Last Existence: Bodhisattva in Tuṣita Heaven; The Great Departure

Part of a frieze depicting two separate narrative scenes. The base consists of a plain fillet. The cornice consists of a first fillet decorated with a row of saw-teeth, topped by three plain fillet of different width and a topmost band with a row of upright ogival leaves with an upright segment engraved in the interspaces. The back face shows vertical tool marks. Along the proper right side there is a vertical continuous socket. The scene on the right represents a Bodhisattva in Tuṣita Heaven. Tuṣita is the abode of the deities and bodhisattvas. The buddha-to-be Maitreya resides here, as other bodhisattvas do before they are reborn in the human realm as buddhas. Śākyamuni also resided in Tuṣita before his last existence.The bodhisattva is sitting under a canopy in padmāsana on a low seat with turned legs and a drape hanging from the front. His right hand was originally in abhayamudrā, his left is holding a kamaṇḍalu. He wears a paridhāna and an uttarīya, a short flat band necklace, a long necklace, and earrings. Locks of hair fall on the shoulders; the hairdo is not discernible. A small male figure emerges from behind the bodhisattva, on each side. The one to the left of the bodhisattva wears a tunic and globular earrings, and holds a lotus flower (?) in his right. The figure at the opposite side also wears a tunic and earrings and his turban is visible. To the right of the bodhisattva, in the foreground, there are two male figures sitting with joined hands. Their heads are slightly tilted toward the central bodhisattva and bent down in sign of respect. They both wear a paridhāna, an uttarīya, a skull-cap turban with zones, a fantail and a diadem, a long necklace, and earrings. The head of a male figure emerges from the background between the two sitting figures. Above them a balcony with a railing-shaped parapet is carved on the upper sides of the scene. Three women stand on the balcony, all wearing a necklace, earring and hair with ornaments and a loop of hair falling on the nape. Starting from the right they respectively hold a fly-whisk, a round wreath (held hanging in the middle of the parapet) and a lotus flower. The scene on the left depicts the Great Departure. Prince Siddhārtha leaves the palace at night mounting his horse Kaṇṭhaka and accompanied by his loyal charioteer Chandaka. According to Buddhist literary accounts, spirits supported the hooves of the horse to prevent noise and wake up Siddhārtha’s family. On the right, Siddhārtha is riding Kaṇṭhaka, both are depicted in the left profile. The bodhisattva is holding the reins with the left hand, the right hand is raised in an unidentifiable gesture, possibly the abhayamudrā. He wears a paridhāna, an uttarīya, a long necklace, a short flat necklace, bangles at both wrists, and a turban with a fantail. His nimbus is plain. Kaṇṭhaka has two metal disks decorating the breeching. Two yakṣas are holding his hooves. Only the head of the yakṣa on the right emerges. It displays therianthropic features and has the ears of a pig. The one on the left is kneeling and supporting Kaṇṭhaka’s legs (only the left one is visible). He has grotesque facial features (flat large nose, bulbous eyes) and wear a plain skull-cap. Behind the bodhisattva, Vajrapāṇi emerges from the background holding an hourglass-shaped vajra in his left hand. He wears a loincloth, and his hair is arranged in vertical strands converging to the center and falling in regular ringlets around the face. In front of Kaṇṭhaka, Chandaka stands holding an umbrella with plain canopy toward the Bodhisattva, his upper body and head are also turned toward Siddhārtha. He wears a long dhotī, a short flat necklace, and a second flat necklace passing on his right arm. Remnants of a large knot of hair is visible on his head. On the left, a figure alternatively identified as Māra, Indra, or Vaiśravana-Kubera is standing in frontal view only slightly tilted toward the Bodhisattva. His right hand is open down with the palm facing out, the left is resting on the hip. He wears a short tunic with short sleeves, a short flat band necklace and anklets. His hair is stacked in a coil with ornaments. The last figure on the foreground is probably Brahma with joined hands represented in three-quarter view. He wears a monastic robe with right shoulder exposed, his hair is arranged in a large globular knot. Three figures, successively male, female and male, are carved in the background. The two male figures wear a coat with rhomboidal scales and a helmet; the one on the right a hemispherical helmet with raised front brim, and the one on the left a flat helmet with turned down brim (?). The female figure in the center probably wears a tunic and large globular earrings. Her hair is pulled back in large strands, and she wears a pointed crown. The scenes are separated by a pilaster of the Gandharan-Corinthian type with a buddha against the shaft. The buddha is sitting in dhyānamudrā and padmāsana over an open lotus with reverse petal. He is wrapped in the saṃghāti with covered hands and feet.