Dublin Core
Title
Birth
Subject
The Birth of Siddhartha
Description
This statue is an Indian piece called “Birth” and is in Shanti Stupa, Leh, India. The date that this piece was created is unknown. This image depicts the birth of Siddhartha. At the top right corner is Siddhartha’s mother, standing with one arm up holding a tree branch, just having given birth to Siddhartha through her armpit, just like how the actual story of his birth describes her clutching a sal branch as she gave birth to Siddhartha. At the top left corner there is a baby, presumably Siddhartha. He is holding onto a lotus, which is a symbol used in Buddhism not only for the concept of Buddhism itself, but also for purity of mind, body, and speech. In the center of the statue, there is a gold Buddha. This could be depicting the version of Siddhartha that will come in the future, kind of like a beacon shining on the whole statue, since Siddhartha was just born and has his journey to enlightenment still ahead of him. Around Buddha Siddhartha, there are people bowing and worshipping. They are kneeling on lotus plants, which symbolizes their faith to the religion of Buddhism, and also to Siddhartha the Buddha.
The statue is bordered by very ornate, intricate designs and patterns. The image as a whole is also quite colorful. Around the image of the Buddha, there seem to be things that look like Dharma Wheels. This would be significant to the image because of the Dharma Wheel representing Buddhism as a main symbol, and as a way of life that is constantly present and turning. However, they could also be interpreted as more lotus plants. But since they are gold like Siddhartha is, I believe they have more meaning to them, making me think they are Dharma Wheels.
The statue is bordered by very ornate, intricate designs and patterns. The image as a whole is also quite colorful. Around the image of the Buddha, there seem to be things that look like Dharma Wheels. This would be significant to the image because of the Dharma Wheel representing Buddhism as a main symbol, and as a way of life that is constantly present and turning. However, they could also be interpreted as more lotus plants. But since they are gold like Siddhartha is, I believe they have more meaning to them, making me think they are Dharma Wheels.
Creator
Keeley Eames
Source
Shukla, Anirvan. "Birth." Digital Image. Wikicommons. 27 Sept. 2013. Web. 3 Dec. 2015. JPG
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shanti_Stupa,_Leh_(4).JPG
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shanti_Stupa,_Leh_(4).JPG
Publisher
Buddhism: REL 222, Arts of Asia: ART 276
Date
Dec. 9 - Dec. 10
Contributor
Keeley Eames, Aafreen Vohra, William Rathjen, Jessica Davis
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Relation
[no text]
Format
[no text]
Language
English,
Type
[no text]
Identifier
[no text]
Coverage
[no text]