Butkara: Life of the Buddha - Return from Trayastrimsa Heaven

PAKISTAN, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mingora

This relief was excavated from the temple ruins at Butkara in Swat. It shows the Buddha’s tiny footprints on the bottom rung of the stairway, establishing it as one of the earlier works from Gandhara, when only a symbol of the Buddha was portrayed. The Buddha visited Trayastrimsa Heaven for three months to teach his mother the Dharma. Sakra conjures three sets of stairways in gold, silver, and lazurite upon his return, so the Buddha could descend. Utpalavarna Bhiksuni, disguised as a cakravartin, who kneels at the bottom of the stairway, welcomes him. The bearded Sakra, wearing a turban, stands on the left; while Brahma, with hair tied in a topknot, stands on the right. Both figures have their palms joined in reverence.