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.