Last Existence: Birth Cycle; donors

Part of frieze relief consisting of two superimposed registers, the upper one depicting a row of figures, while the lower one represents two episodes of the Last Existence of the Buddha. The dividing band is carved with a row of lozenges between plain fillets. The scenes on the lower register are enclosed between encased semi-columns of the Gandharan-Corinthian type. There are vertical parallel chisel marks on the back, and smaller toolmarks on the bottom. The scene on the right represents the Buddha’s Birth. In the Lumbinī Park, Māyā gives birth to Siddhārtha holding the branches of a śāla tree. The infant Siddhārtha emerges from the right side. Gods and supernatural beings witness the event. The infant emerges from the right side of his mother Māyā who is grasping a branch and reaching with her left arm toward the female attendant to her left. The latter is turned towards Māyā, her knees are slightly bent, the left outstretched arm is resting on Māyā’s belly. Māyā and her attendant wear a short tunic with trousers, large anklets, large earrings. Māyā has a large wreath on the head. Her attendant’s hair falls on the nape in a large chignon, and she also wears a wreath in the hair. Beside her stands another woman in frontal position with the head tilted to her right. She holds a palm branch in her left hand and an indistinct object in her right. She wears a long draped tunic. To the right of Māyā, a haloed Indra welcomes Siddhārtha in a swaddling cloth. Indra wears an uttarīya and a paridhāna, large earrings and a high headdress, probably a mukuṭa. The scene on the left depicts the first bath of Siddhārtha. 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 infant is standing on a moulded podium wearing a necklace, armlets and bracelets. On his proper left, the god Indra is standing, his head is tilted toward the infant. He is holding a globular pot to pour water over Siddhārtha in the right hand and a vajra in his left. He wears an uttarīya and a paridhāna, and a high crown. The upper register is carved with a continuous frieze depicting busts of donors holding a palm leaf, and separated by short columns of undiscernible type, probably part of an architectural setting (cf. DMC 796).