Cultural object
Buddha Sheltered by a Naga
Buddha Sheltered by a Naga is a small 12th-century Khmer bronze from Cambodia, now in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.[1][2] It shows the serpent king Muchilinda protecting the Buddha Shakyamuni from heavy rain.[1]
The object
The image stands 16.5 centimeters (6.5 inches) high, a small devotional piece.[2] Muchilinda appears as a naga, a being that is half human and half cobra.[3] The catalog reference is 1987.424.19a, b.[1]
Iconography
In the story, the Buddha meditated for seven weeks after his enlightenment. When heavy rain began, a serpent king coiled around him and covered his head with its hoods.[4] Artists in South and Southeast Asia had shown the scene before, but Khmer artists made it widely popular.[2]
The Buddha sheltered by Muchilinda was the focus of a cult under King Jayavarman VII, who ruled the Khmer empire from about 1181 to 1218.[1] The king sponsored images of the scene and gave strong support to Buddhism.[3] Why he gave this image such weight is not known. Snakes were linked with healing, and the Met connects the image's healing meaning with the hospitals Jayavarman VII built throughout his kingdom.[2]
Date and origin
The bronze was made in Cambodia in the 12th century, in the Angkor period.[2] Buddhism reached Southeast Asia through contact with India from the third century. Communities in the region built their own Buddhist traditions from the ideas and objects that arrived, and small devotional images like this one traveled with Buddhists and were traded by merchants.[3]
Provenance
Cynthia Hazen Polsky gave the sculpture to the museum in 1987. It is held by the Asian Art department.[1][2] As of 2022 it was not on view.[2]