UPSC Prelims 2026 question on Empty Seat Buddhist Iconography

In early Buddhist art dating back to the pre-Christian era, at sites such as the Sanchi Stupa and Bharhut, artists did not depict the Buddha in human form. Instead they used aniconic (symbolic) markers to indicate his presence.

The empty seat, or empty throne, typically symbolises the Buddha's enlightenment under the Bodhi tree and his ongoing state of meditation. Hence option (a) is the correct answer.

Other key symbols of this era carry the meanings offered in the distractors: the wheel (dharmachakra) stands for the Buddha's First Sermon at Sarnath, the Bodhi tree for the moment of enlightenment, and the stupa for the Mahaparinibbana, the Buddha's passing away. The Mahabhinishkramana (the Great Departure) was conveyed through the riderless horse and footprints, not the empty seat.