Bodhisatva Maitreya

Mahayana Buddhism introduced the worship of Bodhisattvas, the enlightened ones who delay entering nirvana, in order to help others along the path to Enlightenment. Images of Bodhisattvas first appeared in Gandharan art – and Bodhisattva Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, is the most commonly depicted.

A direct spiritual successor of Gautama Buddha, Bodhisattva Maitreya here is finely bejewelled and draped like a prince. He carries a water pot symbolising abundance. His plain halo and hair tied in a loop, are typical Gandharan elements.

Sharing many characteristics with Greek sculpture, the Gandhara school flourished under Kushana patronage in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent. The locally available soft schist stone allows human features to be depicted in realistic detail.