Indian Sculpture c8.45

c8.45

The triple ladder is marked with a footprint of the Buddha on its topmost and its lowermost rung. Flying celestial spirits hurl themselves or hover parallel to the ground. Worshipping figures stand closely packed in superimposed rows. The symbolic integrity of the combined device of altar or seat, strewn with flowers, of the umbrella and the sacred tree (see also Fig. 17),¹⁸² oversects the ladder and indicates that the footprints, paradoxically torn asunder in action, are meant to symbolise the descent itself as a whole. It is given lasting importance.