The favourite form in Thai art by far is the bhumisparsha ("earth-touching") or maravijaya ("tempter-conquering") mudra, with the right hand on the knee, the fingers pointing to the ground. This means that the Buddha is calling on the earth to bear witness to his Enlightenment.
The Buddha is shown standing or walking, "taming the mad elephant" which his jealous cousin Devadatta had sent against him, or "descending from the heavens" on a mythical ladder after preaching there to his mother and an assembly of deities.
The reclining figure shows the Buddha "passing into Nirvana". The base of the sculpture is frequently a lotus-flower, the symbol of man's "Buddha-nature" which is untarnished by the mud of the transient world.
Sometimes the Enlightened One is seated on the coiled body of a snake whose seven heads are spread out protectively above him. There are several legends to explain this: according to one, the Buddha sat under a tree after his Enlightenment while it rained for seven days and nights till the earth was flooded. Then a snake (naga) appeared, lifted him with its coils above the surface of the water, and protected him from the rain with its seven heads.
It is strange to the western way of thinking that all Buddha images, whether they are mere casts or masterpieces, are copies. The intention is to preserve the special strong healing or magic power associated with certain famous cult images. But though in this way certain stylistic features of, e.g., Gupta sculpture became widespread, it is clear that such "copies" were never exact imitations or reproductions; otherwise there would have been no development such as we in fact find in Buddhist sculpture.
The Dvaravati figures are still close to the Indian originals, but a number of statues are found which differ from their models in posture and gestures. One of the most impressive sculptures of this period is the colossal seated figure (3.70 meter high) in Wat Phra Pathom at Nakhon Pathom. Bronzes from this period are widespread: being fairly small they are easily portable.
