Dharmachakraparivartana Buddha

Behind the serene and quiet of this imposing seated Buddha composition, is a life of keen perception and profound leaps of faith. It took the Shakyamuni Siddhartha Gautama a few singular sights - of disease, senescence, death, and well-being - to turn away from the princely life He had led all along. He retreated; retreated into the wilderness on a path that was decidedly inward-driven, yet drew Him through the length and breadth of India. The life-stage of the Buddha captured in this murti is termed the dharmachakraparivartana, which came after years of traversing this path.

A superb, sustainable padmasana. The body balanced upon the knees-and-hip trifecta, heels touching each other directly below the navel. Upon those heels the left hand, in the dharmachakra mudra; the dharmachakra mudra of the right hand, which He holds up frontal to the torso. The Buddha is clad in an unstitched brown robe, its silken folds gathered over His long, gracious limbs in lifelike manner. Having attained enlightenment, He delivers a sermon at Bodh Gaya to the finest teachers of the time in proof of the same.

His composure of countenance is of cosmic self-sufficiency and seedless samadhi (yogic contemplation). The long earlobes of wisdom, half-shut eyes set against a handsome brow. Those characteristic curls of hair and the befitting glamour of the lotus pedestal. This seated Buddha has been sculpted with equal parts skill and equal parts shraddha.

Seated atop a vast lotus-form as elegant as His own form, Lord Buddha is depicted in this unusual brass sculpture in the vitarka mudra that stands for dialogue and/or preaching (the circle formed by the thumb and the index finger symbolizes the cyclical flow of energy and information). Pick this one for a graceful addition to your space.