Life of the Buddha
Schist
Life of the Buddha
PAKISTAN
This set of small panels once decorated the base of a stupa that had a diameter of some 2 m. Episodes from the Life of the Buddha are shown, divided by statues in a niche. The events include: 1) Prophecy of Dipamkara Buddha; 2) Queen Maya’s Dream; 3) Interpretation of the Dream; 4) the Baby Prince’s Arrival at the Palace; 6) Asita’s Prophecy; 7) birth of Chandaka and Kanthaka; 10) the Prince’s Education; 11) Calming the Drunken Elephant; 12) the Four Encounters; 13) the Great Departure; 14) Buddha and the Elder Kasyapa Brother; 15) Sakra Offering Grass; 16) Parinirvana; 17) Cremation; 18) Distribution of the Relics. In addition, there are segments depicting dancers and other unknown subjects. Though there are no scenes portraying Prince Siddhartha’s birth, the Buddha’s enlightenment, or the first teaching, the panels allow an insight into how Gandharans interpreted the Buddha’s life.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture G-M, page 584.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Lovelock, Yann and Chou, Yuan and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture G-M},
pages = 584,
title = {{Life of the Buddha}},
volume = 11,
year = {2016}}