A mural of the Buddha on the wall of Kalinga Buddha Vihar in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 19: Kalinga Buddha Vihar, the state centre of the Mahabodhi Society of India, today inaugurated stunning artworks that tell tales of Buddha’s life and teachings in forms of murals on its walls.

Much like frescoes seen in churches depicting Jesus’ life, the entire story of prince Sidhartha’s transformation into the enlightened Buddha now appears on the temple walls in a series of large colourful paintings.

The story begins on a wall alongside the main Buddha idol and continues episode wise on the segments of the wall till it reaches the opposite side of the idol.

The murals created with an effect of golden shades are striking depictions of the birth of prince Sidhartha when a hermit had predicted he would make a mark in history followed by his acts of kindness of saving a bird in childhood and then as a curious youth observing the state of misery all around in human life as he went on a ride with his charioteer.

The scenes of an ailing old man, a man’s corpse carried by his relatives and a peaceful meditating ascetic influenced him deeply. Next comes the scene of him leaving his wife and child in search of nirvana. The stories until he attained enlightenment and beyond that, tales of his disciples and that of emperor Asoka’s transformation have also been etched on the walls.

Captions have also been painted below the illustrations to enable viewers to understand the Buddha’s life.

“These paintings are beautiful. They describe the story of Lord Buddha with ease,” said Swayamprava Rout, a visitor.

The wall illustrations have been created by two artist monks — Karma and Tashi — from Ladakh, who are now on a visit to Bodh Gaya. They took six months to depict the life of Buddha in paintings.

Artist Jatin Das inaugurated the paintings today.

“The paintings will help people to be inspired and learn from the teachings of the great Buddha,” said Das.

Former Indian diplomat Abasar Beuria was also present during the inaugural ceremony.