Last Existence: Birth Cycle

Part of a relief preserving a scene and the scanty remains of another one, both from the Birth Cycle. The base originally consisted of a projecting (plain?) fillet, the cornice is decorated with a row of ogival upright leaf-and-dart. The scenes are separated by a framed semi-column of the Gandharan-Corinthian type. A rectangular socket is carved on the top face. The bottom face features a rectangular tenon. The back face shows vertical tool marks. The right scene shows only a female figure standing in three quarter view towards her left and with crossed legs. It probably depicted Māyā’s dream. Māyā, the queen consort of Śuddhodana, dreams of a white elephant entering her womb through her right side. As soon as she wakes up, she finds out to be pregnant. The preserved scene shows the Interpretation of Māyā’s dream. After dreaming of an elephant entering her side, Māyā and Śuddodhana ask Asita about the meaning of this dream. The wise man says the queen has been chosen as the mother of a very great being. The royal couple is sitting and turning towards their right. Śuddhodana holds a flower in the right hand, the left is resting on the knee. He wears a paridhāna and an uttarīya, a turban, a long necklace with a stone, and earrings. Māyā is bearing a flower in both hands. She is wearing a sāṛī (?), earrings, a long necklace, and wristlets. Her hair is styled in a curly fringe with a large wreath and a bun falling on the nape. Next to them is a young brahmin standing frontal. His right hand is closed to the chest, the left one is bearing a kamaṇḍalu. He is dressed in paridhāna and uttarīya. The hair is curly with a knot on the forehead. On the extreme left, an elder brahmin is sitting in three quarter view to his left. His right hand is clenched, the left one is holding a kamaṇḍalu. He is wearing a paridhāna. His hair is fashioned into a coil with a vertical knot.