Prince Siddhartha at Birth

INDIA

The newborn Prince Siddhartha usually displays a gesture with the right finger pointing to the sky and the left to the earth, suggesting that he will become greater than any to be found there. Instead, the raised right hand forms the abhaya (fearlessness) mudra, while the left is turned sideways in a non-conventional varada (wish-granting) mudra. This figurine demonstrates signs of the fully awakened state: a usnisa, an urna, elongated earlobes, and the three lines on the neck. The figure wears only a wrapped waist cloth. He stands on an inverted lotus pedestal that is supported on an inscribed Sumeru base. Judging from the style of the statue, it most likely originated from the Kashmir region.