The East Grand Buddha niche is cut into the cliff to a height of 20 m from the ground, but as the ground level at the front is different, the base of the statue is hidden. A few years ago the feet were restored by an Indian group, who reconstructed them in cement, which can have been no easy task. We can see that the top coat of stucco has peeled off, and the rock surface is pitted with small cavities, presenting a pock-marked look, but a complete survey of the whole figure is impossible. The face has been demolished, as in the case of the western large Buddha. There are remains of stucco only on the left ear and the hair at the back of the head. In the lower jaw there are small holes. The stucco here is about 10 cm thick.
For the full aspect, the best view is from the school building about 100 m away.
This large Buddha niche is 40 m high and the width at the bottom 15 m. It looks as though there had been an attempt to make a trefoil shape, but it was given up even before the “shoulder”, was reached. The two sides are almost straight. Still, the eastern wall has much more room, making an asymmetry between left and right. The statue itself is inclined a little to the right. The arms are held up, and come forward a little, especially the left elbow, which bends outwards. The right leg bends somewhat at the knee, seeming to stick out, certainly not standing perfectly erect.
The French Mission gave the height of the Buddha as 35 m. In 1973, after the restoration by the Indians, when the base was excavated and the original floor discovered, the height was announced to be 38 m. As a result of this restoration, the caves around the foot of the statue have been cleaned up, but the fresh colours and contours of the murals have faded since the restoration.
There are staircases cut out inside cliff so that it is possible to climb up over the top of the great Buddha niche, and on the way up, pass through other caves on the left and right of the niche.
Let us climb up to the head of the East Grand Buddha. The niche here is 9 m in depth and in width where the Buddha head has been carved out of the back wall. Inside the wall body to the rear of the Buddha head a corridor has been dug out, linking the right-hand and left-hand staircases, and making it possible to circle round behind the statue. In the middle of this corridor, in the centre behind the Buddha head there is an opening where one can get out above the Buddha head. There is a space of 5 m x 3 m over the head, and from the cave to the back of the head is a gap of 2.5 m.
At the height of the Buddha's head rectangular areas have been cut out from the left and right walls of the rock. They are 5 m long, 1.5 m wide, and 2 m high. Five gutters are cut in the floor for each area. On a timber support hewn from the rock there is a balcony-like construction. In the murals of cave 530 there are balconies with handrails where an orchestra is playing. These could have been places where the worshippers scattered flowers (in memorial services). At the back of the eastern balcony, two more rooms (caves 153, 154) have been dug out.
The murals in the East Grand Buddha niche (cave 155) are at the top, above the Buddha head, and difficult to get at. It is better to see them from the window on the way up to the staircase.
In the dome there is a large painting of the sun god Sūrya. The whole picture area is painted with a blue ground, and other colours have been added to portray the various figures. The sun god in the centre wears a long green tunic, at the back of his head kustī twirl at both sides, his mantle flutters behind, in the left hand he grasps a sword, in the right hand he raises his lance. Behind his head is a halo, and the whole body is contained within a circle. Around the circle is a sawtooth pattern representing the rays of the sun. The sun god is riding in a quadriga. The chariot wheels are shown as half-moon shapes at the sides, the spokes being drawn clearly. Between the wheels and the body of the chariot are four white horses, all with wings, like true heavenly horses. In pairs facing each other, rearing up, they convey the sensation of galloping through the firmament. There are soldiers standing on each side of the sun god, shown much shorter. They wear helmets, and have wings. One carries a shield, the other a bow and arrows. They must be guardian deities. Above these soldiers are two kinnaras, the upper half human, the lower half bird. They wear Iranian garments, and caps with kustī.
On either side of the sun god, at the top, are two small figures. Their hair trail back in a triangular shape. They have large bags above their heads and grasp the mouth of the bag firmly. They are the wind gods. Just in front of two geese (haṃsa) are painted.
This is truly a portrait of the sun god driving through the heavens. The colours are varied. On the blue ground several cold colours are employed, green, purple, grey, the wind god's hair is brown, and yellow is used for the shield and the chariot wheels.
On both sides of the dome painting, just at the top part of the balconies that open on to the side walls of the niche, there is a line of eleven figures. Of the eleven, three are Buddhas, the other eight are donors dressed in royal style. Counting from the east wall no. 6, the central one is a seated Buddha with bared right shoulder and preaching the Law, the epitome of the Buddha representation, the other two Buddha figures, nos. 1 and 9 counting from the back wall wear crowns and have ear ornaments, they are the “bejewelled Buddhas”. The other figures are: no. 2, a monk, no. 3, a king in a Sasanian cap with kustī (no. 4), his consort, no. 5, a queen or a high ranking concubine, no. 7, another king, no. 8, a consort (? concubine), no. 10, a prince, no. 11, probably a princess.
These donors are all facing towards the back of the Buddha niche. No special prominence is given to the Buddhist figures in the centre of the group, in fact, Buddhas and donors are almost all equal in height, but the donors are behind the railing, and three Buddhas in front of it. Below no. 1 figure, at the back, there is yet another figure, and a seated Boddhisattva is below no. 10 in the front. The group on the west wall is a copy of this one. Nos. 1 and 2 from the back appear to be donors. No. 3 is a “bejewelled Buddha”; No. 4 is a king, no. 5 a Buddha figure seated with bared right shoulder preaching the Law, no. 6 a prince, no. 7 an imperial consort, nos. 8 and 9 princesses, no. 10 a “bejewelled Buddha”, no. 11 the figure of a king. Those in foreign style costume are represented in the same way.
These murals are on a blue ground, with a variety of applied colour. The haloes of the Buddhas, especially, have rings of three or four colours. The term “bejewelled Buddha” is very apt. The Buddhas wear jewelled crowns and necklaces. Compared with the original concept of a Buddha, this is grotesque. On becoming a monk, Buddha discarded all the costly ornaments of a prince, and dressed in a single piece of coarse cloth. This symbolized separation from the secular world and entry into the priesthood. If ornaments were placed on images, then they should be images of Bodhisattvas. If so, then how can one distinguish the “bejewelled Buddhas” so frequently seen in Bāmiyān art from images of Bodhisattvas? By the presence or absence of the priest's robe. Bodhisattva figure usually have the upper half of the body bare, but also have necklaces. The "bejewelled Buddhas" can also have one shoulder bared, but in all cases wear the priest's robe, and on top of the chasuble or outer sleeveless garment studded with jewels, slipped over the head and hanging over chest, shoulders, and back.
Extracted from Higuchi2001
