Bodhisattva in Tuṣita Heaven

A relief depicting the 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 base is plain, the cornice is carved with a raw of saw teeth below, and a projecting plain fillet above. The Bodhisattva is sitting in padmāsana on a coffer-type throne. His right hand is in abhayamudrā, the left hand is holding an ovoid plain kamaṇḍalu between the index and middle finger. The face is plump, with closed eyes and a small mouth. The hair is long with a globular knot held by a string. The nimbus is plain. He wears an uttarīya exposing the torso and a paridhāna with pointed ends. The ornaments include pendant earrings, a short flat band necklace, a long flat necklace, and wristlets with raised edge. The throne features turned legs, a cushion, a drape covering the front and decorated with two contiguous vertical bands, and a legged footstool. On the right and in the foreground, a male figure is sitting with crossed legs, his feet resting on a footstool, traces of which are still discernible. His right hand is gripping the left wrist. He is dressed in a paridhāna and an uttarīya, and wears a short necklace and wristlets with raised edge. Two male figures are seated on the left with their feet resting on a (legged?) footstool. The first rests his right arm on his legs, the left arm is raised up with the palm turned inwards. He wears a paridhāna and possibly an uttarīya, a skull-cap turban with zones, a fantail, and a projecting vertical diadem, pendant earrings, and a flat band armlet on the right arm. The second figure has the right hand partially clenched with the thumb and index finger joined at the tip in a gesture of conversation/question, the left hand in between the legs. The hair is curly. He wears a paridhāna, a long necklace, and an armlet. In the background, five figures are carved in bust, two on the right and three on the left. Only the outline of the figure on the right is preserved. Next, is a woman shown frontal with the head bent down to her bottom left. The right hand is raised up and holds an open portable fire stand (or probably a torch), the left arm is extended to the side. She wears a long tunic and a large wreath. On the opposite side is the third figure, similar to the previous one. The fourth is another frontal female figure, which is dressed in a long tunic. The fifth and last figure is male and shown in three-quarter view with joined hands. He wears an uttarīya and possibly a short band necklace.