Buddha of Kanchipuram

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Kanchipuram is a holy city for the Hindus. But, it was one of the sacred cities for the Jains and the Buddhists. It is said that the town once had four divisions, namely Shaiva Kanchi, Vishnu Kanchi, Jina Kanchi, and Buddha Kanchi. There are hundreds of Shiva and Vishnu temples in the city. Even there are a few Jain temples. But, there is not even a single Buddhist temple in the town, which reportedly had a separate Buddhist region once. However, many symbols and icons of Buddhism are found across the city. This article explores one such Buddhist icon.

Buddha's five and a half feet high stone icon in his typical seated posture was discovered in the 1970s. It is currently installed in a shed in the playground of Subbaraya Mudaliar School in Kanchipuram. As per the scholars, this attractive icon of Buddha belongs to the 9th century CE.

Happy travelling.






Location: Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India

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