Buddha Maravijaya

Here is one of the Buddha statues in Gallery of 1,000 Buddha images, showing in sitting posture with his left hand resting in his lap, and his right hand hanging down over the right knee with the palm inwards. This type of hand gesture is called Bhumisparsa mudra, the Buddha calling the earth to witness, or Buddha Maravijaya means the Buddha triumphing over Mara (demon).

This mudra or hand gesture tells one of the most significant events in the life of Buddha: just before Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment; the Mara demon came with his thousands of armies and three beautiful daughters in order to dissuade Gautama from the path of the Buddhahood. The demon instructed his daughters to bewitch and commanded his furious armies to attack Gautama; and finally, the demon claimed the Gautama’s throne as his own, by asking the Gautama to prove his right to the throne. Gotama, then touched the earth by his right hand, calling upon the earth goddess to witness the truth. The earth goddess suddenly appeared in the shape of a beautiful woman and squeezed water out of her long hair and swept away in flood all the Mara’s armies which led the Buddha to proceed his enlightenment.