Hadda: Life of the Buddha - Renunciation of Nanda

AFGHANISTAN, Nangarhar, Jalalabad

The frieze was unearthed from Hadda and follows the story of Nanda’s renunciation as related in the Abhiniskramana Sutra. The Buddha is entering the city of Kapilavastu from the left with a female looking down from the walls. In the middle section, Nanda has left home with delicacies to offer his cousin and subsequently carries the alms bowl to the Buddha’s residence where, it is related, he reluctantly agrees to renounce household life and become a monk, although still longing for his beautiful wife Sundari.
The relief utilizes architectural elements as borders with the two ends framed by square Corinthian columns. The central scene takes place inside a palace with a trapezoidal roof that is further subdivided by rounded columns. Here, Sundari is seated at a vanity table and attended by three servant girls. She is depicted wearing a necklace and long hair that grows past her shoulders. There is a round mirror and a bottle of perfume on the table. Nanda, to the left in an atrium divided off by a broken column, is leaving with the bowl but still gazes back at his wife. Sundari, depicted again to the far right, is framed by columns and raises her right hand, as if waiting in vain for Nanda’s return. Above the central scene is a balcony where the heads of heavenly beings can be seen.