Last Existence: Great Renunciation

Fragment of a relief possibly representing the Great Renunciation, of which only Siddhārtha is preserved - the position recalls depictions of the bodhisattva watching sleeping women but here, Siddhārtha does not perform the abhayamudrā. Despising the enchantment of royal life, Prince Siddhārtha leaves the palace and his family in the middle of the night to embrace asceticism, in order to find a way to end suffering and rebirth. The bodhisattva sits in rājalīlāsana, has a large nimbus with a plain border, and wears a necklace and armlets.