Gyeongju Namsan Mireukkol Seated Stone Buddha

About this place

This seated stone Buddha, total height 4.36 m and Buddha height 2.44 m, stands at the presumed site of the Silla-era Borisa Temple on Gyeongju Namsan and is the best-preserved of all the stone Buddhas of the Silla period on Namsan. The small snail-shell hair curls top a head with a high topknot (ushnisha), and the round face expresses a gentle inward smile. The robes drooping over both shoulders are rendered loosely with parallel folds. The hand position is the earth-touching gesture (bhumisparsha mudra). The separately made halo is highly decorative, with small buddhas and arabesques carved in front; unusually, a Medicine Buddha (Bhaisajyaguru) is incised on the back in fine lines — a rare form also seen at the Muam-sa of Miryang and a Gyeongbuk University halo.