A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c15.s3.t1.26

c15.s3.t1.26

The second illustration (Fig. 219) is one of a set of thirty block-prints used by Tibetan Lamas as patterns for 'pouncing', or stencilling, sacred pictures on *kakemonós*, or silken strips. To the upper left of the picture we see Buddha Sākyamuni, clad in Indian fashion, expounding to four disciples the story of the dead sea-monster whose bones lie on the shore. Once upon a time, in a previous birth, the Buddha had been that monster and got his living by devouring men and other creatures. The boat with its occupants shown below was rushing into the monster's jaws, when one of the crew invoked the holy name of Buddha. The abashed monster allowed his prey to escape, preferring to die of starvation rather than incur the guilt of despising the sacred name. The boat then came safely to land, as shown in the upper part of the composition. Ancient art frequently repeats an object or person in two or three situations in a single picture, and this block-print follows the old traditional practice. This queer Tibetan legend may possibly prove to be the key to the enigmatic medallion at Bharhut (Cunningham, *Stūpa of Bharhut*, Plate XXXIV, 2), hitherto unexplained, which represents a gaping sea-monster in the act of swallowing