Life of the Buddha - Return to Kapilavastu

PAKISTAN

The relief depicts Sakyamuni’s return to his hometown, Kapilavastu, where he encounters his wife Yasodhara and son Rahula. Here the Buddha sits on a teaching platform beneath a flowering tree. His right hand is raised in abhaya (fearlessness) mudra and he may be understood as expounding the Dharma. Rahula appears twice in the relief. He is held in Yasodhara’s arms having his hair cut by a female servant on the left, while his mother turns to another servant behind her carrying a water vessel. The scene is bounded by the square Corinthian column of Gandharan art. Rahula appears a second time with head shaved and palms joined, kneeling on the far right. He pays respect to Sariputra, whom he has just accepted as his teacher.