Buddha Triad 仏陀三尊像ぶっださんぞんぞう

Description

This triad features the Buddha seated on Nāga, a snake deity that is worshipped as a god of water in Southeast Asia. Such depictions became popular during the reign of Jayavarman VII (r. 1182/83–1218), when Buddhism gained a fervent following.

The central figure is the Buddha. The figure to your left is the four-armed bodhisattva Lokesvara, and the one to your right is the bodhisattva Prajnaparamita.

The Khmer Empire (also known as the Angkor Empire), which became the basis for present-day Cambodia, existed from the 9th century to the 15th century. King Jayavarman VII, who reigned from the late-12th century into the early-13th century, was a devout follower of Buddhism. Numerous triads of Buddhist images like this one are said to have been created during his reign as offerings to temples. It is also said that the Buddha represents the king himself and the figures on either side his parents.

Take a closer look at the central figure. The Buddha is seated on the coiled, cobra-like body of the seven-headed snake god Naga. This depiction is based on the tale that heavy rain fell while the Buddha was meditating, and so Naga spread his heads out above the Buddha like an umbrella to shelter him. Statues of this type spread to Cambodia from southern India during the Angkor period and became highly popular. Before the arrival of Buddhism and Hinduism, the Cambodian people, who had been suffering due to water shortages, worshipped water spirits. As a result, the water god Naga attracted fervent worship.

Faces with joined eyebrows and thick lower lips are characteristic of Angkor-period Khmer sculpture.