One of the world’s largest sitting Buddha statue, made by Chennai-based M. Muthiah Sthapathi, was inaugurated at Rambadagalla Vidyasagara Temple, nearly 100 km from Colombo on Thursday.
“It is a monolithic creation, hewn out of a single rock and is 75 feet tall. In standing position, it can reach double its height,” said Mr. Muthiah Sthapathi, who returned to Chennai on Friday after the inauguration.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena unveiled the statue in the presence of his Cabinet colleagues. People from Buddhist counties such as Cambodia and Thailand also visited the temple.
“The project began in 2002 and more than 15 sculptors worked to create the structure. It would have cost around Rs. 9 crore,” said Mr. Muthiah , who hails from a family of sculptors from Ramanathapuram district.
A winner of Padma Shri, 72-year-old Mr. Muthiah is one of the first batch of students graduated from Government College of Architecture and Sculpture, Mamallapuram, where here studied under Vaidhyanatha Sthapathi.
Mr. Muthiah’s creations include a 32-foot Anajneya statue at Nanganallur, a 60-foot Krishna Statue created and installed at Kolkata for the Birlas and a Sankaracharya statue at Enathur in Kancheepuram.
Mr. Muthiah explained that in the beginning, the Buddha statue was planned as a 67-foot rock cut piece. The creation of a pedestal decorated with swans and elephants increased the height.
“Ninety nine per cent of the work is over and it would require some final touches,” said Mr. Muthiah, an adviser to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department.
