The Buddha and the Sun Disk: Some Reflections on the Dialectics of Light in a Relief from Matkanai, Pakistan
BuddhaGandharan artlight metaphorssolar imageryIndra’s Visit to the BuddhaIndraśailaguhāGods’ Entreaty to Preach the DharmaVisit of the Sixteen Pārāyaṇa Ascetics
Jessie Pons | CMS 38 (2025) | Strony: 171–220DOI: https://doi.org/10.60018/AcAsVa.xbmi1252
Streszczenie
This paper examines a fragmentary relief from Matkanai (Malakand, Pakistan), housed in the Dir Museum, Chakdara. The relief depicts a solar disk set within a cave, partially obscuring a seated Buddha in padmāsana, whose right knee emerges from behind the disk. While Gandharan art is renowned for its use of “luminous” iconographies, such as nimbuses, full-body halos, and flaming shoulders, this example introduces a new visual grammar. The aim of this paper is to offer an interpretation for this relief and to clarify how light and solar metaphors are encoded in this unusual representation of the Buddha.
