Samadhi Buddha statue - A spiritual iconography of The Anuradhapura era

Samadhi Buddha statue is considered one of the best crafts made during the Anuradhapura era.It is a sitting Buddha statue(see the post on Aukana statue which is a standing statue). There are 8 sacred places a Buddhist never forgets to visit at Anuradhapura.This samadhi statue is one of that sacred places(there will be a post on these 8 sacred places in the future).By a single glance at it,the statue has the capability to throw away ones agitation and to winds down the mind.(A fact that you will appreciate,if you ever visit the place).

Samadhi statue is made up of Dolomite and is considered more than 7feet tall standing.It is also believed that the eyes of the statue were impressed with precious stones as they are hollow.The characteristic feature of this great ancient craft is that it gives three different emotions when you look at the face of the statue from front,left side and from right side.


When someone looks at the face from the right side it shows a slight sadness and from the left side a slight smile indicating happiness,while from the front it gives neutral feelings.Buddhism is a philosophy that teaches us to accept sadness and joy as normal occurrings in our lives and it teaches us not to be overrod by those feelings.So some argue this Samadhi statue expresses that deep lesson to us.


As the samadhi Buddha statue was found,there was a damage to the nose which has been now reconstructed.But still,the reconstruction has given some artificial appearance to the face which indicates,how brilliant and precise the ancient stone craftsmanship was during that ancient Anuradhapura era which was many centuries back,by appreciating the fact that it is difficult even to be replaced it by modern high technologies.

watch a short video of Samadhi Buddha statue....