Life of the Buddha

PAKISTAN

The Gandharan relief depicts scenes from Prince Siddhartha’s religious quest prior to enlightenment. The narrative runs from right to left.
On the far right the emaciated prince is in ascetic practice under the branches of a tree. His eyes are sunken and his appearance unkempt as he sits in determined meditation. Standing to the right is the crowned Sakra, while Brahma is on the left, both with palms joined in reverence.
The middle section shows the prince after he realizes that ascetic practice is not the way to liberation and washes himself in the Nairanjana River. He is so weakened that to help him climb ashore a deity behind him causes a tree branch to bend. Siddhartha wears a monastic robe in the final section and looking more robust as he eats Sujata’s offering of milk rice from his alms bow. The donor is beside him and another female figure on the left, while there are deities with bound hair in the background. The contrast of the two seated figures on either side makes a satisfyingly balanced composition.