Artist’s impression of the planned Buddha statue. From timesofindia.indiatimes.comIndia’s western state of Gujarat has approved a plan to build a 354-foot seated statue of the Buddha, slated to be the second-tallest Buddha statue in the world after China’s Spring Temple Buddha in Lushan County, Henan Province, and the world’s tallest seated Buddha—a record currently held by a 302-foot statue in Thailand.
Anil Patel, secretary of the Gujarat Pavitra Yatradham Vikas Board (GPYVB), which oversees the development of religious sites, said that while the budget for the project still had to be finalized, an architectural firm has been chosen and construction was likely to begin in a year’s time. The project is expected to take five years to complete. The GPYVB has signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Buddhist Confederation for the development.
The statue, to be built near a historical site at Dev ni Mori, 93 miles north of Ahmedabad, will feature the seven-hooded naga Mucalinda, the mythological serpent-like being that sheltered the Buddha from seven days of torrential rain while he meditated beneath the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya, India.
Details of the project to build the statue and develop the surrounding 100 acres at a projected cost of US$105 million were presented on 5 September in Bodh Gaya during “Samvad—A Global Hindu-Buddhist Initiative,” organized by the Vivekananda International Foundation, the Tokyo Foundation, and the International Buddhist Confederation, and hosted by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. GPYVB officials said the development—reportedly the brainchild of Modi while he was chief minister of Gujarat—would also include a stupa, parks, monasteries established by other Buddhist countries, and a library. Japan and Sri Lanka are said to have shown interest in partnering in the project.
The Spring Temple Buddha in Lushan County, Henan,
China, currently the tallest statue of the Buddha in the
world. From wikipedia.org
In 1953, the state archaeology department excavated a monastery and a stupa at Dev ni Mori that have been dated to the 3rd century. The most significant discovery during the excavation was a 1,700-year-old casket reported to contain bodily relics of the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, which is currently held by Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.
See more
Gujarat govt green-lights world's tallest statue of sitting Buddha (The Times of India)
Construction Begins on World's Tallest Statue, in Modi's Gujarat (The American Interest)
Thoughts on the Global Hindu-Buddhist Initiative in Delhi, 3–4 September 2015 (Buddhistdoor Global)
Buddhistdoor View: India’s Buddhist Diplomacy (Buddhistdoor Global)
