Buddha footprint

Icon of Buddha's footprints
Footprint of Buddha with Dharmacakra and Triratna, 1st century, Gandhāra
Buddhapada, Teak wood decorated with mother of pearl and glass. Lanna art, late 15th – early 16th centuries. Wat Phra Singh Woramahaviharn
Buddha footprint at entrance of the Seema Malaka temple

Buddha's footprints (Sanskrit: Buddhapada) are Buddhist icons shaped like an imprint of Gautama Buddha's foot or both feet. There are two forms: natural, as found in stone or rock, and those made artificially.[1]: 301  Many of the "natural" ones are acknowledged not to be genuine footprints of the Buddha, but rather replicas or representations of them, which can be considered cetiya (Buddhist relics) and also an early aniconic and symbolic representation of the Buddha.[2]

  1. ^ Stratton, Carol (2003). Buddhist Sculpture of Northern Thailand. Serindia Publications. ISBN 1-932476-09-1.
  2. ^ Strong, John S. (2004). Relics of the Buddha (Buddhisms: A Princeton University Press Series). Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11764-0.: 87