Amitabha Buddha
Surendra Man Shakya, 2005
Stone colour
41 × 53 cm

© Prithivi Bahadur Pande

The Amitabha Buddha is considered guardian of the world in the interval between the departure of the historical Buddha, the Shakyamuni, and the appearance of the future Buddha, the Maitreya. In Nepal, Tibet, and East Asia he is popularly known as saviour and guardian. He originates in the Vajrayana concept of the five Dhyani Buddhas, each of whom assume their forms from one of the five cosmic elements, thus underlining the polytheistic nature of the Buddhist tradition. All other groups of Vajrayana Buddhist deities originate in one other of the five Dhyani Buddhas.

As shown here, the iconographic features of the Amitabha Buddha depict him in red, seated on an enthroned lotus pedestal, in the Dhyana Mudra, or the gesture of meditation, with one palm resting on another in his lap. Two peacocks positioned on the lower part of the pedestal are thought to be the mounts of this particular deity, another easily recognisable symbol of the deity.

Two standing figures of the Arya Avalokitesvara in the lower half are easily identifiable by the lotus stem clasped in his right hand. Vajrapani, to the left, is usually seen clasping the vajra in his hands, but here the vajra is placed on the lotus, thus representing the vajra of knowledge. Centrally positioned in the lower half of the composition, we can see the artistic, colophon- like emblem with the title of the highest deity. The lower words are the artist’s signature, written in Ranjana script, a decorative derivation of the traditional Newar script.