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The ancient civilization of Gandhara was located in
the region encompassing modern northeastern
Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. Situated at a
confluence of trading paths along the Silk Route, the
area was flooded in diverse cultural influences
ranging from Greece to China. Gandhara flourished
under the Kushan Dynasty and their great king,
Kanishka, who is traditionally given credit for
spreading the philosophies of Buddhism throughout
central Asia and into China. This period is viewed as
the most important era in the history of Buddhism.
After the conquests of Alexander the Great, the
creation of Greco-Bactrian kingdoms, and the general
Hellenization of the subcontinent, Western aesthetics
became prominent. Greek influence began permeating
into Gandhara. Soon sculptors based the images of the
Buddha on Greco-Roman models, depicting Him as a
stocky and youthful Apollo, complete with stretched
earlobes and loose monastic robes similar to a Roman
toga. The extraordinary artistic creations of Gandhara
reveal link between the different worlds of the East
and West.
The historical figure, Buddha Gautama Sakyamuni is the
Buddha of compassion who, having achieved the highest
evolutionary perfection, turns suffering into
happiness for all living beings. Born around 560 B.C.
somewhere between the hills of south Nepal and the
Rapti River, his father was a Raja who ruled over the
northeastern province of India, the district including
the holy Ganges River. The young prince was married to
Yashoda when he was about 17 years old and together
they had a son named Rahula. At the age of 29, he left
his life of luxury, as he felt compelled to purify his
body and make it an instrument of the mind by ridding
himself of earthly impulses and temptations. This
sculptural fragment depicts the bust of the Buddha. An
inner calm and complacency is visible in his sweet
smile. The sharply defined eyebrows arch gently
downwards into his long, narrow nose. Such features
are characteristic of the Gandhara style. His hair is
composed of rows of miniature spirals rendered in low
relief. His head is crowned by a prominent ushnisa,
or topknot, that is a symbol of his divine wisdom. The
ushnisa is covered with the same spiral motif that
conveys the texture of his curly hair. The artists of
Gandhara were the first to represent the Buddha in his
human form, as opposed to a symbol such as his
footprint. This gorgeous head is a reminder of an
ancient civilization that, although vanished, helped
spread the teachings of enlightenment throughout the
heart of Asia.
- (LO.605)
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