This granulite representation of the Buddha Shakyamuni may have been originally carved for a Buddhist monastery, the Chudamani Vihara, located near the seaport of Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu. The monastery was founded in 1006 by Shri Mara Vijayottungavarman (r. circa 1008-1025) of the Srivijayan Empire (circa 671-1025) with the encouragement of the great Chola Dynasty monarch, Rajaraja Chola I (r. 1012-1014).
The Buddha is nimbate, enthroned, and seated in the meditation posture (padma asana) with his hands held in the gesture of meditation (dhyana mudra). He wears a diaphanous robe over his left shoulder. He has several of the standard iconographic features: snail-curl hair, a cranial protuberance (ushnisha) emblematic of his omniscience, elongated earlobes symbolizing his renunciation of the material world, and perhaps a sacred forehead marking (urna). A distinctive attribute is the flame finial surmounting the ushnisha, which is characteristic of Nagapattinam Buddhas (see M.72.29) as well as some Sri Lankan Buddha images. Flanking the Buddha on the sides of the throneback are rearing leonine creatures (vyalaka), mythical aquatic creatures (makara) in the form of terminals, and adoring celestial figures bearing honorific fly whisks (cauri or chowri).
