Template:Infobox artwork The Great Buddha statue is one of the popular stops on the Buddhist pilgrimage and tourist routes in Bodh Gaya, Bihar (India). The statue is Template:Convert[1] high representing the Buddha seated in a meditation pose, or dhyana mudra, on a lotus in the open air.[2] The total height of the construction is Template:Convert of which the Buddha makes up Template:Convert, the lotus on which the Buddha sits Template:Convert and the lower pedestal Template:Convert. The construction's width is nearly Template:Convert at its maximum. The statue was designed by V. Ganapati Sthapati[3] and took seven years to complete using the labor of 12,000 stonemasons. It is constructed from a combination of sandstone and red granite blocks.[4] A hollow spiral staircase inside the statue leads from the ground up to the chest. Shelves on the interior walls display 16,300 small bronze images of the Buddha.Template:Sfnp The Great Buddha statue is located in a garden at the end of Temple Street and is surrounded by smaller sculptures of Buddha's ten principal disciples, five on each side.[5] The Great Buddha was possibly the largest Buddha statue in India at the time and was consecrated on 18 November 1989 by the 14th Dalai Lama.[6] The foundation stone for the statue was laid in 1982.[6]
References
- ↑ Daijokyo Buddhist Temple. daijokyo.or.jp.
- ↑ The Great Buddha Statue in Bodhgaya, India. great-buddha-statue.com.
- ↑ The Rebirth of Bodh Gaya: Buddhism and the Making of a World Heritage Site{{#if:Geary|, Geary}. University of Washington Press(2017). ISBN 9780295742380
- ↑ Bodh Gaya City Information. holidaymasti.com. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
- ↑ Great Buddha Statue. Lonely Planet. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Buddhist devotees participate in 20th anniversary celebrations of Buddha statue in Gaya. Thaindian News(22 November 2007).