The Beginnings of Buddhist Art and Other Essays in Indian and Central-Asian Archaeology c11.s1.12

c11.s1.12

Sudhanakumârâvadâna. — 1. (L., pl. XVI, 2). « Once upon a time, says the text, there were in the country of Pâñcâla two kings, the king of the north and the king of the south... » The former was virtuous, and his kingdom prosperous; with the second it was quite otherwise. Leemans describes the bas-relief in these terms : « A prince and his wife, seated in a pendopo (²) not far from their palace, are receiving the homage of a great number of persons of rank ». Is it the monarch of the north who is presented to us in all his glory in the midst of his court? Is it the sovereign of the south whom we perceive in the act of deliberating with his ministers concerning the means of restoring prosperity to his kingdom? This it is not in the power of our image-makers to specify.