Last Existence: Visit of the Ascetics

Part of a frieze relief probably depicting the Visit of the Ascetics. The Brahman teacher Bāvari sends his sixteen brahmin students to the Buddha to answer questions about the goal of his teachings and how to attain the same. Each of the sixteen ascetics pays the Buddha a visit in Śrāvastī and astounded by his teachings, they eventually convert to Buddhism. Both base and cornice are plain. The back face shows horizontal marks of chisel. A circular nail hole is carved in the left-proper side of the bottom face. The Buddha is sitting in padmāsana on a podium with plain body. His right hand is in abhayamudrā, his left hand holds an edge of the overrobe. The body is surrounded by a large plain aureole. On the right, the outline and right hand of a figure, probably an ascetic, are preserved. An elderly ascetic is standing next to the Buddha with joined hands. He has a long beard and hair with stacked coil. He wears a loincloth and a mantle draped over the left arm. On the left, a round-shouldered elderly ascetic is standing in profile with the right hand possibly in a gesture of conversation/question. As the previous figure, he has a long beard and hair with stacked coil and is dressed in a loincloth. A young ascetic is standing frontal, his left hand raising up (a gesture possibly indicating guidance). He possibly wears a tunic. He is turning towards another elderly ascetic similar to the preceding ones. On the extreme left, the remains of the trunk and crown of a tree are still discernible.