Photograph of the figure of the Buddha, from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections: India Office Series (volume 28), taken by Thomas Fraser Peppé in 1870. Kispa is in the Gaya District, Bihar which is known for Gaya city, the place where Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. The area is on a level plain and has a ridge of beautiful wooded hills along the southern boundary. In this sculpture, the Buddha is seated in the Bhumisparsha mudra, which literally translates into 'touching the earth'. This position symbolises the moment when Buddha summoned the earth goddess to bear witness to his attainment of enlightenment. There are smaller images carved on the slab behind him. T.F. Peppé included these notes to accompany the photograph: ''About a mile and a half from Kispa to the north-east, there is a village called Genjan on the top of a large mound. Here there is a very fine statue of Buddha the ascetic, with representations of the birth, teaching, and death or Nirvana of Sakya Singh in small figures surrounding it. This is one of the best-executed sculptures in the district; and although much mutilated and broken, it is of considerable interest.''