The Beginnings of Buddhist Art and Other Essays in Indian and Central-Asian Archaeology c7.s1.t2: The Legendary Scenes

The Beginnings of Buddhist Art and Other Essays in Indian and Central-Asian Archaeology c7.s1.t2

Language: English

The Legendary Scenes

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After this rapid sketch of the decorative elements we enter upon a necessarily much more detailed examination of the religious scenes. For it is self-evident that it is eminently these that need explanation.

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We will begin with those which are figured on the two faces, namely the front and the interior ones, which hold the place of honour in the jambs. We have already seen that their exterior faces bear only one decorative motif (§ 1 a). As regards their rear faces, they left no space above the balustrade, except for two little bas-reliefs, analogous to those which we have already noticed on the supports (cf. § 4 a and a') : taken all together, they represent in the same stereotyped manner, by the pretended adoration of the tree, the wheel and the stûpa, the three great traditional miracles of the Illumination, the Preaching, and the Death of Buddha.

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§ 6. Front face of the right jamb. — This façade is decorated with four superposed buildings : the lower one has only one story; the middle ones have two, both covered with a rounded roof, in which are open bays in the shape of a

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horse-shoe; the top one has one story, surmounted by an uncovered terrace, which is surrounded on three sides by a group of buildings. It is difficult in the present state of the stone to judge of the distribution of the persons on the lower panel; but the five following ones, divided likewise into three compartments by columns with or without Persepolitan capitals, are all composed in the same manner. The centre is occupied by a divine personage, as is proved by the thunderbolt which he holds in his right hand and the vase of ambrosia in his left. God though he be, he is for the rest conceived in the image of an Indian king. Behind him stand the bearers of his parasol and fly-flapper, insignia of his royalty; on his right, in the same surroundings, but on a slightly lower seat, is his viceroy (*uparâja*). At his left are seen the musicians and dancers of his court. It is well known that this concert-ballet is according to Indian ideas the indispensable accompaniment of a happy mundane life. Indications of trees form the background. On the upper terrace, as on a balcony, lean two other gods, likewise fanned by women.

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We have enumerated above (p. 71) the reasons which militate in favour of the identification of this series of stories with those of the Buddhist paradise. They would therefore serve respectively as dwelling-places, (1) for « the Four Great Kings », guardians of the four cardinal points (the necessity of housing all four of them would explain the absence of bayadères in the compartment to the right of the lower panel, at the same time that their subordinate character would justify the line of demarcation traced by the roof of the palace between them and the following ones); — (2) for the Thirty-three Gods over whom Indra reigns, and (3) for those ruled by Yama; — (4) for the Satisfied Gods (*Tushita*), among whom the Bodhisattva resided before his last re-descent upon earth; (5) for the Gods who dispose of their own creations; — (6) and finally, for those who even dispose of the creations of others, and whose king Mâra, God of Desire and Death, extends his empire over the five lower heavens. As for the two persons on the terrace, they would represent the last divinities still visible to our human eyes, those of Brahmâ’s world.

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§ 7. Inner face of the right jamb. — This face, according to Fergusson, presents an exceptional interest, « being the only subject at Sânchî that we can, with certainty, attribute to Buddhism, as it is known to us ». To-day it is better known; but the representation, on the upper extremity of the middle bas-relief, of the « dream of Mâyâ », — otherwise, the « conception of the Bodhisattva », who descends into his mother’s bosom in the form of a little elephant — remains certainly in this case the pivot of all identification. We know that this scene, so strange to our eyes, in which it is a pachyderm which plays the part of the dove in our « Annunciations », is itself certainly identified by the Barhut inscription : « The Descent of the Blessed One ». Consequently, we might be tempted to see in the upper bas-relief a picture of the Bodhisattva in the heaven of the Tushita gods at the moment when he prepares to be born again in the royal family of Kapilavastu. But the sculptor prevents us from going astray in that direction by the care which he has taken to represent before and behind the empty throne obviously the same king and the same tree which we find again at the bottom of the lower panel. He could not more clearly indicate that he is referring us to the latter to find the solution of the enigma.

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a) If we turn then to that (pl. IX, 2), we shall find, first of all, in the centre of the composition this same king, about to set out with great pomp from one of the gates of his good town of Kapilavastu. He is in his chariot, accompanied by the three usual servants, the driver, holding the reins and the whip, the parasol and fly-flapper bearers. As is customary, the horses, whose head-adornment is very high, have their long tails carefully tied up to the harness, doubtless in order that they may not inconvenience the occupants of the chariot. At their left the archers of the guard stand out along the ramparts of the city, and in front march the herald and the seven musicians of the royal orchestra, blowing oblique flutes and shells or beating drums. Behind we perceive, emerging from the streets of the town, a brilliant suite mounted on horses and elephants. Through the balconies of the verandas spectators, mostly women, protrude their heads, curious to see the procession of the feudal cortège of king Çuddhodana and his peers, the noble lords of the race of Çâkya.

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Where are they going? Not far, it seems, into a park near the town, where all have dismounted; and the first idea is that they are going to the famous park of Lumbini, theatre of the « Nativity », which may be presaged by the scene (at the top of the panel) of the « Conception ». But there is nothing to corroborate this hypothesis. The king and the Çâkyas appear indeed all occupied in contemplating with clasped hands some miraculous event: but their eyes are raised into the air, and the object towards which they are turned is a small rectangular slab, stretched exactly above their heads. It cannot take us long to recognize in this slab the « promenade of precious stone » (Skt. *ratna-caṅkrama*) which Buddha created by magic « in the air », on the occasion of his first return to his native town of Kapilavastu (¹).

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(¹) *Mahâvastu*, III. p. 113; Commentary on the *Dhammapada*, ed. Fausbøll, p. 334; *Mahâvaṃsa*, XXX, st. 81, etc.

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The legend is well known : on the occasion of this meeting between the father, who had remained a king, and the son, who had become Buddha, a most delicate question of etiquette had arisen : which of the two should salute the other first? The Blessed One escaped the difficulty by the miracle which the sculptor has endeavoured to represent as well as he could with his limited means and without representation of Buddha himself.

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b) Apparently he was still somewhat distrustful of the intelligence of his spectators ; for, in order to give more precision, he has been careful to put in the first row at the left a nyagrodha tree surrounded by a balustrade. This Ficus indica (clearly distinguished from the açvattha or Ficus religiosa, as it is represented, for instance, on the face of the left jamb) is evidently intended to symbolise by itself the nyagrodha-ârâma at the gates of Kapilavastu, which on the same occasion king Çuddhodana assigned to his son for a residence. Henceforth the meaning of the upper bas-relief becomes, reciprocally, clear enough. It represents in the same elliptical manner the Buddha seated upon a throne, under this same nyagrodha, in the before-mentioned hermitage; and the said king, his father — always to be recognized by the spindle-shaped object kept in its place by a buckle of gems on the top of his turban — « renders homage to him for the third time », whilst the Çâkyas, whose pride has been broken by the miracle, imitate his example. As always, the tree is adorned with garlands and surmounted by a parasol of honour, whilst in the heavens two divinities, mounted on griffons, and two others, half man and half bird, bring still more garlands or cause flowers to rain down.

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But what now is the point of the motif of the « Conception », thus intercalated between two episodes which took place more than forty years after? The answer is simple; it is there solely to say : « the action takes place at Kapilavastu »; and it is just this which explains why, in spite of its traditional importance, it is treated in so secondary a manner. What else could our sculptor do, unless he attached a label, as at Barhut? He has taken care to supplement by the addition of the *nyagrodha* the somewhat summary indication of the *ratna-caṅkrama*. For the rest, that is for the royal procession, he has given free play to his spirit of observation and his taste for the picturesque, trusting in the means which otherwise he has put at our disposal for localizing the event and identifying the protagonists : and, if on this point we have, as we believe, arrived at a definite interpretation, it is solely owing to the docility with which we have followed his indications.

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For the person standing at the foot of the jamb and the one opposite to him we must refer to § 1 *b* above.

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§ 8. *Inner face of the left jamb.* — For the general sense of the bas-reliefs of this jamb and the link which connects them we must refer to what was said above on pages 76-7.

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*a)* We will begin this time with the upper panel of the inner face. Apparently it represents the rural country town of Uruvilvâ, whose immediate approaches had been a few months previously the scene of the *Sambodhi*, and later — after Buddha’s first journey to Benares — of the conversion of the Kâçyapas. Above, at the left, women are doing their household work on the thresholds of their huts; one is husking rice in a wooden mortar with a huge pestle; another winnows it with a fan in the form of a shovel; two neighbours are one of them rolling out pastry-cakes and the other grinding curry-powder. The attention of the latter seems to be distracted by the (perhaps amorous) conversation of the man seated beside her. Further down to the right two more women with round pitchers upon their hips are going in the direction of the river Nairañjanâ (now the Lilañj), where a third is already stooping to fill her ghaṭī. Some men are coming and going, the bamboo-pole on their shoulders laden or empty. It is the village life of two thousand years ago : it is also the village life of to-day, and there is not one of the utensils represented there that we have not somewhere seen in use. Troops of oxen, buffalos, goats, sheep add life to the picture. In what does its edification consist? Simply in this, that the invisible Buddha is felt to be seated under a parasol and on a throne, behind which two devotees are standing. Before the gate of the village a third person is likewise to be seen, with his hands clasped; and the attitude of this villager is the only connecting link between the genre scenes, so complacently treated, and the religious subject, which is decidedly a little sacrificed. As for the two worshippers, we believe, after carefully weighing everything, that we must recognize in them the gods Indra and Brahmâ, paying a visit to the Blessed One in his residence, which was near to, but distinct from, that of the oldest of the Kâçyapas, the Kâçyapa of Uruvilvâ. This interpretation not only has the advantage of connecting the subject with the series of wonders which in the end determined the conversion of the Brahmanical ascetics : it also provides a place moreover for the third and fourth of those prâtihâryas, besides containing an implicit allusion to the second, in the order in which the Mahâvagga (I, 16-18) counts them. If it is objected that these miracles are given in the text as taking place during the night, we shall reply that our sculptors have systematically ignored this detail, for the very good reason that it was not within their competence (cf. below, § 11 a).

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b) However the case may be, the panel immediately below represents patently the miracle of the « victory over the wicked serpent », the first in the version of the Mahâvagga, the last in that of the Mahâvastu. Buddha has been allowed by the oldest of the Kâçyapas to pass the night, at his own risk and peril, in a fire-temple, in spite of the redoubtable nâga which inhabits it (pl. IX, 1). The latter at once attacks him, and the two struggle together for a long time, smoke against smoke, flame against flame, until the final defeat of the dragon. This is why we here see flames escaping by the horse-shoe bays in the rounded roof of the temple, « as if it were a prey to fire ». Through the pillars supporting the roof, between the fire altar (or rather vessel of fire) and the five-headed hood of the serpent you see the throne of the invisible Buddha. On either side Brahmanic anchorites, characterised by their high conical-shaped head-dresses and their bark-garments, are contemplating with surprise or respect the victory of the Blessed One, whilst below, to the left, three young novices are hastening to go and fill pitchers at the Nairañjanâ. Their intention, if we are to believe the analogy of Gandhâra (cf. Art gréco-bouddhique du Gandhâra, fig. 224, 225 b, etc.), is to use them in extinguishing the fire. On the right an ascetic has just made his report to the old Kâçyapa, seated on a rolled-up mat (brishi) on the threshold of his round hut, with its roof of leaves (parnaçâlâ); a band is passed round his knees and loins, and his head is leaning upon an esparto cushion. In front is a row of trees along the bank of the river. The instruments of the Vedic sacrifice, an elephant, antelopes, two buffalos, which lift their heads with an air of alarm, trees swarming with monkeys, complete or close the picture of the hermitage. On the whole, the miracle is related as minutely as was possible to the sculptor. The whole question is to find out whether he has not sought, in accordance with his habit, to combine two subjects. At the middle bottom, in the river — indicated as usual by waved lines, lotuses and aquatic birds — an adult anchorite, who is about to bathe, seems to be watching a fire-cauldron, placed in unstable equilibrium on the edge of the water. If we remember that one of the wonders accomplished by Buddha consisted precisely in creating fires, in order to allow the Brahmans to warm themselves on leaving the bath, we cannot help asking ourselves whether we have not here at least one allusion to this further *prâtihârya* (cf. Mahâvagga, I, 20, 15).

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c) In any case, two, or even three, miracles are grouped on the next small panel. Here again, it is understood, the intention of edifying does not prevent the scene from being treated in a picturesque manner. After the life of the village it is the life of the hermitage that we have before our eyes. On the right two anchorites are splitting wood by means of axes which, if we may judge from their massive appearance and the form of their handles, must be made of stone; two others are occupied in lighting fires, and a fifth holds in his hand a sacrificial spoon, whilst two novices are carrying on their shoulders the one a fagot of logs and the other a double basket of provisions. Among the trees at the back a sacred tumulus, as is proved by the balustrade surrounding it, must enclose the relics of some superior of the community, and thus gives the last touch of local colour (¹).

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(¹) We may notice that the form of this *stûpa* is the most ancient of which Indian art has preserved the image. In the objects decorating its circumference (a long shell, a double basket (?), and a large conch) we should be disposed to see — like the oar planted by the companions of Ulysses on the tumulus of Elpenor — the implements used by the deceased during his lifetime.

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But for the initiated all the details of the decoration have at the same time an edifying signification. The texts tell us, in fact, that according to the will of the Blessed One these logs and these fires alternately refused and consented, the former to allow themselves to be split and the latter to let themselves burn. That is why, on the right, one of the anchorites continues to hold his axe in the air, without being able to lower it (¹); whilst his neighbour has just succeeded by a lucky stroke in splitting his piece of wood. It is also for the same reason that, of the two Brahmans who are lighting their fires by fanning them with esparto screens, the one in the second row cannot succeed in obtaining any flame whatever, whilst the one in the first row sees his fire blaze up brightly. These two miracles are related to us by the *Mahâvagga* (I, 20, 12-13) in the same breath. But what then would be the role of the anchorite on the left? We imagine that we must turn to the *Mahâvastu* (III, p. 426, l. 15-18) for the answer. His attitude suffices by itself to indicate the twofold marvel, which is perfectly analogous to the preceding ones, of the offering which at first will not be detached from the spoon, then at last consents to fall — in the shape of a snail doubled up — into the sacrificial pile (pl. IX, 1).

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§ 9. — *Front face of the left jamb.*
a) Nevertheless, in order to overcome the arrogance of the old Brahman, there was need of another miracle, whose decided importance was of sufficient value to cause it to be

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(¹) We borrow this interpretation from the *Mahâvastu*, III, p. 428, l. 4-8, but without concealing from ourselves the fact that it may just as well have been conceived afterwards in view of a bas-relief analogous to the one at Sânchi.

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placed upon the front of the pillar, as it forms the dénouement of the episode in the *Mahâvagga* (I. 20, 15; wanting in the *Mahâvastu*) : « At this time there fell out of season a heavy rain, and a great flood followed ». You will understand henceforward why the Nairañjanâ has risen to the point of washing the lower branches of the trees, to the greatest terror of the monkeys who have taken refuge there, and also to the evident satisfaction of the water birds and even of a crocodile. On the swollen waters of the river old Kâçyapa hastens in a curiously jointed canoe, attended by two ascetics with paddles, to the assistance of the Blessed One. But the latter has left his seat (relegated to the bottom at the right of the composition), and has formed for himself a « promenade », which allows him to walk about with dry feet in the midst of the wild waters. This time the anchorite cannot but recognize the transcendent superiority of his host : when we see him again below, standing on the bank with his disciples, he is turning his back towards us, in order to make in the direction of the master's *caṅkrama* the gesture of submission or *añjali* (¹).

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*b)* There remains then to be explained the panel immediately below. Once more it represents a king leaving his capital : chariot, music, guards, suite, spectators, everything, even the architecture, is similar to § 7 *a*. Only we notice the way in which the rampart of bricks goes right to the top of the panel, in order to separate the city from the

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(¹) It appears to us that the ingenious suggestion that he has prostrated himself must be put aside : for in that case we could not understand how his disciples could remain standing ; besides, the flowers placed near him are scattered almost everywhere in the picture and are found likewise on one of the preceding bas-reliefs (§ 8 *b*). Also, the analogy of § 7 *a* is in opposition to the identification of the *caṅkrama* of the Blessed One with the great washing-stone brought to him on another occasion by the god Indra.

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scene which takes place on its outskirts. The first thing is to know the name of the town : but this time it is to the neighbouring scenes that we must address our questions. We have already seen above (p. 77) that they reply unanimously : it is the capital of Magadha. The texts for their part agree in telling us that immediately after the conversion of the Kâçyapas and their thousand disciples the Blessed One, at the head of his new community of saints, repaired to Râjagriha, and at the gates of the town received the solemn visit of King Bimbisâra (¹). In accordance with the usual custom the king advanced in his good chariot as far as the road would allow a carriage to pass; then he descended and went on foot towards Buddha. This is what he is doing at the top on the left, followed by one sole companion, whose duty is to represent in his own person the king's innumerable cortège. Before the empty throne of the Blessed One conventional indications of water and rocks succeed, in default of a wood of bamboos, in particularizing the location of the scene on the hill Antagiri near the famous hot springs of Râjgir (²). As for the rest of the story, it must naturally be supplemented by the help of the texts : the king and the people of Magadha wonder at first concerning Buddha and old Kâçyapa, which is the master and which the disciple; the public homage of the old anchorite will soon decide the question. If we see nothing of all this, it is because the Sânchî bas-reliefs systematically omit all representation

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(¹) Mahâvagga, I, 22; Mahâvastu, III, p. 441-449; Divyâvadâna. p. 393, etc. (²) Cf. CUNNINGHAM, Arch. Reports, III. p. 140 : « I fixed the position of the Bamboo Forest to the south-west of Râjgir, on the hill lying between the hot-springs of Tapoban and old Râjagriha ». It is precisely by the « Gate of the Hot Springs » (tapoda-dvâra) that the Lalita-Vistara, xvi, makes Buddha for the first time enter Râjagriha.

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not only of Buddha, but also of his monks (cf. above, p. 75). It is easy to observe how infinitely clearer the sole representation of the latter makes the same series of episodes on one of the pillars of the balustrades of Amarâvatî (FERGUSSON, pl. LXX, or *Art gréco-bouddh. du Gandh.*, fig. 228).

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c) Finally, every one must recognize at the top of this same face, in the religious fig-tree (*açvattha*) surmounted, as usual, by a parasol and inhabited by winged genii, the tree and the symbol of the perfect « Bodhi of the Blessed One Çâkya-Muni » : of this the inscription on an analogous bas-relief at Barhut convinces us. In both cases we find at the foot of the same tree the same throne, surmounted by the same symbol (which is double at Barhut), and, about the offshoot of the branches, the same temple open to the sky. We may safely aver that this strange sanctuary is, at the earliest, that which Açoka had piously built around the sacred tree, more than two centuries after the death of the Master : but this flagrant anachronism is one of those to which we are perfectly accustomed in the religious art of all times and all countries, and does not in any wise prevent the picture from relating to the very miracle of the Illumination of Buddha. Perhaps it has not been observed with sufficient attention that the analogy of Barhut forces us to establish a close connection between this scene and the double row of people contiguous to it : the whole difference consists in the fact that here they are above it, while in the former case they are below; but the inscriptions prove that they are different categories of Gods, and must be regarded as grouped in adoration at the four cardinal points of the tree, as happened at the moment of the *Sambodhi*¹. Henceforward we must here also recognize in the four worshippers at the bottom « the four great kings », who live in our atmosphere, to the right those of the east and the south, to the left those of the north and west. The ten persons of the first row, counting two for each heaven, would then indicate the kings and viceroys of the five other paradises of the Kâmâvacaras, just as on the face of the other pillar (§ 6) they happen to be represented in their heavenly palaces; then the eight gods in the row above, of whose bodies (as in the case of the two who form their counterpart on the upper terrace on the right) only half is seen, would represent in twos the inhabitants of the four stages of Brahmâ's heaven, the last that we may ask the sculptor to show us (cf. above, p. 71). Thus a close examination reveals, under the evident striving after variety in the outer forms, a striking carefulness in balancing the intrinsic importance and the religious value of the subjects on the symmetrical faces of the two jambs.

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¹ For the bas-reliefs see CUNNINGHAM, *Barhut*, pl. XIV, 1, and for the inscriptions HULTZSCH, Ind. Antiquary, XXI, p. 235. Let us notice also on the front face of the lower lintel of the western gate (the back face of the same lintel in the restoration of to-day, and the front face of the upper lintel in the plan of COLE ap. FERGUSSON, pl. XVIII) that the defeat of Mâra's army by Buddha is represented beside a Bodhi tree, which is already surrounded by his temple.

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§ 10. Upper lintel. — We shall find traces of the same carefulness on the two faces of the lintels, where, side by side with symmetrical decorations (cf. above, § 3), great Buddhist compositions also are to be found. We will begin our study of them at the top, a method which will apparently allow us to follow a certain chronological order in reviewing the scenes.

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a) Thus it is that the frontal of the gate is occupied from one end to the other by a symbolical representation of the seven last Buddhas of the past, typified alternately by the tumulus of their *Parinirvâna* and the tree of their *Sambodhi* (pl. VIII, 1). The sculptor, having only two trees at his disposal, considered it his duty to give the honour of being placed on the fronton to the first and the last Buddha of the series : in fact, by comparison with the reverse side, one can distinctly recognize on the right of the central *stûpa*, the *Bignonia* of Vipaçyin, and on the left the sacred fig-tree of Gautama, otherwise called Çâkya-muni. On the other hand, the two missing tumuli are restored on the two upper supports (cf. § 4 *a'*) of the reverse side, so as to complete the traditional number. This observation allows us to suppose that some æsthetic scruple alone prevented the artist from placing the seven *stûpas* in a row on the façade, as on the other face he did not hesitate to do with the seven corresponding trees (cf. above, p. 72).

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b) For the rear *façade* (pl. VII, 1) it will be sufficient to give, according to the text and the inscribed bas-reliefs at Barhut, a list of the seven Buddhas and their respective *Bodhidrumas*. Here they are, in the order in which they are presented, going from right to left of the spectator :

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It will be well likewise to connect with this series the representation, on one of the upper supports of the façade, of the tree of the eighth and future Buddha of our age, Maitreya (cf. § 4 a).

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§ 11. Middle lintel. — The middle lintel, which is closer to the eye of the spectator, replaces these symbolic pictures by two episodes, borrowed, the one from the youth, the other from the career of Çâkya-muni.

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a) Front face. — We have already stated (above p. 75) what from the point of view of Buddhist iconography constitutes the chief interest of the central panel (pl. X, 1). On the left we perceive the stereotyped representation of a town, proved by the context to be Kapilavastu, in its streets and at its windows the customary animation is to be seen (cf. § 7 a and 8 b) : it is clear that the sculptor has not troubled himself in the least about the fact — which of course he knew as well as we do — that the escape of the Bodhisattva took place during the night. The latter, on his good horse Kaṇṭhaka, is passing through the city gate « the great departure » (*Mahâbhinishkramaṇa*); and we can follow, to the right, in no less than four successive editions, the progress of his miraculous course : but on each occasion the embroidered rug which serves as a saddle to his steed is presented to us without a rider. Each time also the cortège is the same : Chandaka, the faithful attendant, holds, as usual, the parasol; four Gods are lifting the horse's feet, in order, it was thought, that the sound of his shoes might not give the alarm; another has taken possession of the fly-flapper: two others, who at first are dwarfs, but for the sake of variety, strangely enough, grow bigger by degrees as they advance towards the right, are carrying the ewer and the sandals; next, others are throwing flowers, waving their scarves, or beating the heavenly drums. When the right jamb of the gate forces the sculptor to end the series of his repetitions, the attendant and the horse are, as it is written, taking leave of their Master. But the latter is figured only by the gigantic imprint of his feet, marked by the wheel and surmounted by the fly-flapper and the parasol. Finally, at the bottom on the right, Chandaka is returning to the house, leading with him Kaṇṭhaka and bringing (in his right hand and in a kind of wallet slung over his shoulder) the jewels which the young prince has just taken off for ever, in order to embrace the religious life. The three persons, at once both edified and contrite, who follow, are, doubtless, the emissaries whom king Çuddhodana vainly charged to bring back his son.

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Such is the manifest meaning of this long scene : but we still have to account for the sacred tree — the parasol surmounting it, and the railing which surrounds it, are a proof of this sacredness — which occupies the centre of the panel. Assuredly it is there for reasons of symmetry; but this position of honour demands also that it shall have a meaning : and this meaning will come to us the very moment that we recognize in it (thanks always to the comparison with the inscribed bas-relief of Barhut, CUNNINGHAM, pl. XLVIII, 11) a jambu tree (*Eugenia jambu*). A jambu tree so close to Kapilavastu cannot be, in Buddhist art, anything but the one whose shadow ceased one day to turn to the sun, in order to continue to shelter « the first meditation » of the still young Bodhisattva. We shall notice how three persons, without ceasing to associate themselves with the principal action, form around the tree of the miracle the necessary group of worshippers. Thus the artist has been able to combine most ingeniously in one and the same picture a summary indication of the commencement, and a detailed representation of the dénouement, of the religious vocation of the Predestined. And who can say even whether the quadruple repetition of the horse and the procession leaving the town were not connected in his mind with the intervening episode of the famous « four outgoings », which by the successive encounter with an old man, a sick person, a dead man and a monk, revealed to the future Buddha the miseries of life and the only way of salvation?

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b) *Rear face.* — In case the good sculptor had still further intentions, may we be pardoned by his ashes, if we cannot perceive them! May he pardon us above all, if we cannot grasp exactly with what episode of the legend we must connect the scene that covers the whole reverse side of the middle lintel. It is, no doubt, the Buddha Câkyamuni who is supposed to be seated on this empty throne, since the tree which shelters it is a Holy Fig-tree, exactly similar to the one which decorates the left projection of the upper lintel. On the other hand, the Blessed One is evidently far in the jungle, in the sole companionship of the beasts assembled to do him homage and belonging as much to the kingdom of phantasy as to the kingdom of nature. First of all, there are four lions guarding his throne, two seen in full face and two in profile; then buffalos and antelopes, observed and rendered in a marvellous manner; and furthermore birds, some with, and some without crests, bearing flowers and fruits in their beaks. Side by side with these real animals we see dream-monsters : on the right, bulls with human faces and — forgetting their natural enmity in the contemplation of the Blessed One — a great polycephalous serpent by the side of an enormous vulture Garuḍa, whose ears are adorned with earrings; on the left Tibetan dogs, with manes and claws. To sum up, nearly the whole of the sculptor’s decorative menagerie was mobilized in this scene.

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Now there was indeed a celebrated occasion on which, after the great internal quarrel of Kauçambî, Buddha left his community, in order to retire into solitude : and he was among the beasts and the beasts even served him (Mahâvagga, x, 4, 6-7). But here we find none of the traditional details of the episode, at least as it is related in the Pâli text.

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§ 12. Lower lintel. — Then the last lintel seems to us to bear on its two faces scenes subsequent to the death of Buddha.

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a) Front face. — In the centre stands the tree now so well known to us as that of his Illumination (cf. § 9 c) : but here this tree receives a royal visit. It is quite certain that the Blessed One was not visited by any king at Bodh-Gayâ : for the texts give us a detailed account of the manner in which he employed the days, and even weeks, which preceded and followed his attainment of omniscience. It remains, therefore, that it can only have been in commemoration of Buddha that the ceremony here represented took place. Let us remind ourselves, however, of what is told us of Açoka, how the great emperor evinced a special devotion to the tree of the Bodhi, and continually showered presents upon it, so many and so often that his favorite queen, Tishyarakshitâ, looking upon it as a rival, became jealous and caused a pariah sorceress to cast a spell upon it. The tree began to wither, and Açoka declared that he would not survive it; fortunately the queen, being undeceived, was able in time to arrest the effect of the witchcraft; whereupon the emperor decided to do « what none of the sovereigns of the past, neither Bimbisâra nor the others, had done », that is, to come in procession and, with a view to giving back to the tree all its first splendour, « to water it with pitchers of scented water » (*Divyâvadâna*, p. 397-398). Now what is it exactly that we see here (pl. X, 2)? On the right a king, accompanied, as usual, by his wives, his orchestra, and his guards, dismounts languishingly from his elephant, encouraged, it seems, by his queen and helped by a young dwarf. The latter is probably a *Yaksha*, exactly like those who frequent the interior of the sanctuary; for we are told that, like Solomon, Açoka commanded the genii. Immediately on the right of the sacred tree we see again the same king, preceded by his queen, and both with their hands devoutly clasped render homage to it. On the other side there advances likewise, to the sound of another orchestra, a solemn procession of faithful laymen, bearing banners, flowers, and further (in their midst and in the front rank) pitchers, evidently intended for the watering of the tree. This last detail has won our conviction (cf. above, p. 79). Finally, from this identification it would result that this time the indication of the temple round the tree open to the sky would not be an anachronism (cf. p. 102).

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b) *Rear face.* — Besides, as we have already said, this is not the only legend belonging to the cycle of Açoka that seems to us to have inspired the image-makers of Sânchî. Concerning the tumulus of Râmagrâma two other stories were still current among them; or rather two versions of the same story. According to one this *stûpa* was honoured by mythical serpents (*nâga*); in the other it was wild elephants (*nâga*) who paid their devotions to it : we are not far from believing that this simple pun gave rise to the two forms of the tradition. However that may be, the first is figured on the southern gate : the other, we believe, is here. Besides, whatever may be the name by which the *stûpa* is called, there is no doubt as to the meaning of the story written in stone. Those are, in fact, wild elephants, which are marching in procession towards the sanctuary from the two extremities of the lintel; and it is indeed as votive offerings that they lift in their trunks, or are still dragging with their tusks, flowers torn from the lotuses in the nearest lake.

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We shall here end these notes, already, perhaps, too long and nevertheless most summary. If we wished to describe in detail and one by one the five hundred and more characters, who, without counting the animals, figure on this one gate alone, we should never have finished; and we might just as well undertake to write an encyclopædia of Indian Antiquities. The little that we have said will, at least, be sufficient to justify the double allegation which we believed might be put forward regarding this gate (p. 80) : it seems in fact upon investigation that these sculptures are for the most part deciphered; and no one will think of disputing the fact that they offer a certain amount of interest for the history of civilization in general, and more especially for that of art applied to religion.

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PLATES VII-X

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All the photographs of which plates VII-X are composed have been kindly lent to us by the Director-General of Archæology in India, Mr. J. H. MARSHALL, and all the stereotypes by M. E. LEROUX.

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| Pl. VII, 1 : | described on | pp. 63-64 |
| Pl. VII, 2 : | » | 72, 79, 87-8, 104, 107-8, 109-110 |
| Pl. VIII, 1 : | » | 65-66, 86-89 |
| Pl. VIII, 2 : | » | 71, 85-86 |
| Pl. IX, 1 : | » | 76, 97-99 |
| Pl. IX, 2 : | » | 92-95 |
| Pl. X, 1 : | » | 75, 105-7 |
| Pl. X, 2 : | » | 79, 108-9 |

The Beginnings of Buddhist Art and Other Essays in Indian and Central-Asian Archaeology c7.s1.t2: The Legendary Scenes

The Legendary Scenes

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