Life of the Buddha - Defeat of Mara and Enlightenment

PAKISTAN

The ogival arch includes elements from Indian and Greco-Roman styles. The edges are elevated and decorated by jagged patterns with an inset rim of winding floral motifs. The main action takes place in the semicircle at the bottom where Prince Siddhartha sits cross-legged beneath the Bodhi tree. On the left, Mara sits watching some of his soldiers threatening the prince, while on the right his daughters dance enticingly. Siddhartha remains unmoved by either.
Above the main scene, there are three arch-shaped registers. The bottom tier features a Dharma wheel at the center, the second an alms bowl and the third a stupa, foretelling what is to follow the prince’s victory over Mara. Figures kneel in reverence to either side of these objects. Behind the kneeling figures are hybrid winged-horses with snake-like tails.