Zar Dheri Temple: Buddha Pentad

PAKISTAN, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Hazara

Included among the discoveries at Zar Dheri Temple in Hazara were seven square reliefs featuring triads or pentads. This relief depicts the Buddha seated cross-legged beneath a tree. His hair is wavy and tied into a round topknot. A monastic robe covers both shoulders. The right hand is raised in abhaya (fearlessness) mudra while the left tightens the fold of the material about the arm. The figure to the far right may be Avalokitesvara, wearing a headdress and dressed in the style of Indian royalty. Maitreya might be the figure on the far left, portrayed as a brahmin, with hair tied into a topknot and wearing a garment that leaves the right shoulder bare. Directly next to the Buddha are Brahma and Sakra. All four figures have their palms joined in reverence.
The Kharosthi character “la” is carved on the border of the relief. Several pieces excavated from the site bear such inscriptions believed to be left by the sculptors.