Relic taken by SS in 1930s analysed by researchers following reappearance at auction in 2007
A priceless Buddha statue looted by Nazis in Tibet in the 1930s was carved from a meteorite which crashed to the Earth 15,000 years ago, according to new research, the Guardian‘s Mark Taylor reports.
According to the report, the relic bears a Buddhist swastika on its belly – an ancient symbol of luck that was later co-opted by the Nazis in Germany.Analysis has shown the statue is made from an incredibly rare form of nickel-rich iron present in falling stars.
The 1,000-year-old carving, which is 24cm high and weighs 10kg, depicts the god Vaisravana, the Buddhist King of the North, and is known as the Iron Man statue. It was stolen before the second world war during a pillage of Tibet by Hitler’s SS, who were searching for the origins of the Aryan race.
Justice / September 28, 2012
The statue appears very unlike buddha statues everywhere.
It is like that of a warrior.
Why only the top half is revealed?
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gamini / September 28, 2012
The insignia of the Swasthika displayed can not be Buddha nor Tibetan. I believe Justice is right. Must be that of a Nasiz Warrier.
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Raajapass / September 28, 2012
The Swastika is an ancient Hindu symbol that the Nazi’s used..it has been denigrated by the Nazi’s belief system.
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gamini / September 29, 2012
You are right Raajapass. I forgot that story. The Swasthika was indeed a Hindu insignia a powerful one at that. Hitler had copied it and why he failed in his mission was because he had the Swasthika anti clockwise when he went back and got it on their regalia. The real Hindu Swasthika is clockwise.
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Siri Ranasinghe / September 28, 2012
Not just the Nazis
We are also affected by this ‘Aryan supremacist’ ideology.
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Abimanasingham Sitthawatthai Uthayakumar / September 29, 2012
It is mentioned here that “A priceless Buddha statue looted by Nazis in Tibet in the 1930s ……. the relic bears a Buddhist swastika on its belly – an ancient symbol of luck that was later co-opted by the Nazis in Germany.” The swatika symbol is actually a geometric figure of eight similar parts joined together. Thus, it could symbolize ‘the Noble Eight fold Path’ of Buddhism, ‘the Eight Gunas’ of Siva and Jainism etc. But various other geometric figures with eight parts joined together could also be used to symbolize the Noble Eight fold Path or the Eight Gunas of Siva and Jainism. As an example, the building that houses the sacred tooth relic of Buddha is of the octagonal shape.From this it is clear that with the swatika symbol alone this statue cannot be associated with Buddhism!There should be at least one more symbol of Buddhism to associate the statue with Buddhism.
The swatika symbol found marked on the Braahmi inscriptions, coins and other archaeological finds of Lanka is normally clockwise. But there are some anti-clockwise swatikas as well.
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Birgit / October 13, 2012
Absolutely not. The Buddhist religion rseists superstition, though it is rich in symbolism. The journey on the path to enlightenment is achieved from within and not bound in the material world. You can take a small step forward on your own journey by accepting the loss of the statue graciously, understanding that it is simply a possession that can be replaced.I have found a number of fine Buddha statues at BigBuddhaStatue.com for my own collection. You might look there if you hope to replace it.
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