The Buddhist Art of Gandhara: The Story of the Early School, its Birth, Growth and Decline c15.28

c15.28

The next example (fig. 101) may well be from the same atelier as the preceding though not, I judge, by the same hand. The scene represented is uncertain. In the centre is the Buddha under a canopy of pipal leaves. On his right is a bearded anchorite clad in a deerskin and holding a flask (*kamaṇḍalu*) in his hand, who calls to mind the familiar figure of the Purāṇa Kāśyapa. On the Buddha’s left is a princely-looking personage, standing erect with his right hand outstretched as if in salutation, while his courtier behind clasps his hands in adoration. In the background behind is the headless figure of a *deva*. The relief is much damaged and the face of the Buddha is obliterated, but the tall dignified figure of the prince with its elegant proportions, strong frame and tapering legs, furnishes a typical example of this particular group.