Buddhapada

The footprint of the Buddha is an imprint of Gautama Buddha's one or both feet. There are two forms: natural, as found in stone or rock, and those made artificially. Many of the "natural" ones, of course, are acknowledged not to be actual footprints of the Buddha, but replicas or representations of them, which can be considered cetiya (Buddhist relics) and also an early aniconic and symbolic representation of the Buddha.

The footprints of Buddha are along the path from aniconic to iconic which starts at symbols like the wheel and moves to statues of Buddha. These footprints are meant to remind that Buddha was present on earth and left a spiritual ‘path’ to be followed. They are special as they are the only monuments which give Buddha a physical presence on earth as they are actual depression in the earth. A depression atop of Sri padaya in Sri Lanka is among the largest and most famous footprints.

The footprints of the Buddha abound throughout Asia, dating from various periods. Japanese author Motoji Niwa (丹羽基二, Niwa Motoji), who spent years tracking down the footprints in many Asian countries, estimates that he found more than 3,000 such footprints, among them about 300 in Japan and more than 1,000 in Sri Lanka. They often bear distinguishing marks, such as a Dharmachakra at the centre of the sole, or the 32, 108 or 132 auspicious signs of the Buddha, engraved or painted on the sole.

Buddhist legend holds that during his lifetime the Buddha flew to Sri Lanka and left his footprint on Sri padaya to indicate the importance of Sri Lanka as the perpetuator of his teachings, and also left footprints in all lands where his teachings would be acknowledged. In Thailand, the most important of these "natural" footprints imbedded in rock is at Phra Phutthabat in Central Thailand. In China, during Tang Dynasty, the discovery of a large footprint of the Buddha in Chengzhou caused Empress Wu Zetian to inaugurate a new reign name in that year, 701 CE, starting the Dazu (Big Foot) era.

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Wikipedia