The Hindu : A sleeping Buddha in Bamiyan?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 30, 2002

International

International

A sleeping Buddha in Bamiyan?

WASHINGTON JULY 29. Beneath the rubble of the famous Buddha statues that were destroyed by the Taliban in Afghanistan's Bamiyan province, there may still be a sleeping Buddha which may have withstood the ravages of time and the waves of religious intolerance.

``A third Buddha, the so-called sleeping Buddha, may yet exist in Bamiyan, buried just feet from where the other two Buddhas destroyed by the Taliban once stood,'' reports said.

A seventh century Chinese traveller, it says, left notes describing the sculpture as measuring up to 650 feet in length and reclining in a state of `nirvana.' The taller of the two upright Buddhas was just 180 feet.

The statue is believed to be entombed, either buried intentionally before the first Islamic invaders arrived in the ninth century or covered by debris from an earthquake or the natural erosion of nearby cliffs.

Archaeologists are debating whether to dig for the Buddha in an area covered by land mines. Some argue it is an important cultural relic that should be unearthed but others fear that more Taliban-like fanatics could smash this Buddha also.

Scholars and donor countries working through the U.N. are discussing the broader goal of repairing Afghanistan's war-shattered culture, including rebuilding one of Bamiyan's destroyed Buddhas, which could cost up to $50 millions. Excavating the reclining Buddha would cost much less. — PTI

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