Life of the Buddha

PAKISTAN

The vertical relief is in two registers separated by a foliated border. The upper episode concerns the teaching at Sakra’s Cave. While the Buddha was meditating, pictured here seated on a lion throne in an alcove, Sakra and the other deities came to visit. They dance and play music to praise the Buddha’s merits. Upon learning the purpose for the visit, the Buddha expounded the Dharma to them. The bottom register depicts the Prophecy of Dipamkara Buddha, where as a young man named Megha, the future Buddha lay down in a puddle and allowed Dipamkara to cross it by stepping on him. The prediction of Sakyamuni’s future Buddhahood is a well-known precursor to his life story. Although the other episode often appears in Gandharan art, it is rare that the two appear together.