The Phanigiri artefacts, belonging to 200 BCE-400 CE, are on display at New York Metropolitan Museum of of Art, where they narrate an epoch-making change in the history of Buddhism.
Key points
- The Phanigiri Buddhist site is considered one of the most important finds in Buddhist iconography in this millennium.
- It was discovered in 1942 and rediscovered in 2003.
- Phanigiri (meaning hillock of snake hood) in Suryapet district is a small village of about 4,000 residents, about 150 km from Hyderabad.
- The thoranas discovered at Phanigiri are very important as they are among the first found south of Sanchi. The same thorana has a panel that shows both Mahayana and Hinayana school of thought, which shows that despite philosophical differences, both the sects co-existed in Phanigiri.
- The image of the Buddha, wearing what looks like a Roman toga with folds, was carved in limestone.
- It used to be at the entrance of the Buddhist gallery at the State Museum in Hyderabad.
