Last Existence: Offering of Dust; Unidentified scene

Part of a frieze depicting scenes from the Last Existence. The base is a plain fillet; the cornice has a row of saw-teeth topped by a thin plain fillet. On the back of the relief there are large parallel vertical chisel marks, in the center top of the slab there is a large socket, also visible on the top face. At each end of the top face there is also a socket for cramps. The scenes are separated by an encased semi-column of Gandharan-Persepolitan type with composite zoomorphic capital and a middle crown on the shaft. The first scene depicts the Offering of Dust. Jaya and Vijaya, two boys of good family, see the Buddha while playing with dust and put a handful in his begging bowl as offer. The Buddha predicted Jaya’s rebirth as the emperor Aśoka. The Buddha stands in the middle slightly turned to his right, looking down at the two boys. Behind him stands Vajrapāṇi in profile. He holds the vajra in his raised left hand, wears a laṅgoṭī from which hangs a sword. His hair is arranged in curls around the face. Next to Vajrapāṇi, at the extreme right of the scene, a standing monk wrapped in his robe holds a bowl in his left hand. On the opposite side, two standing naked boy turn toward the Buddha. The taller one is presenting an offering to the Buddha, the other one joins his hands in a gesture of adoration. A tree with a stylized umbrella-shaped crown with large overlapping round leaves is carved between the two boys. In the next scene, first from the right, Vajrapāṇi is depicted clad in a mantle, the legs and the left hip appear naked. He holds the vajra in his left hand and an unidentified object, perhaps a bundle of flowers, in his right. His hair is curly. He stands frontal, with his head turned to his right where the Buddha stands in three quarter profile. The Buddha’s right hand is raised in abhayamudrā. He has a plain nimbus, and the hair is arranged parallel strands with separate uṣṇīṣa. The Buddha proceeds toward a third male figure in princely attire, represented in frontal position, the head turned toward the Buddha and his legs apart. He wears an uttarīya and a thin paridhāna that he holds with the raise left hand. He has a flat short necklace, bracelets and globular earrings. He wears a turban with zones, fantail and frontal diadem.