Front Cover:
Bodhisattva. Arakan, 6th‒8th century. Excavated from Selagiri Hill, Kyauktaw,Arakan. Sandstone. H. 0.6 m, W. 0.4 m, D. 0.14 m. Now in Mahamuni Museum.
Photo: Catherine Raymond.
Cover design: Jeff Strohm, Northern Illinois University.
The Bodhisatt va image adorning the cover of the Journal of Burma Studies Volume19, Number 2, had been first identified by the late Pamela Gutman (1998:103‒11),pioneer researcher in Arakanese art history. The illustrated statue was discoveredat the foot of Selagiri Hill and is associated with Buddhist high relief sculptures inred sandstone recovered from a ruined stupa across the Kaladan River from Kyauktaw.This is an especially significant location in its proximity to the Mahamuni shrineat Dhanyawadi: one of the ancient cities of Ancient Arakan. There, according to locallegends, the Buddha himself descended and appeared to King Candrasuriya, whothen ordered a similar likeness sculpted. The resulting “Mahamuni Image” was thepalladium of the Kingdom of Arakan, before its seizure in 1785 by the Burmese king,Bodawpaya. The Burmese king re-located it to the Mahamuni Temple in his capitalAmarapura, where it remains a highly venerated image till today.
This serene crowned Bodhisatt va standing hieratically on an un-ornamented circularpedestal is especially intriguing; due in part to the broken arms, and the now missinghands which presumably once held attributes. Usually, such attributes,wielded by Hindu or Mahayana figures, enable identifying the deity depicted. Butits identification is further complicated by the jewelry adorning the figure—particularlythe unpaired earrings: a round disc on the left earlobe and an elaborate ornamenthanging on the right ear. Although this practice of unpaired earrings does notseem to be uncommon on the 7th‒8th century statuary from Northern Bangladesh.But here the materials and craftsmanship found around the ruined stupa, resemblethat of the other five Buddhist high reliefs recovered from the same site. Such astanding devotional figure, with an oval halo behind the head, would have beenplaced on each side of a larger Buddha image, as is the case with the Vajrapani atNalanda Museum (India) which similarly displays a conical matted hairstyle heldin place by the ornamented crown. As Gutman noted, crowned slim male figuresstanding hieratically with simple necklaces and garments knotted on the side canbe found elsewhere in Southeast Asia—especially in 7th‒8th century Dvaravati—with a particularly lengthy yajnopavitas (the sacred rope) hanging from the leftshoulder and falling above the knees of the right leg.
But this figure could be compared as well to similar reliefs from the former Buddhistsites of Paharpur and Mahasthangarh (Northwest of Bangladesh): dated also from7th‒8th century.
Numerous representations of Avalokiteshvara discovered recently at Mainamati (theformer Devaparvata; Southeast of Bangladesh) also shed light on this figure. Mainamatiis located in the ancient Samatata region on the western foothills of the RakhineYoma: where Mahayana Buddhism flourished since the Deva dynasty and continuinginto the Candra dynasty (7th‒8th century). This intriguing link deserves muchfurther exploration, insofar as the Arakanese Buddhist community installed alongthe Kaladan River, was probably in close contact with the ancient Samatata region:where not only Mahayana but also Vajrayana were practiced.
—Catherine Raymond, Curator, Burma Art Collection at Northern IllinoisUniversity
View The Lord of the Elephant: Interpreting the Islamicate Epigraphic, Numismatic, and Literary Material from the Mrauk U Period of Arakan (ca. 1430−1784)
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The Lord of the Elephant: Interpreting the Islamicate Epigraphic, Numismatic, and Literary Material from the Mrauk U Period of Arakan (ca. 1430−1784)
