Moonstone

Buddhist Monuments Area, Anupu

This moonstone, located at one of the viharas in Anupu's Buddhist Monuments area, is characterized by a band of auspicious animals that circle around a symbolic pond. It is probably a copy, since the originals of most Nagarjunakonda artworks are kept in the site museum on the island. The animals represented here include horses, lions, elephants, and buffalo. The liquid material deposited in its center may be the remainder of an offering of some kind. It also reinforces the symbolism of a pond where all sorts of animals gather peacefully to drink, in keeping with the Buddhist ideal.