The Buddhist Art of Gandhara: The Story of the Early School, its Birth, Growth and Decline c12.24

c12.24

Of the many *parinirvāṇa* scenes known to me the oldest, I think, is one from the Guides’ Mess Collection which is reproduced in fig. 68, but this photograph does not, unfortunately, show the entire panel, which comprises the remnant of a Corinthian pilaster on the left and the mutilated figure of a monk at the foot of the couch on the right. In the centre of the panel is the dead Buddha on a couch. In front, the mourning monks. At the head, the Vajrapāṇi. At the foot, the newly arrived Mahākāśyapa (not in the photo). Behind the couch, two weeping Malla chieftains with another monk (?) on their right and a representative *deva* of the stock type on their left. To complete the scene, two *śāla* trees are added in the background with dryads or tree-spirits ensconced among their foliage. In this composition—the earliest that has survived but by no means the first of its kind—there is much to engage our attention. First there is the poignant sorrow written in the faces and actions of the mourners. The Malla chiefs are unrestrained in their grief; the monks, as is fitting, are more resigned; and so, too, is the Vajrapāṇi; but tears, which the sculptor has been at pains to show, are streaming down their cheeks. Only the *deva* stands tearless and reverently saluting the dead; for it is against the nature of a god to weep or display strong emotion. Then, we note the care with which the artist has delineated the faces of the mourners, distinguishing between those of the monks and Vajrapāṇi on the one hand, and of the wild, uncouth-looking Mallas on the other, with the deva in a class by himself. As to the recumbent figure of the Buddha himself, the artist has made a brave effort to disclose the lines of his form beneath the folds of the monk's robe, and to make it appear as if the dead were sleeping relaxed and peaceful on his side. In this respect there is a striking difference between this relief and later versions of the same scene in which the Buddha is made to appear like a full-length image of stone laid, stiff and rigid, on its side. Finally, we note that in this panel the Vajrapāṇi, clad in the orthodox tunic of the period and only a little less sturdy and thick-set than in the earlier reliefs, is standing at the head of the couch, whereas in later versions he is usually placed on another side (cf. figs. 72, 87, 127-9 below).