Great Buddha (Bodh Gaya)
The Giant Buddha statue is one of the many stops on the Buddhist pilgrimage and tourist routes in Bodh Gaya, Bihar. The statue is high representing the Buddha seated in a meditation pose, or dhyana mudra, on a lotus in the open air. The total height of the construction is of which the Buddha makes up, the lotus on which the Buddha sits and the lower pedestal. The statue was designed by V. Ganapati Sthapati and took seven years to complete using the labor of 12,000 stonemasons. It is constructed from a combination of sandstone and red granite blocks. A hollow spiral staircase inside the statue leads from the ground up to the chest. Shelves on the interior walls display 16,300 small bronze images of the Buddha. The Great Buddha is possibly the largest Buddha statue in India and was consecrated on 18 November 1989 by the 14th Dalai Lama. The foundation stone for the statue was laid in 1982.
