Jayankondam Buddha Statue, Ariyalur

Address

Jayankondam Buddha Statue, Visalakshi Nagar, Jayankondam Village, Ariyalur district, Tamil Nadu 621802

Diety

Buddha

Introduction

The Buddha statue present in Jayankondam town in Tamil Nadu has many interesting accounts about it. This statue is known among the locals as Pazhuppar. It means ‘the one who has ripened’. Thus Pazhuppar, in its former meaning, is Buddha, the one who is ripe to leave the cyclical existence of Samsara into the pure bliss and wisdom of Nirvana. Even more appropriately, Pazhuppar, in its second possible meaning, is the Buddha as the one who ripens others through his teachings and guidance. Even though there is no active Buddhism in Ariyalur now, this rare name for the Buddha seems to have passed down through generations. The continuity of the rare name also indicates that this Buddha statue was never lost in between. Most likely, it just stayed right on that spot from the time of the old monastery. This statue is also very unique in its sculpting. There is a prabha (halo) around the head, and then above that, there is the carving of a Bodhi-tree with a chathra (umbrella) in front of that. Archeologists claim that the style of the umbrella is similar to the design in the copper plate grants of Rajendra Chola I, and hence they estimate this statue to be from the second half of 11th Century CE. This Buddha statue is now a protected monument of the Archaeology Survey of India (ASI). It is located in the village behind the New Taluk Office, and close to a pond. The statue is 5ft in height. Below the pedestal of the Buddha statue, there is another statue below the earth, with only the head visible outside. It is a Bodhisattva statue, most likely that of Avalokitesvara in his popular South Indian form with matted hair. Somehow, the Archaeologists have not paid attention to this stone and haven’t taken it out.