The Beginnings of Buddhist Art and Other Essays in Indian and Central-Asian Archaeology c11.s1.48

c11.s1.48

us from seeing in nos. 1 (L., pl. XLVI, 62) and 2 (L., 64) the rich alms which King Uposhadha himself bestows and causes to be bestowed with a view to obtaining a son. The reason for the expedition represented in no. 3 (L., 66) is no longer hidden from us : it is that undertaken by the king (who in this case travelled in a litter) for the protection of the anchorites. No. 4 (L., 68) takes us straight to a hermitage of the *rishis*; and we believe that we can see there the magic vessel to which Uposhadha owed in such an unusual manner the fulfilment of his desires. In any case, it is in the following picture (no. 5; L., 70) that the child so much desired is at last seen. Again, nos. 6 and 7 are probably there simply as padding, and they represent, the first (L., 72) the horoscope of the future *cakravartin* or sovereign monarch of the world, the second (L., 74) the donation intended to recompense the astrologer. These last incidents, like that of the alms, are very commonplace; it is easily intelligible that the compiler of the *Divyāvadāna* should have dispensed with a further repetition of them. On the other hand, the sculptors of Boro-Budur never fail to emphasize, as hints to visiting pilgrims, these edifying scenes of virtue in practice. But let us proceed : we are now on firm ground, supported by both a written and a figured form of the tradition in mutual accord.