Life of the Buddha - Great Departure

THAILAND; Ayutthaya Kingdom

After the Buddha passed into parinirvana, a number of scriptures describing events of the Buddha’s life began to appear. These scriptures include the Caryanidana Sutra, Prince Mangala Nidana, and Lalitavistara Sutra.
This illustration from a Thai sutra manuscript was discovered in a monastery in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is thought to have been brought back by a Thai envoy between 1750 and 1751 during the Kandy Kingdom (circa 1590–1815), although some scholars contest that it was painted in the 1770’s. The manuscript contains many detailed illustrations of scenes from the Life of the Buddha and the Jataka tales.
In this image, Prince Siddhartha is shown bidding a silent farewell to his sleeping wife, Yasodhara, and his son, Rahula, before leaving the palace to seek enlightenment. Yasodhara is shown with white skin and a red nimbus, wearing ornaments and a Thai-style crown. Lying on her side, she rests her head on her left hand and caresses Rahula with her right hand. In the bottom right corner, there is a sleeping palace maid. The Buddha’s white horse, Kanthaka, is in center of the bottom register, and the charioteer, Chandaka, kneels to the left of the horse, begging the prince to reconsider his decision. Siddhartha stands on the left, holding a sword with his right hand. He looks down at Chandaka and appears to be giving his final instructions before departing.