Life of the Buddha - First Turning of the Dharma Wheel

PAKISTAN

In this aniconic relief the Buddha is represented by the circular pillar at the center, on which are mounted three 12-spoked wheels, the two on the outside being supported by child-like figures. Behind the pillar is a two-layered mandorla with a flame-patterned rim. On either side lie two deer, since the site of the Buddha’s first teaching takes place in Deer Park. These are the key to understanding the significance of the scene, in which five monks surround the pillar with hands raised in reverence, these being the Buddha’s former companions who left him after he abandoned his ascetic practice. A crowned deity is at the very back also paying reverence, and the scene is bounded on either side by the square adaptation of the Corinthian column common in Gandharan art.