Uten'ou　優填王

KEY WORD :　art history / iconography

Also read Udennou. Lit. King Udayana. An Indian king, reportedly the first person to commission a statue of the Buddha. The king of Kustana, he was supposedly converted to Buddhism by his wife. According to the ZOUICHI AGONKYOU 増一阿含経 (Collection of Numerical Doctrines), when the king was ill he commissioned the creation of a likeness of the Buddha, and by doing so recovered. The image was reported to be about 151 cm high and made of camphorwood from Mt. Gozu in southern India gozu sendan 牛頭栴檀. The right hand held the abhaya mudra *semui-in 施無畏印 and the left hand held the varada mudra *yogan-in 与願印. The statue gained wide repute in India, and was supposedly taken to China. The statue of *Shaka 釈迦 at Seiryouji 清涼寺, Kyoto, is said to be based on King Udayana's prototype (see *Seiryoujishiki Shaka 清涼寺式釈迦).

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