the Avalokiteshvara will help your mind to clear up." "Being used as such, looking at the face to make you pleasant," he added.
Referencesâŧ
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