Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c12.s3.t7.3

c12.s3.t7.3

Some significant motifs on the railings and gateway of the Stūpa III are as follows: Garland-bearing Yakshas which appear for the first time in the decoration of the meanders which in later art are known as Garland-bearing Erotes, in Mathura, Gandhāra and Amaravati. In the Mahāvaṃsa and Divyāvadāna they are known as *Mālādhārī Devāḥ* and are given a religious significance as one of the *Pañcha-rakshā* figures round an ideal city.