The Buddhist Art of Gandhara: The Story of the Early School, its Birth, Growth and Decline c8.12

c8.12

Yet another outstanding example of the mature Sāñchī style is reproduced in fig. 8. It depicts one of the lesser episodes in the Buddha’s life, namely his meeting with his father Śuddhodana on his return to Kapilavastu and the miracle he performed on that occasion by walking in the air, followed by the gift to him of a banyan grove by his father. At the top of the panel is the familiar Conception scene, which here serves merely as a label to denote that the town portrayed is Kapilavastu. In the middle is a royal procession threading its way through the narrow streets of the town and out of the gate. At the bottom, in the foreground, the Buddha, represented by his promenade (caṅkrama), is seen walking in mid-air, while the king and his courtiers look up at him in wonderment. By the side of the royal group, in the left-hand corner, is a single banyan tree enclosed in a railing, to signify the banyan grove which Śuddhodana presented to his son. What concerns us here is not the story of the meeting but the way of telling it, so completely different from the way a Gandhāran artist would have done it. In spite of the awkward shape of the tall, narrow panel, the picture is delightfully free and unconstrained. The winding street, the houses with their crowded balconies, the royal chariot, the musicians in front of it, and the grand elephants, horsemen and bowmen behind: altogether a scene of the liveliest action and gaiety, a scene in which instinctive, unaffected artistry more than makes up for lack of proportion and perspective. And observe, too, near the top of the panel the realistic touch of the horse nuzzling into the neck of his companion, and the people in the balcony immediately below, whispering to one another about the passing show!¹ The School of Gandhāra has nothing to show at all comparable to this sort of inborn, compelling artistry which seems to defy the limits of size and shape. The pity is that the sculptor felt bound to include the miracle at the base of the panel. He did all that could be done by placing the promenade among the tree tops and showing the upturned faces of the king and his retinue wondering at it: he can hardly be blamed if, artistically, the task proved an impossible one.