Eastern Indian School of Mediaeval Sculpture c7.15

Language: English

c7.15.1

In the majority of cases the stelæ of this class consist of an image of Buddha in the bhūmisparśa-mudrā in the centre and a small basrelief representing his death or mahāparinirvāṇa overhead. There are, besides, six smaller images or basreliefs, three on each side of the main image. The incidents represented in the six latter basreliefs on the sides of the backslab differ in different stelæ. The following four incidents are common to almost all of them:—(1) the birth, (2) the illumination or sambodhi, (3) the first sermon at Benares or dharma-chakra-pravartana and (4) the death or mahāparinirvāṇa. Of these the birth and the first sermon at Benares are the most frequent. In addition to these two incidents there are four or five others which occur on the sides of the stelæ and vary in different specimens; these as:—(1) the presentation of honey by a monkey at Vaiśālī, (2) the attempt of Buddha's cousin Devadatta on the Master's life through hired assassins, (3) or by the mad elephant Nālagiri or Ratnapāla at Rājagṛiha, (4) the descent from the heaven of the thirty-three gods (Dev-āvatāra) and (5) the miracle of Śrāvastī. Any four of these might be selected by the artists to complete the eight principal incidents of the Master's life. In the majority of cases, the central figure is that of Buddha in the attitude of touching the earth (bhūmisparśa-mudrā), but there are several exceptions to this general rule.

c7.15.2

For instance, in several sculptures the central place is occupied by a standing figure of Buddha or one seated in the attitude of turning the Wheel of the Law. In another specimen now in the Indian Museum (No. 3755)¹ we find Buddha seated in the dharma-chakra-mudrā in the same position and in a number of others again a standing figure of Buddha. The best specimen of this class is a large sculpture placed inside the north-western corner shrine on the second storey of the main temple at Mahābodhi or Bodh Gaya. At one time the Indian Museum contained a very large number of such specimens, but the majority of them have been presented by its Trustees as duplicates to other institutions. Thus the Rajshahi Museum has come to possess at least two of these unique images.² The only specimen now remaining in the Indian Museum is No. 3766.³ The Museum of the Baṅgīya Sāhitya Parishad can boast of one specimen only (C(c)1).⁴ The standing figures of Buddha represent, as we shall see later on, his descent accompanied by Indra and Brahmā, from the heaven of the thirty-three gods. In this class many specimens do not represent all of the eight incidents of the Master's life. The image in the small temple in the north-western corner of the second storey of the great temple at Bodh Gaya represents seven only, while No. 3766⁵ of the Indian Museum represents only five.

c7.15.3

In this specimen the birth, the illumination and the death are omitted.⁶ In the Bodh Gaya specimen the central figure is that of the taming of Nālagiri or Ratnapāla. The birth is omitted and the death is to be found on the top. The scenes on the sides of the backslab are:—(1) the illumination or sambodhi, (2) the taming of the robbers at Rājagṛiha, (3) the first sermon at Benares, (4) the presentation of honey at Vaiśālī and (5) the miracle of Śrāvastī. In this class may be included stele No. 3739 of the collection in the Indian Museum. In this specimen the central figure is occupied by an image of Buddha in the attitude of touching the earth. Below it we find four more, but in different attitudes, and representing other incidents of the Master's life.⁷ Of the latter the two at the extremities are also in the bhūmisparśa-mudrā and cannot be properly identified; but of those between them, one is attended by the kneeling figure of a monkey, and holds a bowl in his hands, representing the presentation of honey on the bank of the tank to Buddha. The other figure is in the attitude of turning the wheel of the law (dharma-chakra-mudrā) and therefore represents Buddha preaching the first sermon at Benares.

c7.15.4

A similar fragment discovered at Nālandā represents four incidents of Buddha's life.⁸ The fragment bears four niches containing figures of Buddha in the following mudrās:—(1) vara(?), (2) dharma-chakra, (3) bhū-misparśa and (4) dhyāna representing, as we shall see later on, when we come to the explanation of the mudrās in the eastern school of mediæval sculpture:—(1) the descent from the heaven of the thirty-three gods? (2) the first sermon at Benares, (3) the illumination at Bodh Gaya and (4) the presentation of honey.¹