The Age of the Imperial Guptas c9.55

c9.55

In other respects the Gupta school at Benares is rather poor in bas-reliefs. The only superior example is the great lintel with the Kshāntivādin Jātaka, in which there are altogether six panels.¹ Even in this specimen, the Benares school suffers in our estimation compared with the Pātaliputra school. There is a certain lack of dignity in the figures of this bas-relief which is divided into six parts by being enclosed by six conventional Caitya-windows. The first and the last panels contain figures of Jambhala, of which one is a very crude bit of carving.² The second panel from the proper left shows a better idea of proportion in the case of the Bodhisatva but a neglect of it in the case of the dancing girls.³ The third panel, that of the dance is on the whole better balanced and would compare favourable with other bas-reliefs.⁴ But the artist lost his head when he came to panel 5 and there is a total want of poise and balance in the figure of the king which is not the case anywhere else in the Gupta bas-reliefs. The figure of the king or the executioner appears to be toppling over the head of the ascetic Bodhisatva.⁵ If we compare this bas-relief with those on the pillars from Rajaona, we find that the Benares school is far behind the general standard of excellence than the Pāṭaliputra school of the same period. The penance of Arjuna surrounded by four pits of fire and the separation of this scene from his departure to Indra's heaven with Mātuli is far superior in vivacity, arrangement, and to some extent even in perspective to all bas-reliefs of the Benares school. In the second panel from Rajaona, which is better preserved, the different events narrated in proper sequence of the fight between Śiva and Arjuna and Śiva's blessing are not separated by any ornaments but show superior poise and virility. Even the giant horned-Kīrtti-mukhas are far superior to any discovered in Benares or anywhere else.