The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c16.s2.75

v2.c16.s2.75

The third compartment is an exact counterpart of the second; but the arch which follows has two lines of geese running with spread wings from the opposite sides towards the crown (Plate XXII). Each goose has a flower pendant from its bill. The Buddhist rail on the top occupies only the space over the heads of the serpents, being replaced on the arch itself by a pyramidal parapet. The subject of illustration on the tympanum is the *bo* tree to which a lady of rank has come to pay her adorations, and is standing before it with folded hands; one of her attendants has a garland in her hand ready for her mistress to offer it to the tree, and the others hold urns of water and trays of offerings ready for the same purpose. The whole scene is an exact counterpart of the adoration of the *bo* tree, of which so many representations occur at Sāñchī, Amarāvatī, and other Buddhist shrines. In the last compartment, the flying or running figures of the left side are repeated, but both the figures face the same (left) side, and not opposite sides.