Asian Art History

Written Assignment

Zheng Jiayin

U0930491A

Group 7

Although the Buddha image is known for its austere, conservative appearance, representations

of a crowned Buddha had surfaced – not only in India, but also in foreign regions where Buddhism

spread to. In this paper, I will seek to investigate the emergence of such representations and its

affiliation with kingship.

According to Buddhist scriptures, Siddhartha had been prophesized to “become either a

chakravartin king, a ruler of the entire world, or a fully enlightened Buddha”1. This reveals

connections between Siddhartha and the royal path of “chakravartin” (ancient Indian conception of a

universal monarch “whose chariot wheels roll everywhere”2) from childhood, but as we all know,

Siddhartha eventually renounced worldly existence and became a fully enlightened Buddha. So why

did depictions of Buddha in ostentatious, regal finery still appear?

One of the most common explanations is that the crowned Buddha iconography stood for

Buddha Maitreya – or the future Buddha – who waited as a bejeweled and crowned Bodhisattva

(usually portrayed more flamboyantly and lavishly than a conventional Buddha) for his rebirth.

The image shown on the left is one example of a crowned

and seated Buddha, in Pala-Sena style. Whether it is a

Maitreya Buddha is highly disputed, because there are no

records which designate a Pala-Sena statue as a symbol of

Maitreya3. Also, other than the crown, this statue portrays

Buddha in a fairly typical way – plainly attired, with no

stately ornamentation and jewellery. It is very possible

then that the crowned iconography could have been an

attempt by devotees to reunite Buddha’s asceticism with

the “chakravartin” prophecy; after all, both are “wheel

turners” – one turns the wheel of Buddhist sutras, and the

other the wheel of worldly power.

1 Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Introduction to Buddhism: An Explanation of the Buddhist Way of Life (England: Tharpa

Publications, 1992), 4-9. 2 Chakravartin, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/104554/chakravartin, (October 2010). 3 Carol Stratton and Miriam McNair Scott, Buddhist sculpture of Northern Thailand (Thailand: Silkworm Books, 2004), 58.

Crowned Seated Buddha, Pala-Sena style, Bihar, 1000 AD

Crowned Buddha, Burma, c. 1300-1400 Crowned Buddha, Burma, c. 1400 Crowned Buddha, Tibet, c. 1500

Conversely, the appearance of crowned Buddhas overseas most likely arose from

complications in foreign absorption of Buddhist teachings. The legend of Jambupati – while unknown

in India – had become very popular in Burma and Siam in the 14th century; and in this story, Buddha

transforms into a chakravartin set in an astoundingly majestic palace, in order to convince the cynical

king Jambupati to convert to Buddhism4. The middle image is an offspring of this myth, showing

Buddha adorned in princely robes, armlets, an elaborate crown and highly festooned split ears. This

could be an indication of Buddha’s years of meditation as a spiritual practitioner (yogi), during which

the weight of the yogi’s bone earrings had split his ears5.

On the right we see a Tibetan interpretation of the crowned Buddha which bears seven

primary possessions of a chakravartin, consisting of (a) a rhinoceros horn; (b) a pair of interlocked

square earrings; (c) a branch of red coral; (d) a pair of interlocked round earrings; (e) a crossed

insignia; (f) a pair of elephant tusks; and (g) a triple-eyed gem hemmed in by a trefoil gold mount6.

The absorption of chakravartin emblems into Tibetan Buddhist iconography shows the transformation

of the Buddhist image to that of a royal entity.

4 Crown Buddha, http://www.aziatischekunst.com/Explanation-statues/Crown-buddha/28/1/3/, (October 2010). 5 Yuvraj Krishan, The Buddha image: its origin and development (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pte Ltd,

1996), 135. 6 Robert Beer, The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols (USA: Serindia Publications Inc, 2003), 46-48.

As for the figure on the left, the simple monastic robe leads upwards to an ornate, decorative

collar, earrings, and finally, an emperor-esque high crown. The luxurious embellishments suggest that

this Buddha image is a representation of Maitreya, and perhaps, its remarkably individualized facial

features point towards its service as an idealized portrait of deceased aristocracy7. Or, you could say

that it was an externalisation of a historical monarch’s wish to be reborn as Buddha.

All in all, the crowned Buddha not only signifies the conferment of supreme power to

iconography; depending on cultural context, it may also indicate aristocrats’ patronage of Buddhism,

and on a greater level, the interchangeability between Buddha and kingship.

7 Lorna Price, Masterpieces from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of

Art, 1988), 102.

Bibliography

1. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Introduction to Buddhism: An Explanation of the Buddhist Way of Life

(England: Tharpa Publications, 1992), 4-9.

2. Carol Stratton and Miriam McNair Scott, Buddhist sculpture of Northern Thailand (Thailand:

Silkworm Books, 2004), 58.

3. Yuvraj Krishan, The Buddha image: Its origin and development (New Delhi: Munshiram

Manoharlal Publishers Pte Ltd, 1996), 135.

4. Robert Beer, The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols (USA: Serindia Publications Inc, 2003),

46-48.

5. Donald K. Swearer, The Buddhist world of Southeast Asia (USA: State University of New York

Press, 1995), 72-77.

6. Donald K. Swearer, Becoming the Buddha: the ritual of image consecration in Thailand (UK:

Princeton University Press, 2004), 16-22.

7. Lorna Price, Masterpieces from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Los Angeles: Los Angeles

County Museum of Art, 1988).

8. Chakravartin, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/104554/chakravartin, (October 2010).

9. Crown Buddha, http://www.aziatischekunst.com/Explanation-statues/Crown-buddha/28/1/3/,

(October 2010).