Early Buddhist sculptors did not show Buddha in human form. Through wh

Early Buddhist sculptors did not show Buddha in human form. Through which of the following symbols was Buddha’s presence shown by the early sculptors?

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Empty Seat and Stupa only

Wheel and Tree only

Wheel, Tree and Stupa only

Empty Seat, Wheel, Tree and Stupa

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UPSC NDA-1 – 2022

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The correct answer is D) Empty Seat, Wheel, Tree and Stupa.

In early Buddhist art (before the emergence of iconic Buddha images in schools like Gandhara and Mathura), the presence of the Buddha was represented through symbols. These symbols were visual metaphors for key events in his life or his teachings. Common symbols included: the Empty Seat (representing his meditation and enlightenment or his absence after Parinirvana), the Wheel of Dharma (Dharmachakra, symbolizing his first sermon), the Bodhi Tree (representing his enlightenment), footprints of the Buddha, and the Stupa (symbolizing his Mahaparinirvana or final liberation).

This aniconic phase of Buddhist art lasted for several centuries. The development of the Buddha image is generally attributed to the Gandhara and Mathura schools around the 1st century CE. The use of symbols did not entirely disappear even after the advent of iconic images, but the human form of the Buddha became the dominant representation.

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