Last Existence: Birth Cycle

Part of a relief with two superimposed registers, the lower depicting two scenes from the Last existence, the upper showing a row of female busts. The two registers are separated by a chequered grid with alternating relief squares; a hanging drape is carved in the centre. The scenes on the lower register are separated by framed semi-columns of the Gandharan-Corinthian type, the figures on the upper register by semi-columns of the same type, of which only the upper part are carved. The base is plain, the cornice consists of a projecting fillet above and a row of saw-teeth below. The back face shows vertical marks of a large chisel. The first scene of the lower register represents Siddhārtha’s horoscope. Asita, an old ṛṣi, predicts to Śuddhodana that in the future, his son will either become a universal monarch (cakravartin) or a buddha. In the centre of the scene, King Śuddhodana sits on his throne with turned legs. His feet are resting on a low stool decorated with a row of separated disks. The head and bust are tilted to his right, the left arm rests on the tight, with the hand hanging between the legs, while the right hand is raised, probably in a gesture of conversation/question. He wears a paridhāna and an uttarīya, a long necklace, large earrings, and a turban. On the left of the king, Mahāprajāpatī, Māyā’s sister, is sitting with her feet are resting on a low stool identical to Śuddhodana’s. The right hand is raised holding probably a large lotus, the left arm rests on the tight, with the hand hanging between the legs. She wears a long garment and a large wreath on her head with a bun of hair on the back. Next to the couple, on the left, is Asita sitting on a stool with crossed ankles. He is holding the infant Bodhisattva in his lap. He has coiled hair with a knot and a beard. On the opposite side, to the left of Mahāprajāpatī, there are remnants of another female figure with the same hairdo as Mahāprajāpatī, and also holding a large lotus flower in her right. The next scene depicts the Celebration of Siddharta’s Birth. When King Śuddhodana hears the sage Asita’s prophecy about the prince, he rejoices and feels blissful. He then resolves to offer homage to the new-born by having a large banquet at court. The scene is only fragmentary and depicts a woman on her knees in three quarter right profile that pours liquid from a large jar into a cylindrical container. She wears a long garment, a long necklace, globular earrings, and a large wreath on her head with a bun of hair falling on the back. Behind the large jar, to the extreme right of the scene there is a tree with upward branches of lanceolate leaves. In the upper register, two half-bust female couples and one member of two more couples are carved. The figures in couple are facing each other. They all wear a large wreath and globular earrings. The figures of the first complete couple are wrapped in mantles; those of the second couple probably wear sleeved tunics and have long necklaces.