Last Existence: First Bath

Fragment of a relief originally depicting the First Bath. Soon after his birth, Prince Siddhārtha walks seven steps and proclaims this was his last rebirth. Then, two streams of water poured by gods wash the body of the newborn. The base was probably plain. A female figure is kneeling in left profile in the foreground. Her hair is gathered at the nape of the neck. She probably wears a sleeved long tunic with a girdle, and double anklets with circular element. Behind her in the background is a male figure, of which only the torso and the left arm remain. He is standing in left three-quarter view. The left hand is slightly bent. The figure wears a paridhāna, an uttarīya passing over the arm, a short flat band necklace, and a long one with a central stone. A framed semi-column of the Gandharan-Corinthian type is carved on the right.