3rd century Buddha sculpture unearthed in Guntur

GUNTUR: A Buddhist sculpture of Naga Muchulinda carved on a Palnadu limestone was found in Guntur city on Wednesday. Dr E Sivanagi Reddy, a Buddhist scholar and CEO, The Cultural Centre of Vijayawada and Amaravati visited the Agasthyeswara temple, in old Guntur and noticed the sculpture erected on a pedestal in the south-west corner of the temple. He was surprised to find the historical sculpture and studied its features.

Dr Reddy said that the sculpture represented Naga Muchilinda, the mighty king of serpents, who protected the Buddha while in meditation under the Bodhi tree, four weeks after the enlightenment, from the prodigious rain with his hood. Dr Reddy said that it was heartening to see that devotees were engaged in worshipping the Buddha Padas (Buddha’s foot prints). He said it was very interesting that on one of the sides of the 3 ^rd century AD Buddhist sculpture was appropriated to engrave a 11 ^th century AD Telugu inscription, which records donation of some land to the Agasthyeswara temple for its maintenance.

Dr Reddy explained that similar sculptures of Naga Muchulinda belonging to the Theravada and Mahayana phase of Buddhism (1 ^st century BC to 3 ^rd century AD) were reported from Amaravati, Chandavaram, Ghantasala, Nagarjunakonda, Pedakallepalli and Goli, earlier.

Dr Reddy appealed the officials of the temple and archaeology department to protect the sculpture and make it visible as it represents the last phase of Amaravati School of Art of the Ikshwaku period. Dr Reddy asserted that old Guntur served as a Buddhist site and contemporary to Nagarjunakonda, 1800 years ago.