The Beginnings of Buddhist Art and Other Essays in Indian and Central-Asian Archaeology c9.153

c9.153

3. At the top, on the left, the First Preaching (Dharma-cakra-pravartana), at the Mrigadāva, near to Benares, symbolized by the gesture of instruction and the Wheel of the Law between the two gazelles facing each other, to which the two lions of the throne (simhāsana) turn their backs; the two acolytes, who can only be monks, have, under the mechanical chisel of the sculptor, assumed the mien of Buddhas.
4. At the top, on the right, the definite Death (Parinirvāna), near to Kuçinagara, on the usual bed and in the accustomed position, with the habitual cortège of sorrowing monks.