Bharhut: Donation of the Jetavana Monastery

INDIA, Madhya Pradesh, Bharhut

This medallion was found at Bharhut and is mounted on the stupa’s railing post. An inscription is visible beneath the piece, which translates as, “Anathapindaka gifts Jetavana at the cost of ten million coins.” The composite scene depicts the past, as represented by the trees of the grove at the upper right; the present by the cartloads of coins being spread on the ground as the condition for the land’s purchase; and the future by the two monastic buildings eventually erected there at the top and bottom on the left, with their names carved on the medallion’s rim. Anathapindaka appears at the center of the composition, carrying a water vessel.
Servants in the crowded composition are covering the ground with gold on the right, watched by Prince Jetavana, the grove’s owner, who stands behind the bullocks unyoked from the cart. Some citizens, one of them whistling in admiration, fill the top left.