Last Existence: Visit of the Ascetics

Fragment of a relief showing the lower part of two ascetics’ bodies and the foot of a third figure. The original scene probably represented the Visit of the Ascetics. The Brahman teacher Bāvari sends his sixteen brahmin students to the Buddha to answer questions about the goal of his teachings and how to attain the same. Each of the sixteen ascetics pays the Buddha a visit in Śrāvastī and astounded by his teachings, they eventually convert to Buddhism. The base is plain. The two ascetics are standing and turning towards the right. The first figure was carved in the right tree-quarter view, the weight of the body is placed on his right leg. He is holding a globular kamaṇḍalu in his left hand. He wears a loincloth and a mantle on the right arm with a hanging tied hem. The figure on the left is shown with the right leg bent as if he is walking. He is holding a globular kamaṇḍalu in his left hand. As the previous figure, he is dressed in a loincloth and a mantle on the right arm with a hanging tied hem. On the extreme right is the foot of another figure.