Misplaced Pages

Lotus throne: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 22:33, 23 November 2019 editJohnbod (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, IP block exemptions, Rollbackers280,401 edits →References: ref← Previous edit Revision as of 22:34, 23 November 2019 edit undoJohnbod (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, IP block exemptions, Rollbackers280,401 edits addNext edit →
Line 4: Line 4:
The precise form varies, but is intended to represent the opening flower of the ]; in some Buddhist legends the baby ] emerged from a lotus flower. Among other symbolic meanings, '']'', the Indian lotus, is an acquatic plant, similar to a ], though not actually any close relation. Among other unusual characteristics, ''nelumbo nucifera'' has particular properties of repelling water, known as the ] or ]. Thus it rises above the water environment it lives in, and is not contaminated by it, so providing a model for Buddhists.<ref>Krishan & Tadikonda, 65</ref> The precise form varies, but is intended to represent the opening flower of the ]; in some Buddhist legends the baby ] emerged from a lotus flower. Among other symbolic meanings, '']'', the Indian lotus, is an acquatic plant, similar to a ], though not actually any close relation. Among other unusual characteristics, ''nelumbo nucifera'' has particular properties of repelling water, known as the ] or ]. Thus it rises above the water environment it lives in, and is not contaminated by it, so providing a model for Buddhists.<ref>Krishan & Tadikonda, 65</ref>


In ] the throne is called either a ''padmasana'', also the name for the ] in meditation and ], or ''padmapitha'', ''padma'' meaning lotus and ''pitha'' a base or plinth. In ] the throne is called either a ''padmasana'', also the name for the ] in meditation and ], or ''padmapitha'',<ref>Jansen, 18</ref> ''padma'' meaning lotus and ''pitha'' a base or plinth.


==History== ==History==
Line 16: Line 16:
File:Krishna, the Butter Thief LACMA M.84.34 (1 of 2).jpg|], the butter thief, ivory, 16th-century India File:Krishna, the Butter Thief LACMA M.84.34 (1 of 2).jpg|], the butter thief, ivory, 16th-century India
File:Likir-Gompa-03.jpg|Fancy coloured Buddhist throne under a wrathful deity, ] File:Likir-Gompa-03.jpg|Fancy coloured Buddhist throne under a wrathful deity, ]




</gallery> </gallery>

Revision as of 22:34, 23 November 2019

The three Buddha figures here each have a lotus throne. Pala dynasty, c. 1000.

In Asian art a lotus throne is a stylized lotus flower used as the seat or base for a figure. It is the normal pedestal for divine figures in Buddhist art and Hindu art, and often seen in Jain art. Originating in Indian art, it followed Indian religions to East Asia in particular.

The precise form varies, but is intended to represent the opening flower of the Indian lotus; in some Buddhist legends the baby Buddha emerged from a lotus flower. Among other symbolic meanings, nelumbo nucifera, the Indian lotus, is an acquatic plant, similar to a water lily, though not actually any close relation. Among other unusual characteristics, nelumbo nucifera has particular properties of repelling water, known as the lotus effect or ultrahydrophobicity. Thus it rises above the water environment it lives in, and is not contaminated by it, so providing a model for Buddhists.

In Sanscrit the throne is called either a padmasana, also the name for the Lotus position in meditation and yoga, or padmapitha, padma meaning lotus and pitha a base or plinth.

History

The form is first seen as a base for rare early images of Laxmi from the 2nd century BCE. However it first becomes common with seated Buddha figures in the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara around the 3rd century CE. In early Buddhist art it may be intended to specifically depict the second of the Twin Miracles in the legend of the Buddha's life. In some accounts of this, when engaged in a contest with sorcerers, the Buddha multiplied himself into other bodies, which sat or stood on lotus flowers. It became used for other Buddhist figures, and began to be adopted for Hindu deities.

  • Restrained lotus throne typical of Chola bronzes, when they have them at all. Shiva Nataraja, 10th century. Restrained lotus throne typical of Chola bronzes, when they have them at all. Shiva Nataraja, 10th century.
  • Thrones under Parvati, 11th century Thrones under Parvati, 11th century
  • Guanyin, 12th-century Japan Guanyin, 12th-century Japan
  • Apart from the three figures, the pendent foot of this 12th-century Tibetan Mahakala has its own throne Apart from the three figures, the pendent foot of this 12th-century Tibetan Mahakala has its own throne
  • Krishna, the butter thief, ivory, 16th-century India Krishna, the butter thief, ivory, 16th-century India
  • Fancy coloured Buddhist throne under a wrathful deity, Ladakh Fancy coloured Buddhist throne under a wrathful deity, Ladakh

Notes

  1. Krishan & Tadikonda, 65
  2. Jansen, 18
  3. Krishan & Tadikonda, 78, note 89
  4. Moore & Klein, 149; Krishan & Tadikonda, 65
  5. Krishan & Tadikonda, 67

References

  • Jansen, Eva Rudy, The Book of Hindu Imagery: The Gods and their Symbols, 1993, Binkey Kok Publications, ISBN 9074597076, 9789074597074, google books
  • Krishan, Yuvrajmm, Tadikonda, Kalpana K., The Buddha Image: Its Origin and Development, 1996, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, ISBN 8121505658, 9788121505659, google books
  • Moore, Albert C., Klein, Charlotte, Iconography of Religions: An Introduction, 1977, Chris Robertson, ISBN 0800604881, 9780800604882, google books
Categories: