The Beginnings of Buddhist Art

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THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
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THE BEGINNINGS
OF
BUDDHIST ART
Primed for
A.
PAUL GEUTHNER
and A.
by
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THE BEGINNINGS OF
BUDDHIST ART
IN
AND OTHER ESSAYS INDIAN AND CENTRAL-ASIAN ARCHAEOLOGY
BY
A.
FOUCHER
OF THE DNIVERSITY OF PARIS
REVISED BY THE
L. A.
AUTHOR AND TRANSLATED BY

and
F.
THOMAS
W. THOMAS
WITH A PREFACE BY THE LATTER
'PARIS
LONDON
HUMPHREY MILFORD
AMEN CORNER,
MCMXVII
E. C-
PAUL GEUTHNER
13,
RUE JACOB, 13
'
>
DEDICATED
WITH PROFOUND RESPECT AND AFFECTIONATE REGARD
TO
>
M.
AUGUSTE BARTH
Member of the
Institute
:
MASTER OF PENETRATING AND CREATIVE CRITICISM

IN ALL
BRANCHES OF SANSKRIT LEARNING
June 1^14.
TREFACE
To
the
rather
the
limited circle oj scholars
interested in
Indian Art and
Archeology
studies
work of M. Foucher requires no introduction. His numerous devoted to these subjects, and in particular his comprehensive treatise
on
the
Grseco-Buddhist Art of Gandhdra, have fully established his position
as a
leader in this sphere.
collective
edition of his essays
and
addresses,
dispersed in various serial
and
periodical publications, will therefore be sure
of a
warm
welcome.
this
The translators do not disavow a hope that
English version
may
appeal
not only to those readers, chiefly in the East, to
whom
the
author
s original
presents a difficulty,
but also
to
a rather wider public in England and which in Paris attended

the
America. Aware of
the interest
delivery of
M.
Toucher's lectures, they would regret ijthe
charm had
so far evaporated in
translation as to forfeit
a share in
especially
the
growing appreciation of Oriental
art.
Buddhism jor veyed

is.
it is
Buddhist monuments that are here sur-
of course,
subject of vast extent.
We may add
that
it is
a highly
stage,
organic subject,
and
that the study of it is still at
a specially interesting
the stage of discovery.
We
cannot touch
it
in
any part without evoking

might compare
let
it to
res-
ponses from distant

carpet
;
and unexpected quarters.
We
a magic
Grsco-
we fix upon some well
defined topic, relating,
us say,
to the
Buddhist school of Gandhdra, and promptly, even without our volition, some
analogy or connection transports us
to the
Central Asia, China or Japan of
many
centuries later, even if
we have
not to continue ourflight to Java in the
ninth century or
Cambodia
in the twelfth. The reader will find in these pages

transitions.
to the
abundant examples of such

ingenious
itself,
The first essays reach back by a highly

very origins of Buddhist art in India
and probable hypothesis
and
give us the measure of
its possibilities
by what
it
has achieved at
Sdnchi and Barhut. Already we

the Persia of the
detect
some traces of foreign influence, from
Achxmenids. Soon an abrupt irruption of Hellenistic art
VIII
PREFACE
the the
overwhelms
tions,
native schools,
and
creates a repertory of religious composito
which
Buddhist propaganda carries

islands.
Central Asia, the
Far East,
most
and
the
Malay
Thus
is
established
,
genetic connection between the
religious art of
Europe and Asia
a double
efflorescence
from one
closely
root,
strikingly exemplified in the case of the

the earliest sculptural type of Christ,
Buddha
type,
which
resembles
and most curiously
in that of the ^Tutethe
lary Pair' , found throughout the zuhole Buddhist sphere

in ancient
and at
same time
Gaul
or shall
we claim
the highest degree of interest for the case
of the
'Madonna' group {Essay IX). which
ultimately derived, in all

the
probability,
from ancient Egypt has ended by conquering

to be fruitful, both
whole world
Tins splendid generalisation cannot fail
on the European
:
and on
while
it
the Asiatic side, in inspiration for future researches
in the
mean-
may
be
welcomed as reestablishing by
the aid
of art that feeling of
solidarity
the
and sympathy between India and Europe,
luhich flourished
during
palmy days of Vedic
studies, but latterly has been
somewhat discouraged
by specialism.
Need we remark
that,
where religious art and archeology are
the thenu,
literature and literary history cannot be far
away
M. Fouchrhas commented
with which he
is
upon
the predominantly narrative character of the bas-reliefs

:
dealing
it
may indeed
life mt'St,
be said that, apart from purely decorative figures
and
the
symbols, the great bulk of them are illustrations of scenes
from
the life
of
Buddha. The
indeed, be conceived in
an ample
sense, according to
that grandiose Indian conception whereby, as

us, the biography is not confined to
M.
Fouchcr opportunely reminds

the
a single span, but covers

existence,
whole
series
of
countless births, under all
forms of
which were necessary for
the
accumulation of the positive and negative characteristics manifested finally in

the
Great Being,
the
Perfijly Illuminated. The scenes thenfore need

very alphabet
to be
read,
and at
first the
was wanting. The problem was offar
greater obscurity than in the case of what
M.
Foucher terms
the magnificent
illustrated bible constituted by the sculptors of the cathedral of Chartres.

texts of the
The
those
the
Buddhist religion have only gradually been made known

life
events in the
which were specially marked out for illustration
twelve acts of Buddha
and
so forth
had
not been separated out
the
J^taka
book, recording the tales of previous births,
was
not at first available.
The
names of
those scholars to
whom we
are indebted for the
first tentatives at
decipherment, such as the inspired, if not impeccable, archxologist. General Sir
Alexander Cunningham, Prof. Griinwedel of
the Berlin
Ethnographical
of the Imperial
Museum, Dr. Serge
d' Oldenburg,
Perpetual Secretary
PREFACE
Âcademy of
St. Petersburg,
IX
found recurring in
Foucher' s
and
others will be
M. Fou-
chers pages. But undoubtedly the matter has in
M.
own work made
a long
step
forward
so
the reader will
remark not only
the artistic insight
which gives
much
ease
and
certainty to the identifications in this volume, but
also the emergence of principles fitted to serve as a guide for future discovery
and
criticism in this field of study.

art,
In a word, we
see
taking shape, not only

in
an
but also
a science of discovery
to
and
interpretation
regard
to
Buddhist, and by consequence
Indian, illustration.
is
lA history of Buddhist Art
a task for
the future
may we some day
have the pleasure of welcoming a systematic treatise upon the subject from
M.
Foucher's oiun pen. For the present

its
we are
only at the commencement.
Nothing guarantees us that in

with
it
beginnings the Art shall be found on a level
the doctrine, or that it shall
follow a parallel course, or again that

rapidity.
shall develope with
a proportional
Gn
the contrary,
we
see
already
it
that
at
its
Sdnchi
and
Barhut, after
to
centuries
of
active
speculation,
makes
piety.
appeal primarily
a community
characteri::êd by
naive and simple
In
the case of Christianity
how many
centuries
of dogmatic strife
precede the age of the primitives ! Nevertheless the reader
who turns from
the
essays on
Barhut and Sdnchi
to those
dealing with the Great Miracle

be his impression, if he
and
with Boro- Budur

his
much clearer would

of
embraced in
view
the
medieval and modern art
China, fapan, and Tibet
cannot
partial
less sophis-
fail
to note the
metaphysical contemplation which has groiun upon the decay

to the
of
the older
popular piety. Yet even here we have a warning as
reversions which
ticated society
:
may
result
from
the
transplanting of religion
to
since in the sculptures of

it is
Boro Budur
an atmosphere,
that
true, of hypertropical softness
no small admixture of
we
find again
in
is
frank pleasure in
mere story-telling which
the
special
charm
of
Sdnchi and Barhut.

London. June, 1914.
F.
W. Thomas.
We are indebted
India
for the use
of photographs to the Secretary of State for
Dr.
J.
Bdrgess, and Prof. A. A. Macdonell (England); to Prof. Ed.
Chavannes, Mr. Henry H. Getty and M.

A. Grijkwedel and Dr. A.
Sir
V Golodbew
(France)
to Mr. J
J.
to Prof.
von Le
Coq (Germany);
H. (now Ph. Vogel
John) Marshall, Sir Aurel Stein and Mr. (now Prof.)

;
(India)
to
Major Van Erp (Java)

des Inscriptions
and
for the loan
of blocks to the
Academie
et Belles-Lettres, et
the
E.
Sociitd Asiatique and
MM.
Esperandieu, Gdimet, Hachette
C'%
Leroux
(Paris),
and to
the Ecole franâise d'Extr^me-Orient (Hanoi).

In the
will be
body of the work and
in
the descriptions attached to the plates
found indications
in detail of
what we owe
to this kind cooperation.
We
tender here our grateful thanks for help in the absence of which the
majority of these essays either would never have
come
into being or
could
not have been combined to form of a volume.
Some
faults of
impression and minor errata will perhaps be judged excu-
sable in an English
book printed
in France.
P. S.
It
should moreover be stated
which the reader himself may
in view of some few details that this volume, with exception notice
1914.
of the index and tables, has been in print since June
Through
the
enforced postponement of
its
appearance, the dedication to M. A. Barth
has become (since April 15,
1916) unfortunately only a tribute to his
memory.
CONTENTS
Pags
I.
II.
The Beginnings of Buddhist Art
The Representations of
Reliefs of Barhut
JAtakas
on the Bas29
61
The Eastern Gate of THE Sanchi Stupa .... IV. The Greek Origin of the Image of Buddha Gaul and India V. The Tutelary Pair VI. The Great Miracle at Qravasti VII. The Six-Tusked Elephant VIII. Buddhist Art Java IX. The Buddhist Madonna
III.
.
in
139
in
IN
147
185
in
205
271
293
Index
ILLUSTRATIONS
Hariti, the Buddhist
Madonna
painting from Turf an... frontispiece

Page
Plates I-IV.
Beginnings of Buddhist Art

I.
28
Buddhist symbols on ancient Indian coins.
II.
The The
three last Great Miracles
1 at
III.
Sdnchi
2" at Amaravati.
:
first
Great Miracle
;
I" in
Gandhara
z" at
Amaravati.
:
IV.
The
four Great Miracles
1 in
Gandhara;
2" at
AmaravHi
3 at Benares.
Plates V-VI.
V.
Jatakas at Barhut
In medallions.
60
VI.
On
the rail-coping.
Plates VII-X.
VII,
I.
The Eastern
Gate of the Sanchi Stupa.
10
General view taken from the East.
2.
Back-view of Lintels of Eastern Gate.

Eastern Gate (/ro/ wVu').
VIII,
I.
2.
Divine guardian
Interior face of
at entrance.
left
jamb.
IX,
I.
The Conversion of the Kagyapas.

Interior face of
left
jamb.
2.
The Return
to Kapilavastu.
Interior face of right jamb.
X,
I.
The Vocation,
or Great Departure.
lintel.
Front view of middle

2.
.\
Procession to the Bodhi-Tree.

Front view
of
lower
lintel.
XIV
Plates XI-XVI.
XI,
I.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Greek Origin of the Buddha Type

Buddhas
in the
138
Lahore Museum.
Mess, Mardin.
2.
Buddha
in the Guides'
XII,
I.
2.
The Village of Shahbaz-Garhl. The Ruins of Takht-i-Bahai.

The
Village of Sahri-Bahlol.
XIII,
I.
2.
Excavations near Sahri-Bahlol.

Shah-ji-ki-Dheri (Kanishka Stupa).
XIV,
I.
2.
Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythic Coins.
XV,
XVI,
I.
2.
I.
The Relic-casket of Kanishka. The Bodhisattva Type.

Types of Bodhisattva, Buddha and monk.
Grco-Christian Christ and Grsco-Buddhist Buddha.
2.
Plates XVII-X VIII.

XVII.
XVIII.
The Tutelary Pair
146
In Gaul.
In Gandhara.
Plates XIX-XXVIII.
The Great Miracle of ^ravasti
ILLUSTRATIONS
Plates
XV
Page
. .
XXXI-XLIV.
XXXI,
I.
Buddhist archeology in Java

:
270
Boro- Budur
General view {from
the north-west')
2.
XXXII.
XXXIII,
I.
2.
First Gallery (part of west fa(ade).
Section and plan.

Silhouette.
Staircase (north side).
XXXIV,
I.
Story of Sudhana,
against the
no.
Incantation
Naga
(central portion).
1 1
:
XXXV,
I.
Story of Sudhana, no.
Manohara's flight.
Above
The
Bodhisattva's farewell to the
gods.
Story of Sudhana,no. i2:ThePrince'sreturn.
Above
The
Bodhisattva's
descent
upon
earth.
XXXVI,
I
Story of Sudhana, no. 16

(right-hand portion).
At the fountain
Story of Mandhatar, no. 12

garments.
The
rain of
2.
The Bodhisattva chooses his bride. Story of king îbi, the Dove and the Hawk. Above The first of the Bodhisattva's four
Above
:
promenades.
XXXVII,
I.
Story of Rudrayana, no. 6
Presentation ot
the cuirass (left-hand portion)

2.

yana's
visit.
Mahakatya-
Above
The
Bodhisattva with
his
first
Brahman
XXXVIII,
I.
teacher.
Story of Rudrayana,
Qaila's
no.
10
The nun
sermon
(left-hand portion).
1 1
:
2.
Story of Rudrdyana, no.
Queen CanJra-
prabha's ordination (central portion).
XXXIX.
XL,
I.
Story of Rudrayana, fragments of nos. 12,

13 and 14.
Story of Rudrayana, no.

parricide.
16
After the
Above
The ascetic Bodhisattva
declines the
aid of the gods.

jewels (left-hand portion).
The
rain of
XVI
XLI,
I.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Page
Boro-Budur
Story of the pair of Kinnaras (antral portion of the second scene).
2.
Story of Maitrakanyaka, no.

offering (central portion).
The
purse-
XLII,
I.
The
Under
Story ofMaitrakanyaka, no. 2:
The mother's
In
supplication (left-hand portion).
2.
Story of Maitrakanyaka, no. 7
the
Inferno city (right-hand portion).
XLIII,
I.
unfinished statue of Buddha.

the central cupola,
Boro-Budur.
Trailokyavijaya.
Bronze in
the
Batavia Museum.
XLIV.
The Goddess Cunda between two Bodhisattvas. On the south western wall of the Chandi Mendut.
Plates XLV-L.
The Buddhist Madonna

After a wall-painting from
I
.
92
XLV.
XLVI.
XLVII.
XLVIII.
I.
Domoko (Chinese Turkestan)

As set up in
2.
Side view before removal \2.

:
British
Museum
Suckling Madonna
i.
Romanesque;
Coptic.
Indo-Greek images of
Hariti
Hariti.
in
and her partner
Gandhara.
Hariti in Java.
XLIX.
L.
Japanese images of Ki-si-mo-jin.
Chinese images of Kuan-Yin.
.V.
B.
detailed description of each plate will be
found
either in the body of the
livry or on the
page de garde
opposite the plate.
The Beginnings of Buddhist
Art.C)
Buddhism
is
a historical fact;
only
:
it
has not yet been

later that
completely incorporated into history

will be achieved.
sooner or
Meanwhile
its initial
period remains,
we
must confess, passably obscure.

little
To
its
add to our difficulty, the
that
we
think
we know
times of
its
of the social and political

birth has been learned
:
state of India in the
almost entirely through
medium
thus the frame

task,
is
no
better defined than the picture.

it
But the
arduous
B. C.
though
is
may
be, is not impossible.

it
The fifth century
not so remote a period that

;
must always elude
archieo-
logical research
the interval between the death of
Buddha
oursel-
and the
first
information transmitted to us concerning
him
is
not so considerable that
we cannot
it
flatter
ves with the idea of discerning across
the veritable phy-
sionomy of the work,

pious, but
if
not
in
conformity with the
too tardy wish of later generations
the
actual features of the worker.
This hope
is still
more
confident, and the ambition less audacious,
question of the beginnings of Buddhist
art.
when it is a The appearance
phenomenon, since it presupposes not only the development of the community of monks, but also a certain organization of worship on the
of the
latter is a relatively late
part of the
laity.
If
among
the productions of this art
the sculptures are almost the sole survivors,

least preserved to us, notably in
we have
at
the labelled bas-reliefs
{i) Jounial Asiattque, Jan. -Feb. igii.
THE BEGINNINGS OF BUDDHIST ART

very highest rank.
:
of Barhut, documents of the

ainly the stones are by
Cert-
no means loquacious
but they
atone for their silence by the unalterableness of a testimony
which could not be suspected of rifacimento or interpolation. Thanks to their marvellous grain, they are to-day as
they were
when they
left
the hands of the image-makers
upon this immuwe can construct inferences more rigorous than upon the moving sand of the texts. In the ever
table foundation
restless
Qnipakdrakd) two thousand years ago; and
and changing play of the doctrines we are never

is
quite certain that the logical sequence of the ideas
exact-
ly parallel to the historical succession of the facts.
On
the
other side, the routine character of
all
manual technique
still
will allow us to detect with certainty, in the
existing-
monuments, the material traces of the procedures wh must have been usual earlier inversely, and by a kin>
:
proof backwards, the correctness of these postulates
be verified in that thev alone will be found to render

satisfactory account of the often
uncouth character of
All these reasons
tha"
which has been preserved

to us to justify the task
to us.
seem
,'
which we have undertaken. In
th^j
from various quarters upon the originr of Buddhism we believe even that the attempt to go
assault delivered
back to the very beginning of
its
art
is,
methods of approach,
that
which has
for
among all the moment
the the
most chances of
success.
None, indeed, of the monuments known
at
the present
time, building or sculpture, takes us further back than the
Maurva dvnastv.Does
that
mean
that art
was created
entire

in India
towards the year 250 before our

it
era,
by a decree of
to
the
Emperor A?oka? Of course
would be absurd
believe this.
From
the Vedic times Indian civilization had
at its disposal the services
not only of the carpenter, the
wheel-wright and the blacksmith, of the potter, the weaver and other fabricators of objects of prime necessity, but
also of those
whom we
call
art-workers, painters, goldIf the
smiths, carvers in
to
tell
wood or ivory.
texts
were not there

Fergus-
us this in words, the evidence of the sole surviving
monuments would
stone,
be sufficient to estabHsh
all
it.
son has proved once for
that the oldest constructions in

in
by the
servile
manner
which they copy the
fra-
ming and
joining of timber work, testify to the previous
f*!;tence of
wooden
it
buildings.
On
the other
hand
as
fow from
,..
a reliable source
by means of an
explicit
iption
in
vt
-,
was the ivory-workers of Vidica who carthe immediate vicinity of their town, one of the
it is
n.yuumental gates of Sanchi. Besides,

finished and well polished bas-reliefs,
fir-t
obvious that the

for us arc the
first
which
in date, represent not
by any means the
attempts
ot Deginners, but the
work of
sculptors long familiar with
thjir business
and changing their material, but not their technique. The whole transformation which was accomplished during the third century before our era
is
limited to
the substitution, in religious and royal foundations, of the

reign of stone for that of
wood. Unfortunately, there
are
no worse conditions, climatic and

vation of
historical, for the preser-
monuments than those of India. All that was wood was condemned beforehand to fall into dust; all,
nearly
all,
of
or
that
was of stone and
that the climate
might
have spared has been destroyed by the vandalism of man.
Thus
is
explained
why
the
most ancient remains
of
Bud-
dhist art are at once so late and so rare. If
we
leave aside

the religious sects
the great monolithic pillars dear to Aôka, as well as the caves excavated for the benefit of
in every place
all
where the geological formation of the rocks
lent itself thereto,
we
find
on the ground
level,
and pend-
ing
more systematic excavations,

debris of the
scarcely anything to
mention, except the
balustrades of Bodh-
Gaya and of Barhut, and the four gates of Sanchi. The mention of the kings Brahmamitra and Indramitra, inscribed on the first, on the second that of the
dynasty of the (ûiigas, and on one of the
reign of Satakani suffice to date
certainty,
as
last that
of the
them
generally, but with

first, if
belonging to the second, or

It is
century
before our era.
doubtless to the same epoch,
we may
we must refer the oldest fragments of the balustrades exhumed both at Amaravati and at Mathura. If to these few stray remnants of sculptures we add the remains of the most archaic paintings of Ajanta, we
judge by the style, that
shall very
soon have finished compiling the catalogue of

styled
what may be
influences
in opposition to the later school,
of
the north-west frontier,
much more
penetrated by foreign
India.
the native school of Central

known
to surprise
Let us go straight to the most striking feature of this old
Buddhist school. Although well

will not
fail
to specialists,
it
uninformed readers.
When we
we
find the ancient stone-carvers of India in full activity,
observe that they are very industriously engaged in carrying
out the strange undertaking of representing the
life
of Bud-
dha without Buddha.

ble as
is
it
We have
here a fact which, improba-
may seem, Cunningham longagodemonstratcd.lt

on the written testimony of the
artists
established
them-
Those of Barhut inform us by an inscription, that such and such a person on his knees before a throne is rendering homage to the Blessed One . Now, without
selves.

exception, the throne
is
vacant; at the most, there
is
symbol indicating the

latest researches
invisible presence of
Buddha ('). The

it
have only opened our eyes to the extent

holds
of the
field
of application of this constant rule;
good for the years which preceded as also for those which followed the Sambodhi, for the youth as also for
the old age of the Master.
The
:
facade of the middle lintel
of the eastern gate of Sanchi illustrates his departure on
horseback from his house
the embroidered rug which

is
serves as a saddle for his steed
empty
(').
:
medallion
of Bodh-Gaya represents his

is
first
meditation
empty again
is
the seat before which the traditional

(^).
ploughman
dri-
ving his plough
Some
panels of Amaravati
show
us his birth and presentation to the sage Asita; only his

footprints
a direct ideographic transcription of the forin use in India to designate respectfully a

in
mula which was
person
mark the swaddling clothes on which

into their
one
have
place the gods, in another the old rishi are reputed to
received
suffice
him
arms
from
('').
These
selected examples
to demonstrate that the ancient Indian
sculptors
abstained
sattva or
absolutely
representing
either
last
Bodhi-
tence
(').
Buddha Such is
in the course
of his
earthy exis-
the abnormal, but indisputable fact of

art will
which every history of Buddhist

to render account.
have
at
the outset
(i) A.
Cunningham,
Stiipa of Barhut, pi.

cf. pi.
XIII-XVII.
i.
(2) See below, pp. 75 and 105;
X,
fig.
(3) ^''^ grico-houddhique du Gandhdra,
177 and
p. 345.
(4) See on the staircase of the British
GUSSON, Tree
and. Serpent
Worship, pi.
Museum, ns 44 and XCI, 4, and LXI, 2.

at least
48, or Fer-
(5) Let us add, in order to be quite correct,
under his human
form
; for
we know
that a bas-relief at Barhut represents the Blessed

in
One
(cf.
descending into the bosom of his mother below, p. 20).
the form of an elephant
As
far as
of this fact
we know, no perfectly satisfactory explanation has until now been given. First of all we tried
more
or less by the supposition, as
to dispose of the matter
evasive as gratuitous, that the ancient school had either not

desired or had not been able to figure the Blessed
One;
neither of these
two reasons appears
to us to have the least

?
value in proof. Shall
we speak
of incapacity
Assuredly, one
can see that the concrete realization of the image of the

perfect
Buddha
was not an easy
task
and the
difficulty
could not but increase with the years, in proportion as the
time of the Master grew more distant and his features faded
more and more into the mists of the past. Nevertheless, we must not form too poor an opinion of the talent of the old image-makers, and the argument becomes moreover quite
worthless,
when one attempts to apply it to the youth of Buddha. What was he, in fact, up to the time of his flight
his native
from
town, but a
royal heir
apparent
is
Now
the type of nija-kumdra, or crown-prince,
common on
the gates of Sanchi, as also on the balustrade of Barhut (');
what material hindrance was

to represent the Bodhisattva
there to their
? It
making use of it
so.
is
clear that they could
have done
Shall
so,
fall
and yet they carefully abstained from doing

back, then,
we
upon
the other branch of the
dilemma and say that they did not dare ? Assuredly the gravest members of the order must long have held to the
letter
the stern
(")
;
sayir;g
that the master gone, the law
remains
and
we
are quite willing to believe that the
law alone was of import for them. The reverend Nagasena

still
teaches
king
Menander
that
henceforth
the
(i) Sec
n 538 j&lakd)
:
Cunningham,
Stiipa of Barhut, pi.
XXV,
4 (Mugapakkbn-jdtnka
cf. infra, p.
56 and pi. V, 6) and p. vi (mention of the Vifvanlaralintel (Vicvantara), etc.
north gate of Sinchi, lower

i.
(2) Mahdparinibbdna-siitta, VI,

Blessed
One
is
no longer
visible except in the
form of the
;
dharmakdyaQ^, of the
express prohibition
body of the doctrine
but of any
of images
we
have in the texts no

in
knowledge. Since when, moreover, and

does popular devotion trouble
itself
it
what country
in ancient
about the dogmatic
scruples of the doctors? Certainly

India
:
was not so
at all
for otherwise
we could not
understand the
enthusiasm with which the valley of the Ganges and the

rest
welcomed the Indo-Greek type of Buddha. From Mathura to Bodh-Gaya, and from ^ravasti to Amaravati,we see it installed in triumph on the circumference of the stnpas as in the interior of the temples. So
of the peninsula
rapid a conquest
is
a sufficient
proof that the objections of

far
conscience,
if
any such existed, were
from being insur-
mountable.
But,
it
will be said,
if it is
true that the ancient Indian
image-makers asked
for
nothing better than to represent
the Blessed One, and that,

capable of h,
on the other hand, they were

?
why
then have they so carefully abstained

reply, in appearance,
To this we see but one

still
it
we must confess,
is
it, it
simple-minded enough,
sufficient for all
:
but
one
which, in India,
If
they did not do
was because
was not the custom to do it . And, no doubt, it would be easy to retort But you confine yourself to putting off
:
the question
if it
does not arise with regard to the sculptors

possess,
it
whose works we
still
holds
good
entirely
far
with regard to their predecessors...
Certainly, and
point at which
from contradicting, that

wished to
arrive.
is
just the
we
We
hold that this monstrous abstention,
such as we observe on the monuments of Barhut and

Sanchi, remains
perfectly
incomprehensible, unless
we
(i) Milindapahha, ed.
Trenckner,
p.
73
trans.
Rhys Davids,
p. 113.

iiabits
it
enquire into the traditional
which
it
supposes and
which, for that very reason,

us.
is
capable of revealing to
it
Like certain anomalies in animal species,

explained
as
can only
obso-
be
an
inheritance
from
nearly
lete past,
which
in the
this survival helps us to reconstitute. In
other words,
it is
vain for us to seek a solution of the

late
problem
few relatively
it
specimens
at
present
known
still
to us
is
to the anterior history, to
what
is
the prehistoric period of Buddhist art that

to discover
it
it.
we must
that
go
it is
To
such a typical case of
artistic tera-
tology
is
the evolutionist
method of embryology
proper to apply.
II
To
begin,
we have
the
best
reasons
for
thinking
that the habit of adoring
human
images, and even the art
offabricating them, were
still
less general in the India of the
Brahmans before Alexander than

try properly so-called did not in
in the
Gaul of the Druids

exis-
before the time of Caesar. Certainly this absence of idola-
any way exclude the

:
tence of
theless,
more rudimentary forms of fetichism (') neverthe fact remains that Buddhism did not develope,
world long infected by the worship
it
like Christianity, in a
of images and prompt to contaminate
in its turn.
Not
(i)
We
allude to the golden puriisha

7, 4, i., 15)
which formed a
is
part of the altar of

kritya of the
sacrifice
rites
(Qat.-Brahm.,
{Ath. Veda, X, i), etc.

(ft;//.
For what
Ic
and to the effigy

to be
magic
understood by the Gallic
simulacra of C^sar
Gall., VI, 4), see the article of

el
M.
t.
S.
Reinach
1892,
on L'art
dotus
(I,
phislique en Gaulc
druidismc (Revue Cellique,
XIII.
pp. 190 sqq..),
where are
cited also
corresponding testimonies of Hero-
131) and Tacitus (Germ., IX) as to the non-existence of idolatry
among
the Persians and the Germans.

only did the
first
9
alle-
century already
;
know
symbolical or
gorical representations of Christ
but from the second cen-
tury
we meet with
(').
his portrait
on the paintings of the
catacombs
When
:
in India, the religion
Buddha makes its appearance which he had founded was already four
that of
it
hundred years old
even so
had required the contact of

art,
the civilisation, and the influence of the
of Hellenism.
On
in
Buddhism was not born, like Islam, an environment beforehand and deliberately hostile to
the other hand.
idolatry.
We
do not
it,
find that the
Vedic texts breathe a

:
word about
either for or against
and their silence

it
is
explained precisely by the fact that the idea of
had not
as the
fail
even presented
time for
to
it
itself to
the Indian mind.
As soon
shall
have come, the grammarians will not
employment of the learned language the mode of designating the new fact of the Brahmanic idols (').
mention
in the
Likewise,
when
the question of the images of the Master
presents itself to the faithful Buddhists, their writings will
supply explicitly the opportune solutions; and

cessive solutions are, moreover, contradictory,
it
these sucis
it
simply
that in the interval the needs ofthe religious conscience
have
changed
at
the
same time
as the conditions of artistic pro-
duction. But, as far as concerns the most ancient period
with which
we
have to deal, investigations into the Utera-
ture have remained from an iconographical point ot view

as sterile as the researches
on the
spot.
For the moment the
history of religious art in India, previous to
Buddhism,
is,
(i)
M. Besnier,
Les Catacomhes de Rome, Paris, 1909, pp. 204, 208, 223-
224.
(2) Cf. Scholia
to
Pdnini, V,
3,
99, excellently discussed
by Pror. Sten
KoMOw
in his
:
interesting Note on the use of images in ancient India (Ind.
Ant., 1909)
but they have no value as proof for the pre-Mauryan epoch

are here concerned.
with which
we
10

it
whether
must remain so or not, philologically a blank page, archaeologically an empty show-case. That in Buddhism, as in all religions, art is at first
only a simple manifestation of worship, every one will willingly admit.
The only
question
is
to
know what branch

It is
of Buddhist worship has supplied this special excrescence
with an opportunity for
its
production.
evidently not
in the periodical reunions of the
the smallest decorative pretext.
monks that we shall find The veneration shown to
the mortal remains of the Blessed

role of the funeral
One
explains the leading

It
tumulus
it is still
in
Buddhist archhecture.
will
not escape us that
the same veneration which, thus
advantaged, has offered in the obligatory surroundings

of those reliquary
monuments
the natural support to the
sculptures, the sole destination of which for a
longtime was
to decorate the balustrades of the
stfipas.
We
might even
suspect a
mark of its
rite
influence in the almost entirely bio-
graphical character that this decoration has assumed, just

as,
by the
of circumambulation,
it
has fixed the direc-
tion in
which the scenes must succeed one another and be
read. But,
beyond
this general orientation,
we
discover at
the basis of this kind of devotion nothing that could have
determined the mode of compositon of the
bas-reliefs.
There remains the
third
and
last
ancient form of Buddhist

is
worship, that which Buddha himself
supposed to have
taught on his death bed to his well-loved disciple, There

are four places,
O Ananda,
which an honorable worshipper
should
visit
with religious emotion.
They
are, as
we know,
last
those
What are these four? ... where the Predestined One
for the first
time received illumination and preached and

time he was born and died(').
those where for the
Now
(i) Mahaparinibbdna-suta, V, 16-22.
THE BEGINNINGS OF BUDDHIST ARl

just in this
devout practice of the four great pilgrimages resides any hope which we have of at last coming upon the
long-sought point of departure. In order that

atoncetlie
it is
we may
grasp
germ and the
directing principle of Buddhist art,
necessary and sufficient to admit that the Indian pil-
grims were pleased to bring back from these four holy places a small material souvenir of what they had there
seen.
We
can scarcely believe that the reader will refuse to
grant us this small postulate.

the outer world that
Can he be so ignorant of he does not know the universal em-
pire of the mania, innocent in itself, for souvenirs of tra-
vels?
The innumerable manufacturers and shopkeepers

everywhere
live
who
to
by
it
would quickly demonstrate
it
him. Has he never
in the
course of his migrations,
whatever
may have been

These
the object or the cause of them,
bought
curios, collected photographs,

are
or sent
away
pic-
ture post-cards?
only the
latest
modes and
profane extension of an immemorial and sacred custom.

If
he doubts
this, let
him
lean, for example, over

(')
one of
the cases at the Cluny
Museum
all
which contain the
emblematic
metal insignia of
the great pilgrimages
of the Middle
Seine
dreds
in
Ages, as they
have been fished out of the

has also
left
Paris.
Mediaeval India
by hun-
evidences of this
custom.
Most frequently they

a seal, and
are simple clay balls,
moulded or stamped with

the
as
without doubt within

served at the
reach
of
all
pockets,
which
same time
memento and as ex-voto.

all
They
even
are to be picked
up nowadays on
Buddhist
sites,
(i) Unless
the British
it is more convenient for him to try the same experiment Museum, where a case in the Mediaeval Room also contains
at
collection of these si^nacula.
12

the peninsula of Malacca and in
in
Annam
(').
Do we
compromise ourselves very much by conjecturing that these sacred emblems are in Buddhism the remains of a
tradition
which goes back
to the four great primitive pilit
grimages? The worst that could result from

that Buddhist art
would be
must have owed

say, of
its
origin to the satis-
faction of a need everywhere
and always experienced, and,

religious instincts of
we may almost
humanity.
It
one of the
would be difficult to imagine a theory more humble and more prosaic it is in our opinion only the more probable for that, nor do we see what other we
:
can substitute,
if,
at least,
we
are unwilling to attribute to
that art any but a rational origin.
In
fact,
is
this
point once gained,

to guess
all
the
rest
follows.
Nothing
more easy than
what must have been
the souvenirs brought back by the pilgrims from the four

great holy places.
liar to
To
take the
modern example most famiis
the French reader,
what
represented by the images

at
or medals offered for sale and bought

foremost,, the miraculous
Lourdes ?
First
and
grotto.
clay,
What must
have been
represented on stuffs,
the
first
on
wood,
ivory, or metal
by
objects of piety manufactured at Kapilavastu, at

at
Bodh-Gaya,
Benares, or at Kucinagara? Evidently the
characteristic point
towards which,
at
the approach of each
of these four towns, popular devotion was directed.
Now we
know
these points already from the picturesque expres-
sions of the texts.
What was
first visited
at
Kucinagara
was the
site,
very soon and quite appropriately marked by
(i) For specimens from India, see Ccnningham, Mahdbodhi,

J.
pi.
XXIV;
R. A. S., 1900, p. 432, etc.

pi.
iVom Burniah. Archa'ol.
Survey
la
of India,
Annual Feport, 1905-1906,

1901, p. 25, etc.
LIII; from Malacca, Bull, de

;
Commission
F.
Archeolos;iquc de I'lndo-Chine, 1909, p. 232
from Annam, B. B.
E.-O.,

a stupa
('),
13
of the
last
death of the Master. In the same way,
the essential miracle of Benares having taken place at the

Mriga-dava , the Gazelle-park,
it
was
inevitable that
its
consecrated description as putting the wheel of the lav/

in
motion
should be translated in concrete terms by a
wheel, usually accompanied by two gazelles.
What was
One
contemplated
at
Bodh-Gaya, on the other hand, was the

omniscience. Finally, what would be
?
evergreen fig-tree, at the foot of which the Blessed
had
sat to
attain
at
worshipped
tain
:
Kapilavastu
Here the answer
is
less cer-
undoubtedly the great
local attraction consisted in

;
the recollection of the nativity of
mentioning
his paternal
Buddha but, without home, the most ardent zeal might

and that and the
hesitate between the place of his material birth
of his spiritual renaissance, between the park of Lumbin^,
where he issued from the
right side of his mother,
no
less
famous
gate,
through which he escaped from the
miserable pleasures of the world. Whatever might in this

case be the difficulty of choice, with regard to the three
other sites
at least
no
hesitation
was
possible.
tree, a
wheel,
a.
stupa, these suffice
to recall to our
memory
the
spectacle of those holy places, or even,

ciation of ideas
by
a constant asso-
and images, to evoke the miracles of which
they had been the theatre. Again, these things could be

indicated
as
summarily
as
one could wish
if
human
weakness cannot dispense with the material sign, imagination makes up for the poverty of
artistic
means.
(i)
Stiipa of
Acoka
says Hiuan-tsang; that

I,
is,
of archaic form
cf.
also Fa-hian (Beal, Records,
p. lii,
and
II,
p.
32).
14
III
Such
is
the sole part
which hypothesis plays
in
our theory.
art
The whole subsequent development

logically
of Buddhist
flows
from these premises; and henceforth there are none

surviving documents which do not successively
its
of the
still
corroborate the various stages of
evolution.
to us
The
oldest
monuments which have come down

it is
from Indian
antiquity are a few rectangular coins of copper or silver.
Now
sU'ipa
very remarkable that,
among
the symbols with which
they are punch-marked, the tree, the wheel and the

play a considerable, and indeed, on
many
of
them, a predo-
minant
part (').
the existence of
Thanks to the chance of their discovery, the signacula, which we imagined to have
be, for as far
been made for the use of pilgrims, ceases to

as
back
we can go, a pure conjecture (see pi. I, B, still, we can clearly discern in the infantile
these
C, D). Better
simplicity of
most ancient manifestations of the religious art of the Buddhists. They are, properly speaking, less images than hieroglyphics endowed for the initiated with a conventional value and, at the same time,
style of the
:
emblems the
we
succeed in explaining to ourselves what

to note, that
we have
is,
already
more than once had occasion
the abstract
and quasi algebraical character of this
art at its
commenceconsepil-
ment
(-).
Moreover,
we
easily conceive that, in
quence of being conveyed beyond the great centres of

(i)To quote only
coins, in
cf. D. B. Spooner, Anew find of punchAnnual Report 190^-1^06, 1909, p. 150. According to the excellent analysis which Dr. Spooner has given of this discovery, out of 61 coins 22 bear all three symbols at once and 22 others associate the two last together.
the latest study,
marked
Arch. Survey
oj India,
(2) Cf. for instance, Art greco-bouddhique du Gandhara, p. 608.

grimage,
artistic
15
emblems of
as
this
sort
may have
seen
their initial signification modified.
They came, by
degrees,
to be regarded less
mementos of
sacred spots than as
figurative representations of miracles, the
memory of which
was connected with those
places. In other words, in pro-
portion as they were propagated further and further from

their place of origin, their topographical
and
local character
diminished more and more, to the advantage of their symbolical
and universal value,
until they
ended by becoming
the
common
patrimony of the image-makers and being
fabricated everywhere without distinction
where
Buddhist
donor ordered them.

IV"' century
It is
just this state

is
of diffusion and
subsequent generalisation that
proved to us even in the
by the banality and dispersion of the so-cal coins.
led
Buddhist
But we must hasten,
in this rapid sketch, to
come
to the
monuments whose Buddhist character can no longer be disputed. We know what impulse was towards the middle
of the third century given by the imperial zeal of Acoka
to the religious foundations of the sect.
It is,
therefore, only
after
faith-
the
more curious to observe how, even
hundred years
him, the school of Central India continues to follow

fully in the beaten track of the past.
From this point of view,

fortune
the four gates of Sanchi, which

to retain almost intact,
we have had the good
may
furnish a fairly safe criterion of
the degree of persistence of the ancient usages.
Now
Fer-
gusson long ago remarked there the extreme frequency of
what he
called the
worship
of the tree, the stupa
and
the wheel. According to statistics hardly open to suspicion,

since they were
drawn up
first
in support of theories quite diffe-
rent from ours, the
emblem
;
is
repeated no less than

if
67 times, the second 32 times

reappear
and
the last does not

suffices,
more
that 6 times, this
number
never-
i6

it
theless, to assure
the third place in the order of impor(').
tance of the subjects
We have not,
of course, to follow
speculations
Fergusson in the strange
anthropological
which he has engrafted on to these observations. All that we should be tempted at first to read in his table would
be the preponderance of the miracle of the Sambodhi, or of
the Parinirvdm, over that of the Dharmacahra-pravartana.
number of the first two symbols depends upon another cause. The artists proceeded to apply
In reality the larger
to
at
the
first
Buddhas of the
served
for
past
the formulas
which had
age.
the
Buddha
of
our
People
were pleased to
at
level all the
seven by representing them
one time by
their funeral
tumulus,
at
another, and
much more
their
frequently,
by their empty throne

(")
:
under
Tree of Knowledge
special
the wheel alone had re-
mained the
apanage of our Qakya-muni, and con-
sequently was repeated only at rarer intervals. But these

are only subsidiary details; taking these figures
their
all
together,
imposing
total testifies
loudly enough to the cons-
tant repetition in traditional
form of what we know, from

first
the evidence of the coins, to have been the

at
attempts
Buddhist
art.
Being forced to cover the
relatively
extensive surfaces placed at their disposal, the sculptors of
(i) Cf. Fergusson, Tree and Scrtient-lVorship,
2"''
edition, 1873, pp. 105
and 242. Here
is
the table, in which he has included the data of the sole

stitpas
:
gate of one of the small neighbouring
Tree, Great Stupa.
Stiipa,
Small
Sli'ipa.
South Gate North Gate East Gate West Gate Only Gate
16
19 17
1
(2) S>Qcht\o^, Eastern Gate of Siinchl, pp. 72 and 104.

for
The
decisive reason
ot the
the predominance of the inspired compositions of the type

all
Sam-
bodhi over
the others will be given a
little
further on, p. 19.

Sanchi evidently
in the
17
commenced by
re-editing profusely, right

era,
middle of the second century before our
the
summary and
hieroglyphic compositions which they had

their
direct
inherited from
predecessors, the makers of

pi. II).
religious objects in the fifth century (see
IV
This
is
a first
and certainly very important, but purely
material, verification of our hypothesis.
There
are proofs
more
subtle than the proof of statistics, which
open up
deeper views of the development of the ancient Buddhist

school.
The
years have passed, technical
skill
has increased,
the iconographic types of gods and genii have been formed, the gift of observation and a sense of the picturesque have
awakened
tive of
in
it
but
it
remains nevertheless, as regards the
capital point of the figuration of
Buddha, the docile capit
custom. Around the old themes of the studios,

it
embroiders,
the
less
stiipas,
is
true,
some
variations
it
embellishes
surrounds the wheels with wreaths, or, carebeforehand to the tree
of the anachronism, gives
of the Samhodhi the curious stone surround which, more
than two and a half centuries after the miracle,

the piety of A<;oka (')
;
it
owed
to
but for
all
that
it
does not go beyond
the ancient formulas.

sacred
miracles,
Weary
it
of eternally repeating the

treating
does
risk
some
still
un-
published episode?
The
its
idea of taking advantage of this, in

it.
order to break free from routine, never occurs to
It
can-
not but
know
that
business
is
no longer
to supply pil-
grims with a memento of what they had seen with their
own
eyes in the course of their visits to the sacred places
(1) See below, Eastern Gate of Sdnchi, p. 102.
i8
it is

fully
conscious that what
it
has
now to do
is
to illus-
trate
on
permanent monument the biography of Buddha;

the old procedures, formerly perfectly appro-
but
it
appears hardly to grasp clearly the fact that for this
new purpose
was too
legends
priate to their object, are

late to rebel
no longer
suitable. Evidently,
it
and to shake
off the 5''oke of an artistic
tradition
;
which had
ere long been strengthened
by religious
at least it is
about this same time that the texts,
until then silent
claim
soon
after
with an excessive by posterity the
on the question, suddenly decide to proprecipitation to be contradicted
previous incapacity of the
artists to
portray during his lifetime the ineffable linea(').
ments of the Blessed One

fact,
And how
otherwise,
in
explain the persistent absence of his image, whilst so
many
of the popular divinities were paraded on the pillars

?
of Barhut and Sanchi
Henceforward there
Indian school.
surreptitious,
is
only one way, in conformity with
the living reality, of conceiving the study of the ancient

Its
history
is
that of a struggle,
more or
less
it
between the two tendencies which divided

an irrepressible desire for
respect for
its
against
itself,
new
scenes and the one
a superstitious
precedents.
On
hand,
it
experiences a growing need for the form of
Buddha
;
to serve as a centre or pivot for the scenes of his
life
and
then
on the other hand,
it
accepts as an
it
axiom
that, in
order to
represent the Blessed One,
suffices to
do what
until
had always been done, that
is,
to
evoke him by the sight ot

it
one of
his three speaking
emblems. Watch
at
work. The
tumulus
of the ParinirvAm, the ultimate

ipso facto
end of the career
of the Master, was
beside the point,
when
it
was
question of representing
some
incident in that career.
The
(i) Divyavadana, p. 547.

symbol
19
of the wheel, specialized in the representation of the
First
Preaching
could scarcely be employed again,
except on the occasion of the similar miracle wrought at

(^ravasti for
the greater confusion of the rival sects

for ordinary
(').
There remained
Sambodhi. And, in
employment
in miracles of
the second rank the heraldic

fact,
emblem already utilized
for the
we
can well see
how
all
the studios of
to this proce-
Central India resign themselves once for
dure and accommodate themselves more or less successfully thereto. All the
same, they cannot
resist slipping in
here and there a few variants, or even trying on occasions
some different course. It is under an empty mounted by a tree, that at Barhut Buddha
visit
throne, surreceives the
of the ndga Elapatra;
when
he preaches in the heaven

is
of the Thirty-three Gods, the motif
in addition graced
with a parasol; and this
latter, in its
turn, takes the place
of the tree on the occasion of the visit of Indraor Ajata?atru.
At times the throne by
itself
does the work. In two
cases,
on the eastern gate of Sanchi, the school even ventures
so far as to avail itself solely of the or cankrama, of the Master in
promenade
order to suggest his preits
sence
(-).
But the boldness of
innovations goes no
its
further,
city.
it
and we very quickly reach the limits of
auda-
have indeed sketched them above (pp. 4-5), and would have been superfluous to return to the matter,
We
did
we not now believe
that
we have divined the
raison d'etre,
and actually the manner of production, of the strange anomalies which at the beginning of this study we had to
confine ourselves to
statins:. o
We have, likewise, explained

(i) See below, Essay VI.
(2) Cf. Cunningham,
Sli'ipa
above
how
and now we
XVI,
3:
of
Barhut, pi. XIV, 3;
XVII,
i;
XXVIII, 4
etc.,
.md below, Enstern Gate of Sanchi pp. 93 and 100.
20
understand
why
the artists came into collision with
the impassable barrier of ancient usages,

represent the form of the Predestined
when One in
they had to
the course
of the
his
first
twenty-nine years of his
life, at
the time
a
princely
surroundings
still
hid under
when mundane
cloak the
able
Buddha about
to appear. In truth,
we were not
as yet (p. 13) to
determine exactly, by the aid of
the texts, which episode of his youth the faithful had cho-
commemoration, nor in what manner the old image-makers must have set to work
sen
as the
principal object of
to
commemorate
it. It is
curious to note that the sculptors

in
of the second century shared our perplexities

regard. Those of Barhut adopted the precise
this
moment when
the Bodhisattva descended into the bosom of his mother,
when,
in the
at least, the latter
form of a
little
dreamed that he descended there elephant ('). Those of Sanchi

incidentally;
do not represent the Conception, save

the other hand, they complacently
on
detail all the

is,
circum-
stances of the prince's entry into religion, that

flight
of his
on horseback from the gate of the town and

the
:
his native
town
they portray
several
times the horse, the
groom and
stela;
hero of this
Gods they leave to be understood only the Hegira ("). As to those of Amaravati, on the
set
where they have
one above another the four

order
to
grand miracles, they employ indifferently, in

fill
the panel reserved
for
Kapilavastu,
side
by side
with the tree of Bodh-Gaya, the

the stupa of Kucinagara (see
a
pi.
wheel of Benares and

II,
2)
now the same

now
a nati-
great
tlie
abandonment of home
where we see nothing
but
horse passing under the gateway,
(i) Cunningham, Stupa of Barhut, (2) See
pi.
XX\'III,
pi.
2.
hdow
East em Gate of Sanchi,
75
aiul p.
105
(cf. pi.
X,
i).

vity ,
21
where we see only the mother, to the exclusion of the new-born child ('). Which of these three compositions (see pi. Ill) is the most archaic and best preserves
for us the aspect of the souvenirs
which the pilgrims

at
of the
fifth
century were already able to purchase

is
Kapivery
lavastu? This
difficult to
a question
If,
which we
at present find
answer.
again,
on
this point
we
confide our-
selve to the
that
numismatic documents, they will persuade us

a certain
from the beginning
wavering manifested
itself in
the choice of the artists and the faithful.
Most
ol
the Buddhist coins devote
two abbreviations, instead of one,

tree,
to the Nativity alone; at least, of the five usually associated
symbols, the lotus, the bull, the
the wheel and the

to
tumulus, the two

the
first
first
must correspond simultaneously
of the four great miracles. Apparently, the lotus
recalled those
which had sprung up spontaneously under

steps
the
seven
first
of
the
Master,
whilst
the bull,
almost always flanked by his zodiacal emblem, incarnated the traditional date of the birth, the day of the
full
moon
of the
occasions,
month Vaicakha (see pi. I, A). On other but more rarely, the bull is replaced by an ele('). It
phant, a plastic reminder of the Conception
may
be
(i) Fergdsson, Tree and Serpent-Worship, pi.

to this
in the
XCni-XCVIlI. With regard
groupe scheme of Kapilavastu the birth (with or without the conception, the seven steps, or the bath) and the great departure (see pi. IV, 3 A and cf. Anc. Man. Ind., pi. 67-68, etc.). (2) Cf. the tables of D. B. Spooner, lor. eil., pp. 156-157. As for the
note that
later
stela;
we may
much
of Benares continue to
above mentioned interpretations of the lotus and the

part, give
bull,
we,
for
our
them
as simple conjectures. In
any case, we may
at this point
signifi-
observe that in later Buddhism the lotus has retained the symbolical
cation of
.
miraculous birth
and that the bull appears again with

in
its astro-
nomical value on one of the best-known bas-reliefs of the Lahore

(cf.
Museum
Budhis last
A. Grunwedel, Buddhisiiscbc Kiinst
Indien,
2<i
ed., p. 121, or
in
dhist
Art
in India, p.
129).
The lamented D'Th. Bloch
one of
22

although
also,
we
possess no concrete proof of this, that
the gate through which the Bodhisattva
had been cast

an early date,
by
his vocation out of the
world may,
at
have found copiers and amateurs. But these are merely

accessory questions
:
what
is
important here
is
that only
the traditional avoidance of images, inherited from the
humble pioneers of former

later
days, can give us the key to the
improbable compositions, child-births without chil-
dren, rides without riders.
V
This is not
all.
The
sculptors of the second century verify
our hypothesis not only in what they reproduce and in
what they imitate of the works of the past

tain that they
we may main-
do
this, also, indirectly, in
what they inno-
vate.
However
unreflecting and mechanical their submis-
sion to custom
may
have been, the forced absence of the
protagonist from the scenes of his
own
biography could
not help but inconvenience them considerably. Let the

career of the Blessed
One
be no
more than
tissue of conversations
ment
yet only a small
more full number
monotonous of edification than movea

of episodes
allowed of
being portrayed independently of the principal personage.
With the aid of what subjects were the artists to cover the numerous medallions, the long stretches, or the high gates of the stupa balustrades? The first expedient of which they
articles
(Z
D. M. G. 1908, vol. LXII, pp. 648

a wild boar,
aiui sqq.)
thought he recomistake
gnised in a defective photograph of this bull with the hanging tongue the
image of
and he
built
up
whole theory on
tliis
this
it
suffices to refer the reader
anxious to clear up
127.
matter with his
own
eyes
to BuuGESs, Aiic.
Man.
Ind., p.

bethought
themselves
23
was
all
to
turn
to
the
previous
all
existences of the Master, at the time
when under
final
animal
torms, and later under
social conditions,
he was quali-
fyingbymeansofperfectionsfor the
Bodhi. Thereby
attainment of the
we
explain
why
the sculptors of Barhut
preferred to dip into this treasure of tales

In treating this
led, as
and
fables (').
new
matter they were no longer trammel-
when
illustrating the last life of the Master,

a law.
by
custom which had been elevated into

each scene, and
at
Accordingly
they have no scruples in representing the Bodhisattva in

it is
with a perfect liberty of mind that,
the time of his penultimate terrestial existence, they give
to Vicvantara the features
which they so jealously abstained

but
from lending
to Siddhartha (cf. above, p. 6). Representa-
tions of jdtakas are far
from being unknown atSanchi
the decorators of the gates had recourse once again to another stratagem in order to slip between the links of tradition. It
goes without saying that in
all
the scenes posterior
to the Parinirvdm the absence of the figure of the Blessed
One became
perfectly justified
and
at the
same time ceased
to be an inconvenience to the artist.
Thus, they soon took
pleasure in cultivating this part of the Buddhist legend.
According to
all
probability they began by illustrating the
famous
war
of relics ,
which the death of the Blessed
One
nearly precipitated.
Encouraged, apparently, by
this trial,
they did not fear to attack even the cycle of Acoka and to
represent at one time his useless pilgrimage to the stnpa at
Ramagrama, and
the Samhodhl
(-).
at
another his solemn
visit to the tree
of
Thus, under the pressing incentive of

openly shaking
necessity, the native school, incapable of
(i) See below. Representation of Jatakas on the Bas-reliefs of Barhut [Essay

(2) See below, Eastern Gate of SancM. pp. 7S 79 and loS 109.
11).
24

its
off
slavery,
had
artificially created
for itself a
double
means of escape,
part,
in the legends previous to the last renais-
sance or posterior to the final death of Buddha. For our
we do
not doubt that,
if it
its
had continued to develop

rules,
normally and according to

seen the
own
we should have
expense of
number of these sham
historical pictures or these
illustrations of popular stories increase at the
the old fund of pious images.

It is
no longer
cataclysm.
a secret to
anyone that the regular sweep
of this evolution was brusquely interrupted by a veritable

artistic
The
Hellenized sculptors of the north-
west, strangers to the native tradition of Central India,

satisfied to the full;
and even outwent, the wishes of their

their use the
Buddhist patrons by creating for
Indo-Greek
type of Buddha. Immediately their colleagues of the low country, seduced by this wonderful
innovation, greeted
laity the
with no
less
enthusiasm than the
rupture of
the magic
charm which had weighed so heavily and
so
long upon the ancient Buddhist school.
We
have
already remarked
upon
:
the fact of the rapid diffusion of the
new
type (p. 7)
it
is
now
clear to us that its adoption
did not
judice.
set
come
into direct collision with any dogmatic predocile interpreters of current ideas, the texts
Always
themselves
henceforth to guarantee, by the aid
of
apocryphical traditions or an abundance of miracles, the

authentic ressemblance of those
bility
portraits
(').
they were a
moment ago denying
whose possiThe reason is
(i)
dal
By apocryphnl traditions we mean tliose relative to the statue of sanwood, carved even during tlie life-time of Buddha and attributed by
(trans.
Fa-hian
(trans.
Legge,
I,
p. 56) to Prascnajit
of Qravasti, and by Hiuan-tsang
pp. 283 and 296) to Udayana of Kaucimbi, whose example had only been imitated by Prasenajit (cf. Beal, Records, I, p. xliv
Stan.
Juuen,
and 235
II,
p. 4).
As regards the miracles, sec those which are related
to us
THE BEGINNINGS
that, in
realit}',
OI-
BUDDHIST ART
(see
pi.
:
25
the
new mode
IV) did not exit
pressly infringe any ritualistic prohibition
did nothing but
overthrow the
artistic
procedures of composition, and the

a
bonds which
the
to
it
fell
were of
purely technical kind.
We
have
seen clearly enough
how
the image-makers of the basin of
Ganges had slowly

itself
suffered the spider's
web of custom
tear
weave
apart,
it.
around them, and how, not daring to
they had already endeavoured to free themselves
from
Under the
stroke of the revelation
which came
to
them from Gandhara their emancipation was as sudden as it was complete but even through this unexpected
:
development we
are prepared to follow
up the
test to
it
which
we have submitted our The

to the
theory and from which
seems to
us to have so far issued with honour.

history of the ancient regime in Buddhist art prior
Gandharian revolution may,

as follows.
first,
in fact, be
summed up
somewhat
We
have every reason to suppose

fifth
that there was,
from the
century onwards, local
production at the four great centres of pilgrimage, and con-
veyance into the interior of India, of rude delineations
copying the
cc
sacred vestiges
actually
still
visible
above
ground
rally
in
the sites of the miracles.
It
was these natu-
unpeopled tableaux which, thanks to time and dis-
tance,
ended by being regarded as systematic representaof the four principal episodes in the
life
tions
of the
Blessed One, and which, joined to
composed
C),
the
in
accordance with the
some routine variations same formula, served,

finally,
before as well as after A(;oka (middle of the third century B.

for the decoration of religious foundations
;
on
monuments of the second
century
(still
before our era)
concerning the image of the temple of Mahiibodhi by Hiuan-tsang (tnins. Stan.

JuLiEN,
I,
p.
465
Beal,
II, p.
120) and Taraniitha (trans. Schiefner, p. 20).
26

already tentatives towards freedom from the
we remark
tyranny of the ancient customs by recourse to subjects

previous or subsequent to the
last existence
of Buddha.
scene..
However, the school of the north-west comes on the
By reason
of the very fact that
it
has been almost entirely

it
removed from these
traditional influences,
must, in our
system, present characteristic signs

those of the ancient school.
extensive study which
quite different from

the conclusions of an
Now,
we have long
to
dedicated
to the
in
Greco-buddhist bas-reliefs, seem
have conspired
favouring, point for point, the reverse of the preceding

propositions.
What we have
of
the
observed
at
Gandhara
also
is, first,
the almost total disappearance of legendary scenes later
than the
cycle
'Parinirvdna,
as
marked
diminution in the number of jdtahas; in the second place,

there
is
an indefinite multiplication of episodes borrowed
from the youth or the teaching career of the Master, whose

corporeal image occupies
now
the centre of
all
is
the
com-
positions; finally and correspondingly, there

rarity
an extreme
of symbolical representations
(').
this is
our concluding argument
the
at
In any case old
and
emblems do
not disappear completely. Not only
Gandhara, but even
on the
latest
productions of mediaeval India, not to men-
tion the Lama'ist images of the present day, these survivals
of a former age continue to manifest themselves. If the

stfipa is
regarded as having on nearly
all
the
new
represen-
tations of the Parinirvdna
Knowledge never
fails
to
hecome superfluous, the Tree of rear itself behind the Buddha of

two
gazelles,
the Samhodhi, whilst the wheel between the
either back to back or face to face, continues to
mark the
throne of his First Preaching (see
pi.
VI, 2).
And
thus
(i) Cf. Art grkobouddhique du Gandhara, pp. 266, 270,427 etc.

the decline of Buddhist art
visible origins,
is
27
most distant the only ones (need we specify ?), which have
to
its
Unked
been taken into consideration here

Such,
at least, is
(').
the theory which

to
it
we could not
of
refrain
from
submitting
altogether,
the
appreciation
Indianists.
Taken
is
only an attempt
at synthesis,
an
effort first to
coordinate logically, then to organize in
accordance with the laws of an historical development, a

series
known. In this sense there is not one Buddhist archaeologist, commencing with Fergusson and Cunningham, who has not contributed to it, and it may be found more or less devoid of originality. Our whole ambition would be precisely that it should
of
facts
already
give,
when
read, the impression of being already public

;
property.
is
That would be the best of symptoms
for
better adapted to produce a belief that
except
none
for the
retouches which the progress of research will inevitably

give to
it
it is
destined to endure.
(i) Cf. Art greco-bouddbiquc, figg. 208 and 209 and Iconographie bouddhique
de rinde, figg. 29 et 30
:
the latter
is
a representation of the Parinirvana,
still
surmounted by
a stupa.
PLATE
Cf. pp. 14, 21.
;,
The elements
ot
this
plate
have
been
obligingly sketch :d
by
M. Lemoine, Professor
of
Drawing
:
at the
Lycee
at
Quimper, from
the following publications A. Cunkingham, Coins oj Ancient India (London, 1891); Vincent Smith, Catalogue of tiie Coins in the Indian Museum, Calcutta (Oxford, 1906); D. B. Spooxer, A new find oj punch marked coins (in Arch. Surv. oj India, Annual Report, ipoj 6, pp. 150
sqq.)
cited respectively as
pi.
C,
13)
:
Sm., Sp..
pi. I,
I,
A.
3,
i(C,
XI,
2,
4); 2
(C,
5,
6);
(Sp.,pl. LIVfl,
14); 4 (.Sm., pi.
XIX,
variants of the lotus, the
symbol of the
form,
w,; give here
miraculous birth of the Bodhisattva.

with eight petals,
in addition
sols
is
The most
characteristic
i)
:
found on the coins of Eran (no.

but current, forms
two
fantastic,
composed of three para4).
and of three
taurine))
in petals
5
and one quite stereotyped form (no.

11,8 etc.); 6 (Sm.,
etc.)
:
or nandi-padas, iramed{no. 2), or not (no. 3)
(C, pi. I, 23 or pi. (Sm., pi. XIX, 15,

during
the
pi.
XX,
8); 7
(C,
))
pi. II,
20);
variants of the
taurine
or nandi-pada
symbol, denoting the zodiacal sign Taurus, the Bull (Skt. Tdvura),
which,
month
of Vaigakha (April-May),
presided over
the Nativity of the Bodhisattva.

ting-point of the development,
The most
is
simple form, and the stara
composed of
point
surmounted
a
by a crescent (no.
trigula, ox
5).
In the most elaborate

in turn
form a vardhamdna,
:
even a triratna have
been detected
we do
not per-
ceive
changed
why in becoming more complicated it name and signification. 9(C.,pl. III. 2); 10 (C, pi. I, 26): II (C, pi. Ill,
any reason
its
should have
3)
12
(C,
pi. Ill,
2)
from the Buddhist point of view these four sacred animals
typify respectively, the elephant the Conception, the bull the (date of
the) Nativity, the horse the Great Departure, and the lion, generally,
the lion
B.
pi.
I
among
:
the âkyas
{^Qdkya-simha, that
,
is
Qikya-muni).
7-8);
(C.,pl.I, i);
5)
2(Sm.,pl.XIX, ii);3 (C
form of the
pi. II,
4(Sm.
or
XX,
I
variants of the tree of the Perfect Illumination {Sambodhi).

2 present fairly well the
;
Nos
C.
and
leaf of the
a^vatlha,
railing.
ficus religiosa
I
the foot of the tree
is
always surrounded by a
(Sm., pi. XIX, i,etc.);2 (C, pi. Ill, 13): variants of the Wheel Law (^DIjarmacakra).Oa no. 2 it is surrounded by small parasols. D. I (C, pi. I, 4. 5) 2 (Sp., pl- LIV h, I, 13); 3 (C pi. II, 15) variants of the sl/ipa, or tumulus, of the 4 (Sm., pl. XX, II, 12) Parinirvdna. Later the form of no. i was mistaken for a bow with its arrow; we seem to reco^.^niz.' in origin a stupa crossed by the stafi' (jashti) of its parasol {chattni) we need only compare the parasols
of the
;
,
which enter into the composition of the lotuses of nos. A.
and
3.
BEGINNINGS OF BUDDHIST ART
PL.
BUDDHIST SYMBOLS ON ANCIENT INDIAN COINS
PLATE
II
Cf. pp. 17, 20, 75, 148.
The
stilpa,
three Sanchi panels belong to the western gate of the great
B
is
to the front fagade,

lent to us
and
to the rear
were kindly
ravati
The stele of Amaby Mr. J. H. Marshall. reproduced from the photograph published by Fergusson,
pi.
the photographs
Tree and Serpent IVorship, 2"^ ed.,
XCIV.
;
B.
Miracle of the Perfect Illumination {Sambodhi), near to Gay^
represented by a tree above a throne. Note the characteristic leaf of the

tree of
âkya-muni
(cf. pi.
I,
B).
C. Miracle of the First Preaching, or Putting in motion the

of the
Wheel
Law
(Dharma-cnhra-pravartana), near to Benares; represented

a throne.
by
wheel above
D. Miracle of the Final Extinction {Parinirvdna), near to Kuînagara; represented by a stilpa.
Worshippers
divine
in
on
the earth
human and
i
of both sexes, in the air
press
round each of these symbolical representations. Those
the top corners of
and
have a
human
bust terminating in
the stereotyped
body of a
bird.
We
are not long in remarking the
constant contrast, both in the material objects and in the persons, be-
tween the
vati,
still
heavy and clumsy
style of
Sanchi and that of Amarahere concerns us most

is
almost too elegant and affected.
What
is
that
the fundamental identity of the subjects
not in the slightest
degree compromised by these differences of treatment.
PL.
II
fcOErxtf tt. Ei.?55

^V iL.Vu^Ji-i.
THE THREE LAST GREAT MIRACLES

1"
AT SANCHl
2"
AT AMARAVATI
PLATE
III
Cf. pp. 21, I48.
r.
The
three Gandhfira panels are reproduced
A', from a photoa
graph taken by the author in the Lahore Museum; A', from

in the
photograph
;
Lahore Museum, copy kindly lent by Prof. A. A. Macdonell A', from a photograph by Mr. A. E. Caddy in the Calcutta Museum.
2.
The
three Amar^vati panels

the Madras
;
A', from a photograph taken by

(Cf.
the author in
Museum
3
;
Burgess, Buddhist Stupa of
^4>nardvati
Serpent
XXVIIL i) Worship, pi. LXV,

,
pi.
A*, from Fergusson's photograph, Tree and

A', from the
in all cases
same source,
Kapilavastu
pi.
XCVL
3-
The
locality of the scene
is
We
shall not
here insist further on the differences of type, costume, furniture and
ornamentation.
A'.
The Conception The
(Garbha-avakrdnti)
the Bodhisattva
in
descends
a little
into the right side
of his mother's
bo'om
the
form of
elephant.
school of Amarflvati always places
at the
four cardinal
points of the
room
the four Lokapdias, or Guardians of the

it
World;
as
but sometimes, as here,

little
forgets to represent the

pi
elephant, and,
as at
Barhut (Cunningham,
the top), does
it
pi-
IX,
2, at
XXVIII, 2) and at Sdnchi (see i?ifra, think of making May^ lie in such a
side to the Blessed
manner that she can properly present her right One. The school of Gandh^ra is never guilty of which are contrary to the letter of the texts (Art
figg.
these negligences,
g.-b.
du Gandh
I,
149 and 160 a
cf.
however
:
ibid., fig.
148, from Amaravati).

is.sues
A^.
The
Nativity
(Jdli')
is
the Bodhisattva
from the right flank

composition Mayd
right
of his mother,
fore
in
who
standing and holding a branch of a tree. Theresee in the centre

raised,
it
both views
we
arm
But
of the
standing, with one
between the gods on the
and her
also
women
on the
child
left.
will be noticed that
on
this occasion
her attitude
is in
is
Gandh^ra more
rational, leaving free the right hip,

latter,
by
the
which the
supposed to issue. As regards the

perfectly visible,
who on
panel at Lahore
is
we
perceive at AmarSvati only the

is
imprint of his sacred feet on the cloth, which

pdlas together, and no longer by Indra alone.
A'.
held by the four Lcka-
The Great
Departure (Mahdbhinishkramand)
the Bodhisattva
town on horseback. At Amarivati we perceive only the gate of the town (cf. the gates at S.^nchi on our pll. VI-VII) and the riderless horse, preceded by a god and followed by a squire holding the parasol. In Gandhdra the indication of the gate has in our reproduction (but cf. Art g.-b. du Gandh., I, fig- 187) been cut away; yet Chandaka is to be seen holding high the parasol, while Yakshas raise the horse's feet and Mara, armed with his bow, stands at its head. Above Cliandaka, again, is seen a half-length figure of Vajrapini, armed with his thunderbolt, and above MAra, between two divinities, the personification (recognizable by the turreted crown) of the town of
leaves his native
K.ipilavastu. Finally
and above
all,
the Bodhisattva
is
this
time
shown
on the back of
his horse.
PL.
Ill
A-
THE FIRST GREAT MIRACLE

1
IN
GANDHARA
(CONCEPTION, NATIVITY OR VOCATION) 2 AT AMARAVATI
PLATE
Cf. pp. 25-26,
IV
I.-;8.
'"'
=^ CQ
^
3
>
--o
pp
-^ _: Ph
<
:=
PL. IV
Cfi
w o
<;
<
< O
<
o P o
CQ
The Representations of
"Jatakas'
on the Bas-reHefs of Barhut(').
Ancient India has bequeathed to us a considerable mass

of texts and a very restricted number of sculptures
:
this
means
that for our instruction concerning
its
civilization
we
many more written documents than carved monuments. The latter deserve all the more to attract our
possess
attention.
Their most ancient remains may,
in fact, furnish
us, as regards the external
appearance and the material side

era,
of Indian
life
in the
second century before our
with a
number of
concrete and precise details which
we should
never have been able to expect from the most extensive or the most profound study of the literature. I hasten to add
that I
art as
do not conceive the
identification of these
works of
possible without their confrontation with the texts.

latter
These
alone can help us to understand the mute

of any
language of the stones and, even in the absence

speech to the gestures, in one word
In
practice
it
explanatory inscription, to assign names to the characters,

titles to
the subjects.
tall
is
precisely
thus
that
matters
out.
We find ourselves possessing in the holy

dhism
a ready
scriptures of
Bud-
made commentary for

;
the greater part of the
surviving ancient bas-reliefs

rare or scattered
and these pieces of sculpture,

be, are, for their part, a
though they
mine
of illustrations quite appropriate to as
many
episodes of the
Buddhist legend.
(i) Lecture at the
Guiinet, vol.
You
divine without difficulty the interest

Musee
Musde Guimet,
1908.
in Bibliotheque de vulgarisation dii
XXX,
JO
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
of this intimate accord
between the written and the figured

still
versions of the same stories and the advantage
to be
is
obtained from
it
for the
like
comprehension of both. This

verify
what
ing,
should
to
experimentally by study-
in
accordance with the texts
and the monuments,
the traditions relating to
some of
the previous existences
Buddha Qakya-Muni. For this purpose we will make use, on the one hand, of the Pali collection of the Jdtakas (') and, on the other, of the bas-reliefs of the stnpa
of the of Barhut(-).
rally
From
their
rapprochement will quite natua small illustrated collec;
emerge
for
our convenience
tion of
if I
some
twenty-five Indian tales
and you
shall
judge
exaggerate their charm.
The Jdtakas.
some explanations
tales
owe however (by way of preface) which may allow you better to underI
stand the meaning and
and images,
as
more amusing
to enjoy the flavour of these

as naive.
But these necessary

and
it
explanations
may
be extremely
brief,
will
suf-
fice if I rapidly recall to
your mind three essential notions.

not only sure of dying
The
being,
is
first is that,
according to Indian ideas, every Uving

be, is
:
whoever he may
of lost
it
no
less certain that
he must be born again in one of the

soul,
five
conditions
ghost,
animal,
man
or
(i) Jataka, id. Fausb0ll, 6 voll. in-8" and one
volume of
index,
London,
1877-1897; translated into English under the direction of Professor E. U. Cowell, 6 voll. in-S", Cambridge, 1895-1907. (2) Cunningham, Jhe Slupaof Barhut, London, 1879 (published by order
of the Secretary of State for India,
who
S.
has kindly authorised the repro-
ductions given in this book).
Cf.
d'Oldenrurg, Notes on Buddhist

Jan. 1897, pp. 183-201).
Art, St. Petersburg iSgS (in Russian; translated into English in the Journal
oj the
American Onenial
Society ,
XVIII,
I,
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
?t
god; after which he will have to die again, in order to be
born once more, and so on for ever, unless he attains

vation,
sal-
which
is
nothing
else than
the final escape from
this frightful circle of transmigration.
The second
point
is
that not only the attainment of this
deliverance, but the conditions even of each of the ephe-
meral existences are regulated automatically by a moral
law as general and as unavoidable as the physical law of

gravity, the
law of
works
or (to
employ
a Sanskrit
word, the use of which has been popularized by the theosophists) of
Karma.
At the death of each being there

and
credit account,
is
drawn up a kind
liabilities,
of debit
with assets and
between the sums of the merits and demerits

his anterior exist-
accumulated by him in the course of

ences
cally
:
and an immediate sanction, resulting

this
mechanifatally
from
simple mathematical operation,
decides his future destiny.

In the third place,
in India that
it is
a belief
no
less generally
admitted
whoever has attained
to sanctity possesses,
among other supernatural

gift
faculties, the privilege
of
remem-
bering his past existences and even those of others. This
of extra-lucid intuition, or, as

,
it
was
called,
of divine
to possess
it
sight
in a
no one, of course, was considered more eminent degree than Buddha. Now
his
was,
we
are told, his habit, with regard to incidents arising in the
bosom of
community,
to point or justify his prohib-
itions or his precepts
by the opportune reminiscence of
some analogous occasion which had already confronted him in the course of his previous lives.
These three points agreed,
all
becomes
series
perfectly clear.
all
We
admit
fully
henceforth
a
that
(âkya-Muni, like
others,
births.
must have traversed
long
of successive re-
We
understand, also,
why
he accomplished on the
32
JATAK.\S
AT BARHUT
way
so
lized so
many good actions, displayed so many virtues, reamany superhuman perfections nothing less was
:
required to enable
him
to acquire merits capable of con-
veying him to the supreme dignity of Buddha. Nor could
we
it is
get our
information concerning his past lives from
a better
source, since
if
we
believe
the tradition
from the mouth of the Master himself that the story
had been gathered before being consigned in writing to the
works which have come down to us and which

be useless to-day to enumerate and
to
criticize. If
it
it
would
proceed
I
we
make use of the
Pali collection,
is
not that
am
:
under any illusion
as to the antiquity of the prose
com-
mentary on the
versified,
the only canonical, part (')

is
the reason for this choice

nearly five hundred and
simply
that,
as containing
fifty
narratives, that collection is
by
far the
most considerable of all.
II
The
Bas-reliefs oj Barhnt.
Thus
familiarized afresh with
the jdtakas, you will not be surprised to note that the sculptors charged with the decoration of the ancient
edifices ot central India
Buddhist
have drawn copious inspirations

as
therefrom.
Not only,
did they,
feel
we
believe
we have
demonstrated above (),

in
themselves under
less restraint
the treatment of subjects of this kind,
but moreover
no subject could answer better to the needs and the aim of the artist. Seeing that it was a question of religious
foundations, that aim was quite naturally the edification
of the
faithful,
both sedentary and pilgrim
and what could
(t)
On
this subject see below, essay \'ll
on the Saddanta jdUika
(2) Sec, p. 23.
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
J3
be more edifying, in default of scenes derived from the last life of the Master, than narratives of which he himself had
previously been the hero before becoming the narrator?
the other hand, their familiar and picturesque character
ted in marvellously
On
fit-
certainly
much
better than
moral
considerations or metaphysical speculations
Mîth the
exigences of an
ting so
art
so concrete as sculpture and necessita-
much
precision in material detail.
Thus
the
good
like
stone-cutters of Barhut and Sanchi have had recourse,
the sculptors of our cathedrals, to the treasure of their
"Gold-
en Legend
and have
created,
by the very
force of things,
recalls in
a plastic art at
once narrative and religious, which

of our
artists
many ways the formulas Thus it is, for example,
of the Middle Ages.
that they did not, any
more than
these latter, prohibit the juxtaposition of episodes and repetitions of persons in the
framework of one and the same

opportunities of remarking this
panel.
We shall
it
have
many
naive proceeding.
But
is
well to form beforehand

these bas-reliefs
monuments which
lus , and
relics.
its
some idea of the adorned. The Buddhist

that
is
sanctuary was preeminently the

principal role
stilpa,
the tumua deposit of
was
to cover
up
As we see it in India from the third century before our era, it was already a stereotyped edifice of brick or
stone,
which presupposed the
art
of the architect and
utili-
zed that of the sculptor.

spherical
Its chief feature
was
a full
hemi-
dome, usually
called the
raised
on
a terrace.
This dome,
which was
egg (andd), supported a sort of kiosk
Qjannikd), itself
surmounted by one or several parasols, an emblem of which you know the honorific signification in
the East.
The whole was
surrounded,
first
like
all
sacred
places in India, by a high barrier, at

directly imitated in stone
of wood, then
prototype. This
from
its
wooden
34
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
enclosure was flanked at the four cardinal points by
monu-
mental gates (toram), with
triple
curved lintels of which

(').
we have
fine
examples
at
Sanchi
On
the
most ancient
specimens from the basin of the Ganges the decoration was

strictly limited to
the doorways and railing. At Barhut

pillars
medallions were strewn over the upright

bars of the latter, whilst
all
and crossof
along the inner face of the

in the intervals
coping further motifs were ensconced

the undulations of a serpentine garland.
You
will recognize
all
one or other
alternative of this double
provenance in
the reproductions
which
are about to defile before
your
eyes (PI. V-VI).
One
last
question
Why
have
we chosen by
:
preference
the bas-rehefs of Barhut?
The answer is easy because most

which towards the
of them are accompanied by an inscription written in the

oldest alphabet of central India, the one
middle of the third century before our era was used by the
famous king Acoka

jambs
of the
for his pious edicts.

situ,
On
we
one of the
read, in
a
eastern gate, found in
somewhat
yas
later script, a
mention of the ephemeral suze-
rain dynasty of the Cuiigas,
which succeeded the MaurC.

;
towards the year
i8o B.
it
relates
to
the
erection of the gate, or, to be
more
stone
exact, the replacement
an old wooden model by a

feel
work
and thus
we
certain that
towards the end of the second century
the final touch
the
sliipa,
must have been given to the decoration of commenced, no doubt, during the third. This is
graffiti,
not all. Among the hundred and sixty
more
or
less,
observed on the recovered debris of the balustrade more

than
half are restricted to giving
merely the name of

a
the donor, male or female, of such and such
oillar
or
(i) See below, pp. 65-66, and
cf. pi.
VII and VIII,
i.
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
35
such and such a transverse bar; but the rest give us explicit
information concerning the subjects which the sculp-
tures claimed to represent.

reliefs sufficiently
Thus we have
to deal with bas-
dated and identified beforehand by their
authors for the benefit of their contemporaries and of the
most
distant posterity. In the
tiquity
we can
find
no
better
moving sands of Indian andata, nor firmer ground on

^
which to work.
Ill
The animals.
After
this indispensable preparation
we
may
with
full
knowledge broach the examination of the
twenty-five jdtakas, of which, possessing the text,

nize also the representation.
we
it,
recog-
A perfectly
may
natural plan will be
imposed upon us
it
will be, if we
so express
the bio-
graphical sequence of these successive lives, as well as the

hierarchical order of the conditions into
which the future
Buddha had successively to be born. We shall see him mount one by one the rungs of the ladder of beings, first animal, then woman, and finally man. And indeed, putting
aside all one's
complacency
as Indianist, I
do not think that
the imagination of any race has ever created a finer or

vaster subject for a in
whom are
poem than this destiny of a single being shown all aspects of life, in whom is concenone word,
in
trated all the experience of past ages, in
whom
Unfor-
the evolution of the entire

tunately, as usually
human
race
is reflected.
happens
in India, the execution
comes
infinitely short of the conception.
To sum
up
in
one work,
spacious and substantial, in view of the

career of the Predestined
immense and varied
One, the
original Indian system ot
the universe,
genius of a
would have required the powerful constructive Dante Buddhism had not that good fortune.
:
36
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
this is
And
why we do
in Indian literature not
meet with
more than
scattered fragments of the epic of the Bodhi-
sattva, or future
Buddha.
are
To-day we
concerned
only with the period of
his previous lives,
beginning with the most humble of
them
but even within these limits
we cannot
help but
regret the
manner
as,
in
which the monks, more
solicitous for
edification than for poetry, have
bungled the subject. In the
same way
according to the naturalists, the embryo of

in the course of its
mammalia reproduces
like
development
the divers characteristics ofthe inferior species, so

to
we should
other
follow through the course of the animal forms

after the
which he remembered having assumed one
fish, reptile, bird,
quadruped, quadruman
the whole
we should
embryology of
of the
a Bodhisattva.
But
for that
have to give ourselves up, in the midst of the disorder

still
or
more outlandish order (')
of the texts, to a
veritable task of patchwork, joining together here and there
the scattered portions of a
poem which was never
written.
Evidently the idea of following out any series and gradation whatever did net occur to the
minds of the compilers
of these stories.
We
must say
in
excuse for them that the
theory of evolution
guess,
troubled them, for reasons easy to

it
much
less
than
does us. Furthermore,

a
if
they
are incapable of
composing
harmonious whole, they
make up for it in detail by the naive savour and, at times, humourous attractiveness of their style it is impossible to deny them a veritable talent as narrators. Once we have renounced for them higher ambitions, the compensation
:
will appear to us very appreciable.

(i)
Their stories of ani-
We know
that in the PliU collection o( Jdtakas, for example, these are
classed solely according to
the increasing
number of
verses which
they
contain, without regard to subject.
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
mals form
that
in fact a veritable
?7
Jungle Book
long before
of Rudyard
which did so much

:
for the reputation

latter
Kipling
moreover, the
was, in
his, directly inspi-
red by popular Indian tradition.
Let us examine
first
the stories
which present ani
mals only, and which, consequently, are pure
fables .
There were
related
in
India
two thousand years and

are
still
more ago
toise
tales
I
with which
we
to-day familiar
from infancy.
will cite, for example, that of the

,
Tor-
and the two Ducks
which
is
depicted already on the
ancient balustrade of Bodh-Gaya.
Among the
fragments of
Barhut which have survived until our time
any equally celebrated.
On the
other
we do not find hand, when we seethe

at
Bodhisattva appear there, he has already arrived

or
if
I.
the state,
you
prefer, at the
genus of
bird.
Here (Cunningham, XXVII, ii)
in his character of
it,
royal
swan he
refuses, if
we may
so express
the hand
of his daughter to the peacock, in spite of his magnificent
plumage and because of

II.
his indecent
dance
(Jdt. 32).
There (Cunningham, XLV, 7) under the form of a pigeon, he reprimands the lazy and gluttonous crow, whom
the cook punishes so cruelly for an attempted raid
his pots(/rti. 42;
cf.
upon
274 and 375). III. Elsewhere (Cunningham, XLVII, 5) he is the cock perched on a tree, who wisely resists the treacherous
seductions of a she-cat {Jdt. 383
II,
).
La Fontaine
2),
{Fables,
5) says
of a fox.
further
IV.
Still
on (Cunningham, XXV,
born an
elephant, he exterminates, with the help of his faithful wife,

a terrible
enemy
of his race, an
enormous
crab, as broad
as a threshing-floor , which, in order to
devour them,
had hidden
itself at the
bottom of the
lake in
which the
pachyderms were accustomed to bathe
(/^//.
267).
38
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
V. As
only a
we cannot see all in moment with the fifth

i<
detail, I
will detain
you
jdtaka,
spoken (and even
written) of as
indicates
It
first
of the Quail
of all on what
first
usual, the text Qdt. 357) occasion the fable was related.
.
As
was not the
time that Devadatta, the traitor cousin
of
Buddha and
in the
the Judas Iscariot ofhis legend, proved the
hardness of his heart. At that time the Bodhisattva was
born
form of an elephant, chief of
80,000 others
India
a troop of
is
very fond indeed of this round

their
number.
quail,
which had made her nest within

scarcely hatched,
pasture ground and

still
whose young, incapable of moving, begs him

to this,
were
to spare her offspring.

his
He
willingly consents
and by
orders his
file
80,000 subjects respect the young birds as they

doubtless, this
is
past
what they
are in the act of
doing on the
right lower part of the medallion (pi. V, i).
But he warns
the quail that a fierce solitary
is
following him.
:
The
latter,
deaf to
the
all
prayers, crushes the nest

his right
you perceive one of

foot, exactly
young ones under
hind
on the
is
edge of the break in the stone, whilst the wêeping mother

is
perched on a tree in front of him. But vengeance

:
not
long delayed
for
already on the bulging forehead of the

is
cruel elephant a
crow
busy, pecking out his eyes with

deposits
its its
its
beak, whilst a big blue fly

sockets.
eggs in the
is
third ally of the quail,
gossip the frog,
sea-
ted at the top of the medallion in a conventional rocky
landscape.
Its role, in
the story as on the bas-relief,
is
by
its
croaking to attract the enormous animal, which
is
blind
and burning with fever, by making mity of water. Thus it leads him
sharp precipice, where he
falls
it
believe in the proxi-
right to the edge of a

:
headlong
only his hind
part has not yet quite disappeared into the abyss. Appli-
cation
the Bodhisattva was the leader of the troop of
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
elephants, Devadatta
39
was the
solitary.
Well, what
about the quail ,you will ask.
You
desire to
know too
much.
IV
The Bodhisattva under an animal form and mankind.
In these five fables
man
is
does not intervene. Here are five

first,
others in which he
seen and, at
hardly to his credit.
VI. In order to follow
us take a
new one
is
in
up the two preceding births, let the form of an elephant and even
of an elephant with six tusks

ful
Qdt. 514).
The wonder-
animal
standing in the foreground, leaning against the
banyan
to
tree (pi.
XXIX,
left
him
for a shelter.
which the oldest tradition assigns Behind him, likewise in profile, is his
i)
first wife,
her
temple adorned with a lotus, whilst,

furious
seen
at
is
full face in
the background, his second wife,
not having herself received any such flowery ornament,
showing unmistakable signs of jealous anger. She goes

far as to suffer herself to die
so
of hunger, while forming the
aspiration of being born again as a
woman and becoming

ful-
queen of Benares. Scarcely has her double wish been

filled
than she charges the cleverest hunter in the country
to carry out her vengeance.
Hidden
at the
bottom of
a pit,
the latter discharges a poisoned arrow into the bowels of
the elephant, as
is
written and
is
elsewhere found figured,

ot
on the sculptures of Amaravati and

Barhut,
Gandhara. But
at
when we
again (on the

it
left
of the medallion) see
the hero of the story,
is
already the
moment when,
which was
all
wounded
oflfences,
to death
and practising the
virtue,
Buddhist before
becoming
Christian, of pardoning
in
he docilely stoops down,
order to allow his
enemy
to cut off his triple tusks with the help of an enor-
40
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
saw.
mous
We
must turn
to the Pali collection or to the

to learn
paintings of the Ajanta Caves
that the
wicked
queen,
at
the sight of the tusks of her former husband,

to her, felt nevertheless a
(').
which her emissary brought back
revulsion of conscience, of which she died heart-broken

VII.
No
less
naively illustrated
is
the ne-birth as an
antelope, hinmga.
text
(^Jat.
On
pi.
V, 2
we
read as plainly as in the
206) that there were once an antelope, a tortoise

a lake in the
and a wood-pecker, which, united by friendship, lived together
on the shores of
depths of the woods.

:
The
antelope has just been caught in a trap
and, whilst
the tortoise exerts itself to
gnaw through
the fetters, the
wood-pecker, represented a second time on the right, does

all
that
it
can, in
its
character
of bird of ill-omen, to
delay the
coming of the
its
hunter.
Soon
be found in the picture for this

antelope will in
but no room could second adventure the

:
turn deliver the tortoise
Ainsi chacun en son endroit
S'entremet, agit et travaille,
as
we
are told
by La Fontaine,
rat (Fables,
who
to our trio of friends
has added also a

VIII.
XII, 15).
(pi.
Another medallion
V, 3) contains no
less
than
three episodes.
At the bottom the tender-hearted stag, rum,
saves the son of the merchant,
who was going
to
drown
himself in the Ganges, and brings him on his back to the

bank, where one of his roes
is
stooping to drink
at the river.
At the
mant,
top,
on the
right, the
is
king of Benares, guided by the

evidently acting as his infor-
young merchant, who

is
preparing
with bent
bow
to kill the great rare
stag, the object of his desires as a hunter.
But the words ad-
(i)
We
shall
have an opportunity
later
(Essay VII) of recurring more in
detail to the Saddutila-ji'iiahi (cf. pi.
XXIX
and .X.XX).
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
dressed to
fall
41
him by
the latter quickly cause the
weapons
to
from
his hands,
and we find him again
in the centre
in edifying conversation with the
wonderful animal, whilst
the treacherous informer seems to be hiding behind the

royal person.
We know
from another source that the

not to be confused
Bodhisattva, always charitable, intercedes with the king in
favour of his perfidious debtor (/(!/. 482
with 12).
IX,
Of the two
births as ape,
which we meet next, the

analogous
one Qdt. 516) contains

moral, but the bas-relief
a story with a quite

is
very
much damaged (Cunnina precipice,
gham, XXXIII,
sattva,
5).
Brahman, saved by the Bodhi-
who
rescues
him from the bottom of
repays
him with
the blackest ingratitude, attempting to
assassinate his benefactor during his sleep.
On
is
this
occa-
sion also the
magnanimous animal
forgives.
X. More original and

jdtaka of
much better
preserved
the other
Mahakapi Qdt. 407; pi. V, 4). At that time the Bodhisattva was in the Himalayas, king of 80.000 monkeys,
and he took them to feed upon
a gigantic
mango-tree
others say a fig-tree, and the bas-relief agrees with this
whose fruits were delicious, but the branches of which unfortunately spread over the Ganges. In spite of the precautions
prescribed by the foreseeing
wisdom of
falls
the great
mon-
keys, a fruit, hidden by a nest of ants, escapes the investi-
gations of his people, ripens,
into the stream of water,
and
is
caught in the nets which surround the bathing-place
of the king of Benares.
The
latter
fmds
it
so
much
to his
taste that, in order to procure others like

tate,
it,
he does not hesi-
when
he has obtained information from the

its
wood-
rangers
to follow the river to
source, until he arrives at
the wonderful tree. At night the

as usual
:
monkeys gather together
but the king of Benares has the tree surrounded
42
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
his archers,
by
with fixed arrows and only awaiting the day
to begin the slaughter.
There
is
alarm in the camp of the

it.
Bandar-log, as Kipling expresses

sures
Their leader reastheir lives.
them
and promises to save
With
gigantic spring, of
which he alone
is
capable, he clears a
hundred bow lengths

a tree
as far as the opposite
bank of the river,

fixes to
there cuts a long rattan, the
one end of which he

his
on this bank, whilst he

is
attaches the other to his foot,
and with another spring returns to

the vine which he has cut
own
people. But
a little too short,
and
it is
only
by stretching out
this
his
hands that he can reach the branches
of the fig-tree. Nevertheless, the 80,000 monkeys pass over
improvised bridge and descend in safety on the other
side of the river.
This
latter is, as
usual,
indicated
fish are
by
sinuous
lines, in
which
a tortoise
and some
swim-
ming. But already two
men
of the court of the king of
Benares are holding by the four corners a striped coverlet,

into
which the Bodhisattva, exhausted with

fall
fatigue, has
only
to let himself
when
him
is
the last of his subjects has been

is
saved.
At the bottom (and this
the second picture within
the frame)
we
find
sitting in conversation
with his
human
nuity,
colleague,
who
amazed
at his
vigour, his inge-
and his devotion to his people. Between them a
person, of
whom we
see only the bust and

is,
the hands
respectfully joined together,
if
we may judge from

caste,
the
absence of the turban, a
man
of
low
apparently that
one of the
wood-rangers
who
guided the royal caravan
towards the Himalaya,
V
The Bodhisattva
last narrative
in
human form and
animals.
In
this
the king of Benares gives a proof of
good
JA.TAKAS AT
feeling
:
BARHUT
43
therefore he
is
presented to us as an ancient incardisciple. In the four
nation of
Ananda, the well-beloved
preceding fables
a hunter, except
man appears to us in the odious form when he reveals himself as a monster
of
of
ingratitude, whilst the brute continues to
of the most
difficult virtues.
show an example However, we must not be in

in fact,
it
too great a hurry to conclude that, in the Jdtakas, the better

part always belongs to the animals
:
only
falls to
them when they

in the
incarnate the Bodhisaltva. In other words,

tales
Buddhist adaptation to which these
have been
subjected the Bodhisattva has been incarnated in animal
form only
in those cases
where
it
was decidedly more

are four other
ingrati-
flattering to be beast than to be
man. Here
examples which will abundantly prove to us that
tude, foolishness, the aggressive instinct, and dishonesty are

not, in the
minds of our authors, the
privilege of
humanity
stories
alone, as
you might have been
led to believe.
The
ought indeed to come

ed in the
a little later in the plan

is
which we
have adopted, since the Bodhisattva
there already cloththat of a
human form
worth
par
excellence, I
mean
man
but for the advantage of warning ourselves against a wrong

idea
it is
whil'e slightly to disarrange the hierarchical
order of the sexes.
XL Do
left
you
I
desire further simian stories?

at this
Look on
the
of pi. VI,
is
young
novice, or
Brahmanic student,
to drink.
who
giving a thirsty
monkey something
right,
Now
he goes away towards the

shoulders, at the
having loaded on his
two ends of a stick placed like a balancing beam, his two round pitchers, suspended in nets of cord after the manner of the time and of the present day; meanwhile the animal,
who
him
has
as a
mounted
your
into the tree again,

:
makes grimaces
a villain,
at
reward for his charity

face , snys
Oblige
and he will
spit in
our proverb.
44
If
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
we
are to believe the text, the
monkey did worse

is
still
on
the head of the Bodhisattva, a thing which the habits of these horrid beasts.
It is
quite
among
needless to repeat to
you
was none other than Devadatta Qdt. 174). XII. Another time Qdt. 46 and 268), a gardener, wishing
that he
to take his holiday, has charged the

his garden to water
it
monkeys which haunt
in his stead.
And
in
fact
they set
about
it
with pitchers (pi. VI, 2); but on a suggestion ot
their king,
cally
who by
nature prefers to do things methodihis water to be wasted, they
and does not intend
begin by pulling up every shrub in the nursery, so as to
measure by the length of

water which
it
its
roots the exact quantity of

is
will require.
The Bodhisattva
restrict
the
wise
man
hell
who
enters by the left and surprizes
them while
no
lack of
thus occupied.
is
He does not
himself to stating that

:
paved with good intentions
there
is
moralizing, also, about the stupidity of the king of the
monkeys
XIII.
if
he
is
the
most
intelligent,
what must be
thought of the
rest
of the troop?
On
is
another fragment of the coping (Cunningham,

figured in
XLI, 1-3)
two successive scenes the story of a

is
stupid fighting ram,

to charge a
who
inspired by his warlike instincts

:
Brahmanic
ascetic
we must
say in his excuse

(Jdt. 324).
that the latter
was wearing
garment of skin
The whole humour of the affair is that the monk imagines, at the moment when the ram stoops, ready to rush upon him, that even the beasts bow before his worth. It is
in vain that a
sattva,
young merchant, no other than warns him ot his imprudent mistake

:
the Bodhithere he
is
soon
on
his back, upset along
with the double burden
which he was balancing on
his shoulder.
it is
XIV. Again
in another place
the turn of the Bodhi-
sattva to carry the water-vessel
and wear the big chignon
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
45
;
and the summary costume of an ascetic

in this guise
(pi. VI, 3)
and
it is
(and not that of a tree-god, as the commentary
gives
at a
it,
Jdt.
400)
that he
is
present as a simple spectator
very amusing scene.
Two otters, by uniting their efforts,

dry ground on the bank of a
tail;
have dragged a big

river, the
fish to the
it
one holding
by the head, the other by the
but, their united exploit accomplished, they quarrel
about
the sharing of the booty and take a passing jackal as arbiter.
The
latter is
represented twice,
first
seated between the

:
litigants,
then walking proudly away to the right
he
is
carrying the best piece in his
mouth and
tail
leaving to the
two
deceived otters only the head and
of their prey.
The
moral
is
easily guessed.
The
text states very explicitly that
the best law-suits in the world only serve to enrich the

coffers of the king;
and you, for your
part,
have in the
Jackal and the
two Otters
already recognised an Indian
variant of the Oyster and the Litigants
of La Fontaine.
XV. For
rules.
the rest
we must
tales
not in the presence of the claim to set up too general

VI, 4)
extreme variety of these
little
further
on
(pi.
animals
reappear
the
side
by side with another

and
this
identical incarnation of
Bodhisattva,
rable
part.
time they
is
play a
most honousimplified in
The
bas-relief
here
much
comparison with the version of the Jdtaka (488), which

gives to the hero a sister, six brothers and
two
servants.
At
Barhut
we
see at his side only a
thed in the ascetic costume
likewise clowoman who may very well in the
intention of the sculptor be the wife of his lay years,
and of
whom
the
Pali
prose, with
its
accustomed and
his sister
:
perhaps excessive modesty, will have

it
made
has
not been bold enough {Jdt. 461) to give us
Rama
as the
brother, and not the husband, of Sita?
On
the other hand, a
monkey and an
elephant likewise take part in this scene,
46
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
is
unless the latter

Indra of the
merely the mount of Cakra

looks
for the
Gods
upon
like
it
as a
duty to bring
similar to
I
back the bundle of lotus stalks (rather

bundles of asparagus and just
sold,
our
those which
have seen
nowadays,
its
in
Kashmir, in the market of Srinagar),

to the story.
which gave
to prove
name
That
is all
the food of
the ascetic, and
on three days
the
in succession (âkra, in order
him, has stolen
it,
but without succeeding in
moving him. At
of the characters,
moment when he repents, both human and animal, was
each one
about to
exonerate himself from this theft by a veracious oath, even

the
monkey
declaring himself incapable of it; for,

in
it
is
said
somewhere,
a saint .
the
company
of saints everyone becomes
VI
The
Bodhisattva
and women.
With
these
reserva-
tions, these
suffice to
two
series of
I
examples, preserved by chance,

just
prove what
was
now
saying concerning
the double attitude of the Jdtakas with regard to animals.
from the beasts we comparison, be it said

If
at
now
same
pass
to
without any idea of

observe that
the
women, we
the very
first
the
distinction
seems necessary.
Either
we
are in the presence of
one of those beautiful

litera-
types of faithful wife which are an honour to Indian

ture,
is
and then we may safely wager that the Bodhisattva

time incarnated in the feminine form; or else
it is
this
a masculine role
which
is
assigned to him, and in this case
the texts, giving free scope to an instinct for satire worthy
of our Gaul of the Middle Ages, becomes inexhaustible on

the subject of the malice and
perversity of the fair sex.
The
stories
which they
tell
of
it
(we
shall,
of course.
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
47
less,
adduce only those which are figured, more or

Barhutj lack neither raciness nor verve. In
stories
fact,
at
whilst the
which have come before us up
till
now were
pro-
perly fables,
tales
we have now to do with the kind of jolly which in the Romance languages of mediaeval
called
Europe were
fabliaux
or fableaux
XVI.
On
a medallion
be reproduced
which can hardly with propriety (Cunningham, XXVI, 7), we witness

rishi
the conception and birth of the
Rishyaq;rihga (Anteas
lope-horn) or Eka^ringa (Unicorn),

the Brahmanic epic as in
celebrated
in
the Buddhist legend.
Son of
an anchorite and a roe, he knows nothing of a sex to
which he
meets.
stories.
is
not even indebted for his mother, and consethe

first
quently he will be an easy prey to
women
he
of
On
this
common
the
trunk are grafted

is
two groups
In the
first,
young hermit
scarcely adolescent
and
lives
with his father.
neighbouring king, in order
to put an end to a famine, or simply because he has
no
:
son, forms the design of taking
him
for his
son-in-law
and
his
own
daughter, or, in the less ancient versions,
some courtesans charge themselves with the task of leading him astray and bringing him back to the court Qdt.
526; Mahdvastu,
III,
143; Mahabhdrala,
III,
110-113 etc),
as the father
Without
desire
great difficulty they succeed, as
soon
has turned his back, being helped as
much
a
as they could
by the naive candour of the young man,
who
as yet
ball
has seen nothing of the world, for
whom
rebounding
seems
pips,
a marvel,
who takes
cakes for delicious fruits without
and
who
calls carriages
moving huts
He
to
appre-
hends
still
other causes of amazement, not less ingenious,
but already less innocent, at the aspect, so

his
new
him, of
feminine visitors: and you can easily conceive that this
theme of the spontaneous awakening of the sexual instinct
48
in the
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
most ignorant of young men should have served as an example to Boccacio and for a story to La Fontaine {Contes, III, I, The Geese of Brother PhiUp , taken from
the preamble to the fourth day of the Decameron).
Of the second form of the legend the clearest summary that we at present possess has been preserved to us by the
Chinese pilgrim Hiuan-tsang with reference to a ruined
convent of
India. It
Gandhara, in
in this place,
the extreme
north-west
of
was
he
tells us, that
formerly there
lived the m/;/'
Unicorn;
this m/ji,
having allowed himself to
be led astray by a courtesan, lost his supernatural powers;

the courtesan
to the there
mounted on
;
his shoulders
and thus returned
town
is
Jat. 523 Dafakiimdracarita, II, 2 etc.). Here no longer any question of the father of the hermit,
(cf.
latter is left
and the age of the

hand, what
detailed in
tiaria
undetermined.
On
the other
fables
we
are told of
him reminds us of the
our relations of animal
stories, the so-called Bes-
of the Middle Ages, concerning the Unicorn which

girl is
only a young
able to
capture
And
she (says
it
their source, the Physiologus)
commands
the animal and
obeys her; and she leads
it
away
to the king's palace .
Why
on
there rather than elsewhere? This unexpected trait forms,
the contrary, an integral part of the adventure of the shy

anchorite Unicorn,
rally leads to her
whom the king's daughter very natufather, or whom the courtesan has wagered
And,
again,
that she will bring back to the court.
the
piquant detail that this

of the wise
celebrated
rishi
latter
mounts astride on the shoulders
awakens invincibly the memory of the

Aristotle .
Lay of
XVII.
fragment of another medallion, found only by

title
the greatest chance, bears as
the three
first
words of
the one stanza which constitutes the ancient nucleus of

]diaka 62
:
The music
that the Brahman... :and, in fact,
jAtakas at BARHUT
it
49
shows us
a caste
man
is
seated, with his eyes
bandaged and
playing the harp, whilst a coupledance before
him (Cunninghis master.
ham, XXVI,
8).
He
the chaplain of the king of Benares,
and had, we
are told, a habit of
gaming with
But the king, each time he threw the

bring himself good luck, to
dice, used, in order to
hum
four verses, taken from
some popular song, which were not very respectful to the virtue of women, and by force of this truth he
won
child
every time.
The Brahman,
in a fair
way
to being ruin-
ed, gives
up playing and decides
to rear a
new-born
girl-
without her ever seeing any other

scarcely reached marriagable
She has
man than himself. age when he, in his
whose word, having become false, is no longer efficacious, so that he loses game after game. Thwarted, and guessing what is the snake under the rock,
turn, challenges the king,
he charges one of his agents to seduce the only

his
.
real virtue in
kingdom This plan does readily succeed and it must be believed that intelligence comes to a girl still more quickly than to a boy. The young novice's mind is so readily and
;
so effectually enlightened, that she consents to organize the

little
scene of
comedy
represented by the bas-relief, and

is
it is
with her lover that she

of the story or
dancing to the sound of the harp

I
played by the blinded Brahman.
lay
no
stress
upon
the rest
how
she succeeds in exonerating herself
by making
a false oath true, a device equally well

:
known
to
our folk-lore
the important thing
is
that in this Indian
heroine you have been allowed to salute in passing the

type of the eternal Agnes.
XVIII. Even the single story consecrated to the praise

of woman
fails
not to be well-known to our medievalists
under the name of
Constant du Hamel
Certainly,
story
we
:
must immediately deduct from this details which truly smack too much of
last
its
some
I
native soil
50
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
the
refer to
vengeance exercised by the
villain
on the
This
wives
of the provost, the forester
and the
priest .
manner of applying
interest
the law of retaliation, and even with
for the peasant does to another
what the other
has merely had the intention of doing to

;
him
is
a trait
eminently Gallic and you will not be in any way astonished

to
observe
that
it
was evidently the
part
which La Fonput
it
taine desired to retain of the story,
when he
into
verse in his tale of the people of
Rheims
you
will un-
derstand no less clearly that the Indian versions contain
nothing of the kind. For the

truly too astonishing,
if it
rest,
the accord
a case of a
{Jdt.
it is
would be
borrowing
were not
by European
saritsdgara, I,
literature
from that of India

the whole,
^46;Kaihd~
the Pali text
etc.).
Taken on
which most nearly approaches the

(pi.
:
bas-relief of Barhut
there also Amara, the virtuous wife, whose V, 5) husband is absent, has four suitors to whom she assigns
an interview for each of the watches of the same night,
and
it is
also in great esparto baskets that she causes her
tricked lovers to be packed by her servants.
At the moment
his minis-
chosen by the sculptor

the king
ters,
is
is
we
are in the midst of the court
seated
on
his throne,
surrounded by
and
at his right side
one of the
women
of the harem
waving
a fly-flapper.
Amara
is
standing on the other

at
side, her left
hand on the shoulder of her attendant, and
her order the covers of three of the baskets have already
been raised and the heads of three of the delinquents uncovered, whilst
lese
two
coolies bring the fourth.
But the Singhalines, as
compilation dismisses this story in ten
an
episode in a long narrative, and consents to see in
Amara
is
only the wife of the absent Bodhisattva
for
it
quite
resigned to represent the latter as an animal, a pariah or
even a bandit, but never, no
never, a
woman, be
she, as in
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
this case,,a
51
paragon of all the virtues.
If,
however,
we come
to reahze that the jdlaka in question has the
complete medallion and that

edifying interest except
honour of a these representations have no

that the future
will
on the condition
it
Buddha
there appears in person,
soon be granted
that there are great chances that the sculptor regarded

as incarnated here in the feminine form.
him
Even
if
the author
had not
himself made this
identification,
everything
invited the spectator to do so.

relief
(}Wfrtmrt;/)rti://yrt7;?
The
inscription
on the basit
:
jdtakani) does not contradict
for
the Pali tradition also makes
Amara to
be born in one of the
four suburbs
Yavamajjhctka, situated at the four gates of
the capital of Mithila.
However
it
may
be as regards this particular point, the
tremendous buffoonery of the situation could not escape

the worshippers, and they
must have been
at least as
it
much
all
amused
as edified. If
we
ourselves look at
more
that,
closely,
we
less
shall not be able to avoid the
impression
with
her virtue,
Amara was not exempt from

but
mischief.
Doubt-
she had recourse to the arsenal of her tricks only
for a
good motive
we
tremble
if
at
the thought of
what
would happen
displays in
to her husband,
this astute
woman em-
ployed in deceiving him a quarter of the malice that she
keeping herself
faithful.
In
one word, and
with
all
taken into account, whether the story be written

it is
in praise of the fair sex or not,
always the same crea-
ture of perfidy,
if
not of voluptuousness, with

put
it
whom we
have to deal
or, to
better,
we
observe that the quite
monastic mistrust and aversion which Buddhism professed
towards
woman
are
(we may say) never disarmed. Of

is
all
the snares of
Mara the Malignant,
she not the worst?

all
And
was
it
not solely in the rupture of
family
ties,
com-
mencing with the conjugal tie, that the assured pledge of salvation was supposed to be found?
52
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
XIX.
Among
our
bas-reliefs
we
find
still
another
fairly
picturesque illustration of this moral conception. Itis taken
from the history of Mahajanaka Qat. 539).

exile,
A
I
son, born in
of the
widow
of a king of Mithila,
will pass
over
the adventures which finally re-establish
which
for
his uncle has usurped,
and
at
him on the throne the same time win
him
the
hand of
his beautiful cousin Sivali.
What
is
of
importance to us here is the resolution, which he soon forms,

of taking to the religious
life
and the useless
efiorts to
which
At
his wife resorts in order to retain

last
him
in the world.
he departs; but his wife belongs to that variety of

our writers of vaudevilles
call
woman which
clinging
and she obstinately adheres to his
steps. Vainly does a
remnant of politeness
symbols
in order to
lead
him
to
make use of
various
mark
his decided intention to deprive
himself henceforth of a companionship which he looks
upon
to
as
an obstacle to his deliverance
she will listen
none of them, not even the plainest, such as the one represented, with the names of the persons to vouch for on the
railing at
it,
Barhut
(pi. VI, 5).

is
The
king,
who
has
already cast aside his diadem,
standing,
still
followed by
the queen, in front of an armourer's bench and with the
two
zan
first
is
fingers raised
is
speaking in parables.
The
arti-
about to straighten an arrow which he has just put

fire,
through the
and, closing one eye,

straight.
is
examining with the
other whether
it is
To
premeditated question
straight-
from Mahajanaka he
ness of things
replies that
one can judge the no salvation
much
belter with a single

is
one eye than with

for
two
for,
except in solitude, there

is,
man.
a
XX. This monkish moral

sight. Evidently
it
however, susceptible of
quite touching revulsion, or rather of quite gracious over-
was impossible
for the compilers of this
great
collection of folk-lore to
bring
all
the
narratives
JATAKAS AT RARHUT
within their narrow range of edification
a delightful story of love
:
53
and thus
it is
that
their
must have found grace

at
in
eyes.
It
is
not preserved to us
Barhut, except by a
it
miserable sketch (Cunningham, XXVII, 12); but

in
is still
on the Boro-Budur of Java('), where the human bust of the kinnara is no longer terminated by foliage, but by the body of a bird. The king of Benares,
existence
while out
hunting, perceives a couple of these marvel-
lous beings covering each other with caresses and tears.
He
questions them, and
learns
woman
always the more
from the mouth of the
talkative
that they
were once
separated by the storm and had to

either side of the river.
spend the night on
Now
it
will
soon be seven hunlife is
dred years since this mischance, and their
thou-
sand years
however, they have not yet quite consoseparation of a few hours,
led each other for the
and
since then have been unable to help mingling tears with

their caresses.
What an
example
for lovers, thinks the
king
and
it
will not surprise
you
to learn that, with the
help of this simple legend,
Buddha forthwith
reconciled
the king and queen of Kosala, very
much
in love
with one
another,
who were sulking (/rtf.
504;
reject
481 and483).
VI
The Bodhisaitva and
the castes.
This
last story is less a

it
fableau than a fairy tale.
As
for the preceding one,
should rather be classed in the category of those exam-
wherewith our preaching friars of the Middle Ages were accustomed to stud their sermons. The five that still remain to be reviewed are all edifying stories which
ples
,
(i) See below, Essay VIII.
54
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
similarly served the needs of the Buddhist preaching.

will
They
:
perhaps seem to you only moderately amusing but in India morality must always have its turn. In them the Bodhisattva is constantly reborn in the state of man,
that state so difficult to attain,
we
are told, which, while
the
one most favourable of all to the acquisition of merits, is also the only one in which the candidate for
the Bodhi ever has
a
chance of attaining his object. Each
time this marvellous being, wîatever

astonishes us with the proofs of his
disinterestedness
:
may
skill,
be his caste,
wisdom and
but
it
is
especially in his royal births
that he gives free course to his virtue. Let us not forget that the Buddhists professed to place the class of the Kshatriya, or, as
we
should say, the nobility of the sword, to

:
which
their
Master belonged, above that of the Brahmans

shall
naturally,
we
have to follow the order established by
them in the hierarchy of the castes. XXI. The Bodhisattva knew all social positions, even that which consists in being under the ban of society,
as is the case with the pariah.
However,
in the lowest posibas-reliefs
tion
in
which we recognise him on the
of
Barhut, he has already arrived at the third class, that of the

Vai^yas, that
keeper.
It is
is
to say, of peasant proprietor or
town shopby an
still
as a
son of
a citizen of ^ravasti that
ingenious stratagem he consoles his father,
who was
inconsolable tor the death of his grandfather Qdt. 352; Cun-
ningham, XLVII,
3).
He
brings water and food to the dead

at the gates
body of an ox, abandoned
of the town; and
when
trate
his father,
informed by friends, runs up to remons-
with him, he answers him in the same tone and has

trouble in proving to
is
not
much
him
that the
more
foolish
it
of the two
folly,
not the one
whom
people think. For
is
according to Buddhist ideas, to weep for the dead.
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
55
XXII. Elsewhere the

of his
BodhisattVca has
become
the Pandit
Vidhura, minister of the king of Indraprastha.
The fame
wisdom and eloquence
is
so great, that the wife of a

speak. In order to
to her, the
Naga conceives a fancy for hearing him make more sure of him being brought
pretends to have a
the husband
undine
desire , that of eating his heart.
Behold
much
{Jdt.
disturbed 545).
As well ask
is
for the
he remarks
But what
there that
moon women
cannot do?
The
four panels of one pillar are consecrated
to the description of
how
the daughter of the
long in finding a young captain of the

her beaux yeux
,
Naga was not genii, who, for love of
charges himself with the commission;
how
the
young
gallant challenges the king of Indraprastha

cast of the dice
to play,
and with one

;
wins
his minister
how he vainly endeavours to kill the latter by throwing him down from the top of a mountain; and how,
from him
in the end,
he decides to take him alive to the house of the
Naga, to the great satisfaction of his future mother-inlaw,
who
as
is
thus obtains from the
mouth
of the sage the
little
private lecture
which she desired (Cunningham, XVIII).

tales, all is
And,
always the case with these Buddhist
well that ends well.
XXIII. But, as
Bodhisattva
is
have told you,
it is
especially
when
the
born again as a Kshatriya that his
acts foretell
the great renunciation of
which he
is
to offer a perfect
m.odel in the course of his last existence. Once, at a time
when human
ance of his
to
first
life
was exceedingly long, he renounces
the throne and the world from the
moment
of the appearis
white hair
as
(JAt. 9).
His barber
it
:
ordered
it is
show
it
to
him
soon
as
he perceives
and
for
that reason that,
on
pi.
VI, 6, he interrupts the
combing of
still
his master's long hair.
King Makhadeva, although he
has 84.000 years to
live,
abdicates at once in favour of his
56
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
son
apparently the third person in the scene
and
retires to lead in his

life.
own
park of mango-trees the ascetic
XXIV. Another time he does not

his throne,
wait so long to abandon
and he
is still
in full
youth when he yields place

;
to his youngest brother {Jdt. i8i
Mahdvastn,
II,
73).
The
to
jealousy and suspicions of the latter soon force
him
go
into exile, and, thanks to his talent as an archer, he earns

his living in the service of a
relief
neighbouring king. The bas-
represents this Asadisa at the

skilfully shot,
moment when, by
means of an arrow
a
he gathers for his master
mango from the very top of a high tree (Cunningham, XXVII, 13). The continuation ofthe story makes him again
protect his
ungrateful
brother against the seven hostile
princes
who were
besieging him, and finally he enters
or
y>
rather, according to the Indian expression,
he
departs
into religion.
XXV. Once
gives
this
even
it is
from his
earliest infancy that
he
of
evidence of his resolution
to
know nothing
world, and he feigns to be dumb, deaf and para(/fli.
lyzed
538). In
;
vain are
many experiments
tried
to prove
him
neither privations nor delicacies, nor toys,

lights,
nor noises, nor
nor
fear,
nor suffering, nor (when
he
is
nearly sixteen years old) voluptuous temptations can

a gesture, a cry, or
draw from him

so
stiff in
any sign whatever of

see
sensibility or intelligence.
That
is
why you
him
lying
the lap of his father, the king of Benares (pi. V, 6).
The
latter
ends by becoming weary of such a son, and
orders his chariot-driver to take
him out of the town and

the bottom,
bury him, dead or
alive.
Thus,
at
we
see Prince
S^miya standing near an empty quadriga, whilst right the driver is busy with a hoe, hollowing out
on the
a grave.
:
However, the prince suddenly decides to move and speak
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
but
57
when
his father,
informed by the driver, runs up with

it is
his suite, full of joy,
only to find him already trans-
formed by the providential intervention of the king of the

gods into an
of his
ascetic,
:
and
sitting in the
shadow of
the trees
hermitage
and
this
forms the subject of the third
and
last episode,
on the
right top border of the medallion.
The
in the
texts specify elsewhere that in this last existence the
Bodhisattva had realised the perfection of

life
determination
, in that
of Vidhura (XXII) that of
wisdom
of
Mahajanaka (XIX) of
with the lotus stems
of the king of the
stag (VIII)
rosity
;
heroism
in that of the ascetic

,
(XV) of
detachment
in that
monkeys (X) of
truth , in that of the
and the elephant with
six tusks
(VI) of geneat
and we know from
a detached
in
fragment that
Barhut also was seen the birth
which, under the

gift
name
of Prince Vi^vantara, he attained by the

his children
of his goods,
charity .
and even his wife, the acme of

bas-reliefs
Thus we recognize on our

celebrated jdtakas;
some of
cardinal
the
most
and
of
the
ten
virtues
are
only
patience , benevolence
and
equanimity
not represented by name. Further,

that the researches of
we must
not forget
Cunningham have
:
collected scarcely
more than a third of the railing the rest had been carried away and destroyed by neighbouring villagers, and this vandalism
justifies the
precaution taken by the English archaeo,
logist, of transporting all that

at Calcutta. Inversely, it is
had survived to the
Museum
only right that I should warn you
that
we are far from having identified all the bas-reliefs which
have been exhumed.

as long, of those
We might draw up another list, almost

still
which
await (the greater number, but

a satisfactory explana-
not
all,
for
want of an inscription)
tion.
Some
motifs are evidently taken from jdtakas not to be
S8
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
:
read in the Pali collection
and
this is a salutary
warning
be, is far
to us that the latter, considerable
though
it
may
from being complete. Besides, we might have drawn attention in passing to a
number of discordances
this collection
in detail, as
regards the treatment of subjects certainly identified, be-
tween the prose part of

a lapidary inscription
refrains
and the
bas-reliefs,
whilst we have remarked the almost
literal
harmony between
versified
(').
and the text of one of the

the popular
title
known under
of gdthd
But
these are remarks which are of interest chiefly to speciaUsts.

I
would mention only one

with
a
point, namely, that they autho-
rize
us to believe that the sculptors of Barhut worked not
in accordance
given text, as did those of Boroa living tradition, as

it
Budur, but according to

their
I
echoed in
memory
or was transmitted
among them.
:
will add that they
worked
also according to nature
you have been enabled

their
to judge for yourselves of their ho-
nest care for true detail. Each photographic reproduction of
works has shown you,

employed
in India
as
through
window opening
and
upon
the past, the costumes, weapons, tools, furniture and
vehicles
two thousand years ago
thus in one hour they have given you through your eyes
more concrete
ideas about that civilization than
you would
flow
all
have been able to acquire in a year's reading. But the greatest

service that they have rendered us
the others
was when
titles
for
from
it
they carried their foresight to the
point of engraving by the side of the majority of their compositions the

to represent.
of the subjects which they had intended

gratitude ought
What
them
for that just distrust

artists! It
of
we not their own
to feel towards
talent, so
rare
among
has given us the key to ancient Indian
(i) See below
some remarks on
the Saddanta-jdlaka (Essay VII).
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
art.
59
So much modesty,
sincerity
and conviction, do they
not go far towards making up for the lack of technical skill? I am sure you will not be severe towards them in
this respect
lities,
:
and
if
these fables, these fabliaux and moraless
have interested your eyes no
than your ears,
you will thank not only the narrators of them, but also
the worthy old image-makers of India.
PLATES
The
V-VI
Barhut sculptures here reproduced are boi rowed, with the
permission ofthe Secretary of State for India, from the beautiful publication of General A.
Cunningham, The Stupa
of Bharhul
(London,
1879).
PI.
V.
2
))
(C, (C,
(C,
pi.
pi.
pi.
XXVI, 5) XXVII, 9)
described on p. 38
:
"
XXV,
i)
40 40-41
41-42
50
4 (C,
5
pi.
pi.
XXXIII, 4)
..
(C,
6(C.,
Pi. VI.
pi.
XXV, XXV,
3)
4)
"56
..
2
3
(C, (C, (C,
pi.
XLVI, 8):
43
pi.
pi.
XLV,
XLVI,
5)
..
44
45
2)

.)
4(C.,pI.
s
XLVm.7)
XLIV, 2):
45-46
52
55
(C.,pl.
6(C.,pl. XLVIII, 2)
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
PL.
IN
MEDALLIONS
JATAKAS AT BARHUT
PL, VI
fti-.
a .
'
'/i'
ON THE RAIL COPING
The Eastern Gate
of the Sanchi Stupa
**^
The visitor to the MuseeGuimet in Paris,

Berhn, cannot
exhibited a
there
is
fail
Indian
or the
to notice
Museum in London, the Museum fiir Voikerkunde in among the objects therein
monumental
gate covered with bas-rehefs; but
every chance in the world that he will confine

it
himself to casting a quick, heedless ghmce towards

passing,
in
reproduction of a remote Indian original, this
moulding naturally cannot have any claim to speak to our European eyes or to awaken in our minds the remembrance of any traditional legend. But then
before
it
let
us bring
any native of India; he

is
will
remain
as puzzled
and,
if
he
candid, as silent
this
as
we.
Do
not,
however,
hastily
conclude from
that
these
sculptures have
never had any meaning for anyone, because to-day their

compatriots themselves no longer understand anything
about them. Only imagine a similar experiment to be

tried
with us, and that
we were
set
down,
for
example,
before one of the porches of the cathedral of Chartres
how many would

in
be able to read without preparation
the magnificent illustrated Bible so suddenly opened
before
them
You know
that in the eighteenth century

this
:
no
one would have been found capable of

teenth
it
and in the nine-
whole phalanx of patient investigators to rediscover the lost meaning of the scenes and figures painted on the windows, or carved under the vaults, by
required a
(i) Lecture at the
Musee Guim^t,
1910.
in
Bibliothcque de Vulgarisation
du
Music Guimet,
vol.
XXXIV,
62
EASTERN GATE OF SANCHl
our image-makers of the Middle Ages. The conditions are

exactly the
same
for this
Ga
e of Sanchi;
with time the

for
a
subject of its bas-reliefs has ended
by becoming, even
the descendants of those

veritable
its
who
you
once built or carved
it,
enigma.
invite
to join
me
in investigating
meaning.
I
will
add
that,
disagreable or not, this research
is
kind of obligation, which

shirk.
It
we may no
missed
longer with decency

building,
was
in
fact
the original
and not
to
Paris.
the
reproduction, that just
coming
was
In
1867-8 the
of the
Begum
of
Bhopal
instigated
to
offer to the
Emperor of
sliipa
the French one of the four great

is
gates the
of Sanchi, that
to say, a portion of
most
beautiful,
and even of the unique architectural
whole
that
we
have retained from Ancient India.
The
are
it
Begum,
all
indifferent, desired
nothing better; but the English
resident intervened, and this act of vandalism
we
the
more ready
after this lapse

fell
of time to designate
as
such, since the project
through
was
fortunately
not perpetrated('). However, the Anglo-Indian government
understood that there were there archaeological remains

capable of arousing the interest of artists and scholars.
1
From
869
it
caused to be executed
at great cost several
mouldings
of the eastern gate, one of the only two which had remained standing; and with
great
liberality
it
divided
them
between London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Berlin,
Paris, etc.
The one which

vicissitudes,
ter
till
fell
to our share had already

it
at last
found an asylum
the
known some
if
not a shel-
in the courtyard of
other hand, this
Musee Guiinet. On the costly and somewhat embarrassing present

cf.
(i) See RoussELET, L'lndc dcs Rajahs, pp. 522-25 and
H. Coi.e, Great
Buddlmt Tope
at Sanchi, introd. (Tope

.
is
the Anglo-Indian equivalent of the
Sanskrit stupa)

has not yet been
study.
It is this
6j
made
in
France the object of any special
too prolonged neglect that
we
are about
to endeavour
to repair.
The Great Sdnchi Sinpa.
The numerous ruins which
are
scattered over the environs of the village of Sanchi-Kana-
keda (in Sanskrit Kakanada), near to Bhilsa, are situated

right in the heart of Central India,
cial
on the ancient commer(naXtSoepa,
highway between Pataliputra
Patna), the
capital
of the Maurya emperors, and Bharukaccha (BxpjyaC^,

(^'OCovo, Ujjain).
Bharotch or Broach) by way of Ujjayini

Sanchi has
now become
But
it
a station of the Indian
Midland
Railway, and the expresses stop there by request to set

a
down
few
tourists.
is
doubtless to the abandonment
of the ancient route and to the subsequent thinning of the
population that the ancient Buddhist sanctuaries with which

the rocky
hill is
crowned have owed
their exceptional escape

as well as the
from the fanaticism of the Musalman invaders

cupidity of the
modern Hindus. Whilst at 300 kilometres
to
theNorth-Eastthe contemporary and quite analogous

of Barhut, with which
stiipa
it,
we
shall so often
have to compare
had been three parts destroyed by the villagers of the
neighbourhood,
principal
who made a business of exploiting it, the monument at Sanchi was still in an excellent state
when
it
of preservation
was
visited for the first time, in
1818, by General Taylor and described in 1819 by Captain

Fell. In
later
compensation,
it
had
much
to suffer three years
from the brutal excavations

for art
inflicted
upon
it,
without
mercy
and without
profit to science,
by some English
64
EASTERN GATE OF SA.NCH1

(').
amateurs
From 1881
to
1883
tlie
Archaeological
Department exerted
breach,
itself to repair as
well as possible this
grievous devastation.
They closed up the enormous, gaping which had been made in one third ot the central
they reerected (placing,
it
dome, under pretext of ascertaining whetherit weresolidor

hollow
;
is true,
several of the
in the debris
lintels so as to face
backwards and overlooking
some fragments
gates, the
of the jambs) the southern and western

fallen
second of which had
only under the weight

it
;
of the rubbish thoughtlessly thrown upon

a zeal
finally,
site,
with
almost excessive, they cleared the whole

tree. Fig.
i
without
sparing a single
in pi. VII, a kind of horseback

will explain to
view taken from the east in the rising sun,

better than long descriptions the state
you
and general aspect

essentially of a
a
of the building
(').
Like every old
stupa,
it
is
composed
raised
massive hemispherical
likewise circular, which
dome,
upon
pediment
was reached by
a flight of steps.
The whole was made

facing,
of bricks covered with a stone
which
still
in its turn
was overlaid with
a thick layer
of mortar,
existing in places.
The
terrace, in this case
4^,25 high and i"\70wide, served evidently as a promenade for the perambulations of the faithful.
a
The dome
kind of giant
reliquary,
though
in the particular
case
the deposit of relics has never been discovered
measures
The only
is
i2"\8o
in
height, with
a diameter of 32"\3o.
this
element to-day lacking to

architectural motif
developed tumulus
as a
the
which served
crown
but in thought
(i)
On
all
these points, see the Journal of ihc Adatic Society of Bengal,
III,
1834, p. 489, and IV, 1835, p. 712. (2) I owe the communication of this photograph and the following ones
to the kindness of
Mr.
J.
H. Marsiiai.i., the distinguished Director General
of Archa.ology in India.

it is
65
easy to complete the

pi.
whole by the
pinnacle,
aid of the bas-reliefs
(see
istic
VII, 2).
They
of
frequently reproduce the character-
silhouette
this
it,
with
the
honorific
parasol surmounting
which must have
raised the total
height to about 25 metres.
According
sanctuary
ted
it
to
the
invariable
custom
railing,
in
India this
is
surrounded by a stone
which protecmassive
fence. In
from profanation, and which,

is
in spite of its
weight,
evidently an imitation of a
it
wooden
form
slightly oblong,
measures across from
east to
west
43", 60, and from north to south i"\io more, in order

to leave
3"^,
room
for the
flight of steps.
In
the
uprights,
10 high, were fixed with mortises and tenons three
cross-bars and
one coping, the
latter o"',
68 high. At the four

in such a
cardinal points an opening
was arranged
way
that
the breach
each case
it
was not apparent to the eye, masked as it was in by a double elbow in the enclosure. When
to
was thought
it
add fronting doors to these slanting

to attach the right
entrances,
was necessary
jamb of each
:
of these latter to the railing by a joint at right angles

in this
way were formed
four rectangular vestibules, shut

faces corres-
in at the sides,
and with the front and back

as regards rail
ponding alternately
and opening.
These four
gates, or toranas, of
almost unvarying dimen-
sions and arrangements, are likewise the

rather than of
work of carpenters
masons; and
it is
even surprising that they
should have had the boldness to execute them in stone.
o,68 broad, 4 metres in height, with an interval of 2^,15. These two jambs are
rest
pillars,
They
on two square
sunnounted by two great

and
capitals,
i"\2
in height
and
decorated in one case with dwarfs, in another with lions,

in
two with
less
elephants.
These
latter
in
their
turn
support no
than three
lintels slightly curved, projecting
66

the
on
two
sides, these lateral projections
becoming smaller
impresentire
and smaller, doubtless

sion of height in the
in order to accentuate the
whole
(cf. pi. VIII,
i).
The
construction attains a height of about lo metres, without
reckoning the mystic symbols

of a
fairly successful
at
the summit. Caryatides
outline connect the outer side of the

architrave;
their
riders,
capitals
with the
horses
first
other figures of men,

elephants
women,
with
with their
drivers formerly adorned the spaces of the blocks
which
separate the lintels.
It
should be remarked
at
once that
these statues
are
almost the only pieces of sculpture

linages even of divinities, such as
finished in full relief that ancient India has bequeathed to
us;
most frequently the
those which here decorate the bases of the uprights, were
not entirely detached from the stone whence the

chisel
artists'
had
elicited
all
them. Then again,
lintels,
coins and
jambs have
their visible faces covered with bas-reliefs.

is
The
sent.
question
to discover
what these sculptures
repre-
II
Means of Idenfificaf ion.

to be susceptible of the
At
first
sight the
problem seems
most simple
solution. In fact
one
sees almost everywhere graffili, deeply incised in the ancient
Indian alphabet, which,

it
like ours, reads
from
left
to right;
seems then that we have only to come close and decipher

.
them But,
in
proportion as
we advance in
this task,
our hope
of finding the kind of information which
we
are seeking
circa
diminishes. All that

inscriptions
cut
in
we
can learn from each of the

in
the railing and
375 the gates (') is
(i) These inscriptions have
last
;
been studied by G. Buhler in Epi566 sqq.
graphia Indica, vol
II,
pp. 87 sqq.

that a certain individual or a certain guild
67
made
a gift of
such and such an upright or cross-bar, in short, of the piece
on which, precisely
of the
ed.
fact,
in order that
no one might be ignorant

one displayed
right in the
;
they have taken care to have their names inscrib-
As
a type
we may
:
take the
left
middle of the facade of the

tells
jamb of the eastern gate
it
us simply
KorarasaNdgapiyasciAcchdvadcsethisaddnafnthabo
pillar (is
(This)
the)
gift
of the banker of Acchavada, Nagapiya,

.
a native of
Kurara
Certainly these indications are far from being entirely
devoid of interest. First of
all,
they
tell
us that,
if
not the
monument
itself, at least its
enclosure was buih by public
subscription, with special appropriation of the contributions, as in certain
ver these
votive
modern religious foundations. Moreoand somewhat ostentatious epigraphs
enlighten us indirectly on
many
points
for example, as
regards the social condition of the individual subscribers,
who
nearly
all
belong to
class
the middle
class,
merchants
laity
and bankers, the
from which the Buddhist
were
most freely
artistic
recruited; or again, concerning the details of the
execution, as
when one
of the jambs of the southern
gate
is
given us as an offering in kind, the chef-d'oeuvre,

the
and
at
same time the
ex-voto, of the carvers in ivory

lastly,
of the neighbouring
town of Vidica; or
concerning
the date of the sculptures, which the incidental mention
on
to
this
same
gate of the reigning king Satakaiii allows us
connect with the
second,
or
first,
century
before
the Christian era. But, as regards the subject of the scenes

represented, the inscriptions and their engravers are aggra-
vatingly silent. Evidently the sculptors
of Sanchi,
as a
means of ensuring at all periods the comprehension of their work, counted on their artistic talent as illustrators: wherein
68
they showed themselves

dest than their confreres
much
less far-seeing
and
less
mo-
trade of Barhut, and
who had just decorated who hzdi not considered

titles
the balusit
futile to
engrave on the stone the

It is
of their bas-reliefs.
a later
as well to state at
once that an analogy with
and well-known
the
motif, a characteristic detail

a text, a
awakening
ot objects
remembrance of
determinate
all
number
forming a traditional group,

besides would,
these helps and others

a
no doubt,
in the
end have opened
way
to
the interpretation of
some of
the Sanchi panels; but
it is
doubtful
if
these isolated discoveries
would ever have gone

d'esprit.
beyond the stage

to be
this matter
tific
of ingenious hypotheses, or have deserved

as
looked upon
anything but jeux
If in
we
It
are able to arrive at certainties of a scien-
character,
is
we owe
it
to the
worthy image-makers
of Barhut.
indications
they who, thanks to the perfectly explicit
which they themselves have transmitted to

art ('). In the case
us on the subject of their compositions, have furnished
us
with a key to ancient Buddhist
of Sanchi, where
we have
to explain a
monument
closely
it
connected in
spirit, as
in space
and time, with Barhut,

our
may
thy
easily
be conceived that these precious and trustworwill
data
necessarily
a
be
first
and
constant
resource.
in
While forming
fund of interpretation acquired

furnish a firm
advance, they will at the same time
starting point for fresh research; for
we may
it
expect that
one
will
identification will lead to another,
and that the panels

only by reason
mutually explain each other, were
of their proximity.
On
the whole,
seeing the majority of these
we must not despair of pictures in stone come to life

to their
by degrees under an attentive gaze; and, thanks
(i) See above, Essay
II,
p. 24-

expressive mimicry, they will end by
69
making us underto transmit to
stand the message which

posterity.
it
was their mission
Ill
Decorations, images
tical
and symbols.
If we approach in
it
a prac-
manner
the task thus defined,
will immediately
appear to us that
we could
of
not have entirely dispensed
with the information, or the confirmations, furnished by

the
written
evidence
Barhut,
except
so
far
as
concerns the purely decorative bas-reliefs.

of course that the natural intelligence
is
It is
a matter
always and every-
where
sufficient to
understand the sense and appreciate the

designed solely for the pleasure
to classify these
as they
aesthetic value of motifs
of the eyes. Nothing
is
more simple than

categories,
ornaments into
are
different
according
or
borrowed
from
the
fauna,
flora,
the architec-
ture, either local or foreign.
Our
archaeological
knowledge
of them,
will not need to be very extensive in order to enable us
to recognize the Iranian origin of a certain

lions or
number
winged
griffins, bell-shaped capitals
surmounted
by two animals
set
back to back, honey-suckle palmettes,

etc.
merlons, serrated ornamentation,
We
shall find,
on
the contrary, a smack of the Indian soil in the balustrade
ornaments,
in
the horse-shoe arches, in
the garlands of
lotuses, or even in the elephants so ingeniously sketched
according to nature. But neither these identifications, which

are within the reach of children, nor those
more learned
distinctions tell
us
anything
whatever concerning the
scenes any more than concerning the idols to which after

all
these decorations only serve as a framework.
From
the
first
moment
that
we
find ourselves in the
presence of our fellow-creatures the
problem of iden-
70
tification
becomes
infinitely
more complicated. Even
as re-
gards isolated persons
we cannot
content ourselves, as in the
case of animals, with a simple designation of species.
We
must
at least discern their real nature,
whether human or
divine; next, try to determine their social rank
on earth or
in heaven; then finally, if possible, assign a proper
name
very
to each.
little
It is
a great deal to ask. Certainly
we have
difficulty
in
recognizing in
a
frequent
feminine
figure,
seated
on
lotus
and copiously doused by two
elephants, the prototype of the

Cri, the
modern representations of
(').
Hindu Goddess of Fortune

scarcely have
On the other hand,

to say concerning
first
we should
lintel, if it
known what
the beautiful ladies
who
connect the jamb with the
were not that we find them again on the Barhut

retained, here as there, in addition to
their
pillars.
They have
their opulent
charms and somewhat scanty costume,

and they continue,
like a
eminently
to
plastic pose,
as is written,
bend
a
their
willow-forms
bow
and
to lean
their
holding
mango- bough
golden
jars
in full
flower, displaying
II,
bosoms
like
QBuddhacarita,
52 and IV,
35, trans.
Cowell). But
there,
little
in addition to
what we
have here, they bear also a
label
which teaches us to
see in them, instead of simple bayaderes, divinities, of an

inferior order,
it
is
true,
belonging to those
whom we
persons
prove that
the
should
call fairies .
At the same time,

rt.
in the lay
(i) See below, Catalogue, 4
This resemblance does not
at all
wc
have already to do with the goddess ^ri.

it
The
frequency of this figure at

i),
Sanchi, where
recurs as
many
as 9 times
(see above, p. 18, n.
manner of
Stfipa
its
juxtaposition to the Bodhi-tree, the
Wheel of
the
Law, and the

are dealing
of the
a
Parinirvuna suggest, on the contrary, that
we
the
with
symbolical representation of the Nativity,
when
two Nagai
(here elephants; see below, p. 109), simultaneously bathed the mother and
the unseen child. Accordingly, this scene should have been cited and dis-
cussed above, p. 20, had
we
not preferred
to
neglect for the
moment
hypothesis
still
awaiting verification.
71
who, upright
part the
ries
at the foot
of the jambs, reveal to us for their
mascuHne fashions of Central India in the centuimmediately preceding our era(pl.VnL 2), we learn to
recognize demi-gods and genii, guardians of the four entrances to the sanctuary, as also of the four cardinal points (').
Elsewhere, as
we
have said, numerical considerations
may sometimes
facade
is
point out the
way of
interpretation. Let
Its
us take the right (or north) jamb of the eastern gate.

divided into panels, in each of which a god,
is
if
we
may
judge by his attributes,
seen seated, like an Indian
king, in the midst of his court.
Each of these compositions

:
taken by
itself tells
us absolutely nothing
but,
if
we
set
aside for a while the last terrace,

are six of these compartments...
flash of light;
we
ascertain that there

is a
This number alone
and Prof. A. Griinwedel needed nothing
further to lead
that here
him
to conjecture with infinite probability
we
see,
arranged one above another
on
this pillar,
the
first
six stories
dhism,
the only ones,

It is
of the 27-storied paradise
of
Bud-
moreover, which belong to the

to that of
domain of sensual pleasures and consequently

our senses.
also,
with
difficulty that
we
are able to discern

terrace, half-length
on the balcony of the highest
figures of the
Gods
in the
heaven of Brahma,
;
who
belong
to already another sphere
one step higher, the superior
divinities, like Dante's souls in paradise
who
have become
pure hghts, escape by definition the scope of the plastic

arts.
The
it is
identification
justifies
itself,
then, admirably,
and
confirmed even by the uniformity and banality of

:
the scenes
for
we know
very well that,

is,
if
the torments
of hell are usually very varied, there
according to the
(i) See below, Catalogue, ^

pi.
and 9
a,
and
cf.
Cunningham, Barhut,
XXI-XXIII.
72
more monotonous than the happiness of the heavens. However, the hypothesis becomes quite convincing only after a comrepresentations which have been attempted, nothing
parison with inscribed pictures of the paradise of the Thirtythree
Gods
at
Barhut
(').
is
One
other example
from
this point ot
view
still
more
trees,
characteristic.
(pi. VII,
On
the posterior frontal of this
same gate
2)
is
figured a
row of vacant thrones under
between human and divine worshippers. They were counted.
There
are seven of
them
and thereupon an expert
student of Buddhism, the Rev. S. Beal, had not been long in

rediscovering in the legend of the Master seven miraculous
trees
:
unfortunately
it
would be easy
to
enumerate
still
more of them. The analogy of certain series in Gandhara or at Ajanta would to-day furnish a much more satisfactory explanation by suggesting that it was a symbolical manner of representing the seven traditional Buddhas of our aôn, the last being Cakya-Muni. But you perceive that this conjecture would remain suspended
literally in
the
it
air...
Well, the inscribed bas-reliefs of
Barhut have made

succession
species,
all
a certainty. In fact, they
show
us in
these
same
trees,
of
easily
recognizable
above these same
seats of stone,
between these
same worshippers; but in this case each of them bears as on a label the name of the Buddha whose memory it evokes and thus we can no longer doubt that the intention
;
of the old image-makers

seven Enlightened
was indeed
past
to
represent
trees
the
Ones of the
bv the seven
under
which they
sat in
order to attain to enlightenment

Cunningham, Barhut,
pi.
cf.
(").
(i) See below, Catahgue, 6, and
cf.
pi.
XVI,
i.
i,
and XVII,
i,
and Fergusson, Tree and Serpent Worship,
XXX,
(2) See below, Calalogue,
10
/',
and
Cunningham,
ibid., pi.
XXIX-
XXXand
Fergu.sson,
ibid., pi.
LX and Xa (medial
lintel of the
north gate).
73
You
perceive already, and
we may resume
in
single
sentence, the immediate consequences of
this
important
observation.
Following always the same
trail,
we
shall
learn to recognize after the
symbolism of the
tree,
which
of the
betokens Buddha's attainment of Sambodhi,
that
wheel, which signifies his preaching, and finally that of the

stfipa
or tumulus, which
is
the
emblem
of his Parinirvdna.
comparison with the

in
stelce
on which the old school of

wâs pleased to
Amaravati
Southern India
group the
representations of the
settle
four great miracles will finally
our ideas on
all
these points ('). At the
same time
we shall
liarized
not only have identified roughly a good half of the
Sanchi bas-reliefs;
we
shall
moreover be
sufficiently fami-
with the secrets of the studio to be able to approach
with some chance of success the interpretation of the
remainder of the works.
IV
The Legendary
Scenes.
are,
Kindly bethink yourselves that
in fact the Acquisition of
Omniscience, the First Sermon

with the Nativity or the Vocaof the
and the Final Decease

tion,
the
it
four
chief episodes
Buddhist legend.
all
Now
is
scarcely necessary to say that

to
the scenes at
Sanchi
are dedicated solely
the illustration
of this
legend. In their chronological order they will

naturally into three
ject is
life,
be divided
their
categories, according
lives,
as
sublast
borrowed from the previous
from the
or from times subsequent to the definitive death of
the Blessed
One.
(1) See above, pi.
II.
74
To
known
and
begin with the past rebirths,
it is
sufficiently well
that these jdtakas, as the Indians call
them, are the

:
favourite subjects of the ancient sculptors of Barhut (')

this
time also
we
in
could not
put
ourselves to
better school to learn to read these riddles in stone.
For we
must constantly bear
mind
that
all
these bas-reliefs are
what our
illustrators call a stories
whhout words
only,
instead of depicting the successive episodes in a series of distinct pictures, the old Indian masters, like those of our
Middle
Ages, did not shrink from placing the incidents in juxtaposition or repeating the characters within one and the
same
it
panel.
a
Once we
are
aware
explain
of
their
this
procedure,
is
mere pastime
to
works and to
follow the edifiying thread of the story through the apparent disorder of the actors and under the accumulation of
genre details wherewith they like to crowd the subject.

Let us add that the pastime
as, in spite
is
all
the
more
(').
attractive
of certain failings in technical

gifts of
skill, wê
cannot
but admire the natural
our sculptors
In the scenes of the last hfe of the Master

course, find
we
shall,
of
there will
employed the same method of composition. But be added to it another convention, a most unexwere
not that
pected one, and one capable of completely baffling our

researches,
it
we have
already been
made
it is
aware of
it;
or rather, to
employ
a better expression,
(i) See above, Essay (2)
II.
;
We have not
it
noticed on the eastern gate any specimen oijdtaka
but,
in order that
may
let
not be thought that they were excluded from the reper-
tory of Sinchi,
us point out those of the elephant Saddanta on the poslintel
terior face of the
middle
of the southern gate (Fergusson, pi.
Mil),
of the rishi Ekagrihga, recognizable at once by his
one
frontal horn,
and of
prince Vi^vantara on the lower lintel of the northern gate (Fergusson,

pi.
Xl-Xa and XXIV,
3),
ol
the MaVdkapi and

pi.
vyama on the southern
jamb of the western gate (Fergusso.n
XVIII -XIX and XXXIV).
75
not that some element comes into increase the pictorial complication of the scene;
it
is,
on the contrary, something

is
which
is
wanting
in
it,
and that something

all
nothing
less
than the figure of the principal hero. In

tions of the biography of
that
these illustra-
the author
desires,
Buddha we shall except Buddha
find everything
himself.
It
is
already a
reliefs
good number of years
since the inscribed bas-
of Barhut, by informing us that a certain worshipper,
on by
his
knees before a vacant throne merely surmounted
a parasol or
marked by
symbol,
is
in the act of ador-
ing the Blessed
One
have placed beyond doubt this
invariable and surprising abstenance.
The Sanchi sculptures,

this
which on the whole are better preserved, tell us more on

point than do the ruins of Barhut.
already
From
these latter
we
had
knew
that the ancient school of Central India
not
at its disposal a
type of the perfect
of the middle lintel of our eastern gate,
Buddha the facade which represents the

:
Great Departure of the Bodhisattva

its
(pi.
X,
i),
proves
to us, in
turn, that
it
refrained
no
less
rigorously from
figuring the Predestined even before the Sainbodbi,
would have been so simple and so easy

the usual features of Vicvantara or
to
when it lend him

crown
some
other
prince
We
have here a
new
fact
and one of prime im-
portance in the limited sphere of Buddhist archaeology.

the
list
To
Buddha by a throne of stone, the imprint of two feet, awheel or some other emblem, we must now add the no less strange
of conventional representations of the
representation of the Bodhisattva by a horse without a rider
under an honorific parasol
(').
(i) See below, Catalogue, 11 a;

pi.
3,
cf.
likewise,
Cunningham, Barhut,
XX, i,and Fergusson,

etc.
Tree and Serpent JVorship, Amaravati, pi.
XCVI,
first
These
are precisely the facts of
which we have sought
in
our
essay to explain the origin and significance.
76
It
is,
however, episodes borrowed from the second part

last
of the
existence of the Master that form|the bulk of
the legendary scenes of Sanchi.
The
native artists did not,
in fact, resign themselves to reproducing solely
and always
the
same
great miracles, symbolized

:
by the
tree, the
wheel
illus-
or the
sti'ipa
they have
fulfilled their
undertaking to
trate in detail the career of Buddha

if this
without figuring him- As
prime
difficulty
a further
were not enough, they imposed upon

one, which has not up to
;
themselves
sufficiently
now
been
emphasized
we mean
the law to which they
submitted of not bringing on to the scene any

disciples but
laymen or any among the

conversion.
among the monks but heredeliberately pro-
tics prior to their
Thus they
posed to make us spectators of the Master's work, which

consists essentially in the foundation of a monastic order,
not only without our seeing the founder, but even without
our catching a glimpse of
a single
Buddhist monk.
When we
observe the ingenuity which they have displaved in the
accomplishment
not too
ot this
unpromising programme, we cannarrow limits within which they

itself to
much
regret the
have restricted themselves. The eastern gate, to speak only

of this one, does not limit
showing us
typical speci-
mens of this art, at once

els
teristic
so natural and so distorted. The pan-
of the southern jamb supply us in addition with a charac-
example of the manner
in
which, as
we have
indica-
ted, they explain
by
their propinquity each another.
On
the interior face (pi. IX, i) Beal had already recognized,
and verified more or less
satisfactorily in detail, three distinct
phases of the conversion of the thousand Brahmanic anchorites, disciples
of the three brothers Ka(;yapa. Prof. Griinwe-
del has included in the
same
series of
wonders the
picture of
the inundation, which occupies the centre of the front face.
Henceforth
we
believe
it
impossible not to conclude this

series, in
77
accordance with a fixed tradition, by recognizing
in the king just below,

visit to the Blessed
who
is
leaving his capital to pay a
One, Bimbisara, the famous sovereign of

the faithful
the neighbouring
town ofRajagriha(Rajgir) and

There remains
friend of the Master.
now
at
the top of this

:
same
face a representation of the
Sambodhi
if
we
is
reflect
that the site of this miracle,
namely Bodh-Gaya,
all
likewise
very near to Uruvilva (Urel), where
the episodes of
the conversion of the Ka^yapas take place,

last successful in
we
shall be at
penetrating the really very simple plan of

his
the artist
whether on
quence of the
intention
own initiative, or in conseexpress command of the banker Na'Jâpiya, his

to
was evidently
group on the same jamb legen-
dary events localized in the same district of the country of
Magadha
(').
However
served in
well the Indian school proper

its
may
have been
ungrateful entreprise by the
monotonous
character of this perpetual course of visits and preaching,
of conversions and offerings, which forms the career of
Buddha,
it
is
self-evident that
its
system of composition
subsequent
accommodated
itself infinitely better to subjects
to the Parinirvdm, the
only ones in which the absence of

plausible. If its regular
the Master's figure
became quite
development had not been very soon interrupted by the

adoption of the Indo-Greek type of Buddha, which came
from the north-west of India,

importance
to
it
led by the natural course of things to assign

this
would probably have been a growing

pictures, side
sort
of historical
by
side with the pictures of piety. Therefore,
we
do not hesi-
(1) See below. Catalogue, 8 et 9; also the interior face of the northern pillar of the same gate is consecrated to Kapilavastu {Cat. ^ 7),
the front face of the eastern pillar of the northern gate 10 the Jetavana of
(Jravasti
(Fergosson,
pi.
Xand
XI), etc.
6
78
tate to recognize at
once a few attempts of
this
kind
at
Sanchi, notably
pla^-ed
among
the bas-reliefs which are freely dislintels. It is
over the whole width ot the
scarcely
necessary to state that these scenes are not less legendary in

fact,
or less edifying in intention, than the others.
We shall
recall, first of all,
on the southern gate
that vivid represen-
famous war of the relics, which by an ironical return of the things of this world came near to being precitation of the
by the death of the Apostle of Benevolence. We know that fortunately it was averted ('): the Seven before Kucinagara at last obtained from the inhabitants of the
pitated
town
portion of the ashes of the Blessed
One; and each of

it
these eight co-sharers, keeping his portion or carrying
in
It
triumph to his native land,
built a sttipa in its
honour.
was these
eight original deposits
or rather seven of
them
that towards the middle of the third centurv B. C.
the famous Acoka,
piously sacrilegious,
violated,
with
the sole aim of distributing their contents

erable Buddhist sanctuaries
among
the
innumto
which were then beginning

lost in
be scattered
all
over India. As to the eighth, that of Ramathe jungle

;
grama,
it
seems to have been already
and
well-known
tradition (although not

it
known
to be
so ancient) will have
that in regnrd thereto the royal
pilgrim was confronted by the courteous, but definite refusal

of the Nagas,
who were
its
guardians.
Now
such, surely,
is
the spectacle offered to us, a century after the event, by the
(i) See Ferghsson, pi. VII et

pi.
XXXVIII (and comp. western

was
originally carved
it
gate, ibid.,
face of
XVIII
et
XXXVIII.
2)
is
this scene
on the
the lower
of
lintel,
and such
indeed the position assigned to

;
by the drawing
Cole, reproduced by Furgusson

of the western gate
but in the restoration this lintel a nd the
higher one were replaced back to front.

lintels
:
It
on the other hand COLE had

and the third.
was the same with the three in his drawing
inverted the order of the
first
EASTERN GATE OF SA.NCH1

central lintel of this very southern
79
(').
gate
hundred
create a
years are
amply
sufficient, especially in India, to
complete cycle of legends.

a
Reflect,
site
on
the other hand, that at
few paces from the future
of ihc gate
already caused his famous edicts to
Acoka had be engraved upon a
column. According to
all
probability the erection of this the building of the stupa,
column was contemporary with
which may very well be one of the
84.000
reli-
gious foundations ascribed to the devout emperor. Finally,
we have
reasons for thinking that the latter had remaindistrict

:
ed a kind of local hero in the

the immediate
at least
it
is
in
neighbourhood of Sanchi
that the
Mahdhelp
vanisa places the
romance of
his
youth with the beautiful

i\.ll
daughter of a rich citizen of Besnagar.
this
may
us to understand that two other pseudo-historic scenes
on our eastern gate may in the same way be borrowed from his cycle. The one on the reverse side of the lower
lintel (pi.
VII, 2)
stiipa,
must have some connection with the

if it
Ramagrama
is
not simply another version of

cited.
the legend which
we
have just
As
for the other
on
the
the front of the
same block, we cannot help believing

is
that
the solemn procession to the Bodhi tree (pi. X, 2)

figured echo,
in the
if it is
not the direct illustration, of a passage
Aôkavaddna
(*).
V
If at
the point at which
we have now
is
arrived
we
cast a
general glance over the gate which
the particular object of
(i)
F^RGUSSON,
xxiii,
pi.
VII; for the tradition compare Divydvaddna,

xi,
3''
p.
380;
Fa-hian, ch.
and Hiuan-tsang,
Kingdom.
and
cf.
(2) See below, Catalogue, 12 a and
b,
Divydvaddna,
p.
397
and sqq.
8o
our Studies,
that
we
shall be as surprised as
any one
its
to observe
we
is
are beginning to understand
mute language.
intenat
There
now
scarcely a part of
it
tion escapes us,
from the genii
whose meaning or which mount guard
the
foot to the Buddhist symbols which decorate the summit.
We
may, therefore, consider

I
that
we have accomplished
myself in conclu:
the bulk of our task, and
shall confine
sion to endeavouring to unite your impressions
this will
be the best
way
of summing up the various kinds of interest
which these sculptures may present.
at The keenest is to be found, perhaps among us who have a taste for antiquity
least for
those
in the very
expressive and complete picture that they give us of the

ancient civilization of India. Architecture both urban and
rural, furniture,
tools,
weapons, instruments of music,
standards, chariots, harness for horses and for elephants,
costumes and ornaments for
men and women
etc., all
these
concrete and precise details merely await to be detached by

a
draughtsman, in order to serve as authentic illustrations
to a future Dictionary of Indian antiquities.
And
side
by
side with this information,

itself
which
is
purely material, but in

gather concerif
so precious,
life
how much more may we
ning even the
of the courts, towns and hermitages,
we glance
successively at these anchorites, so busy around
their sacrificial fires (cf. further on, page 98); these
women
;
who
attend to their domestic occupations (page 95)
these
kings seated in their palaces or proceeding with great
pomp
through the
streets
of their capitals, before the curious
eyes of their subjects (pp. 91 and 93), etc. What is to be said then of the no less important information which these
sculptures furnish concerning the external forms of worship
and even of the
beliefs,
the features
worn
in popular imagi-
nation by genii and
fairies, as
also concerning the
manner

in
8i
which the religious conscience of the time conceived the
written tradition of
Buddhism
for specialists, and,
But these
doubtless,
are
questions reserved
of you are
more concerned for the aesthetic value, than for the documentary interest, of these old monuments. From this point of view you cannot have
failed to appreciate the perfect naturalness of the artists
many
who
all
worked
at
them, and
do not hesitate to praise above
the justness of their observation

ially in their
so remarkable espectheir
animals and trees
and the freedom of

You
execution, in spite of a certain clumsiness and a very par-
donable ignorance of our perspective.

a delicate
divine also what
problem
is
raised as to the determination ot the

in the general history
exact place of their
works
of
art. I
do
not think that anyone can reasonably contest the statement

that this school
ofBarhut and of Sanchi

all
is
a direct expres-
sion of Indian genius, with
the spontaneousness and
conventionality to be found in either.
And
in
making
this
statement
am
not thinking only of fundamentals, of the
thoroughly indigenous character of the subjects which the

art
proposed to
treat
even as regards
its
specially technical
relief,
proceedings, that extremely deeply incised

tant
that cons-
search tor
swarming
effects,
that
systematic over-
crowding of the whole available space

sory details,
it is
in the panel
by accesgold-
in the hereditary habits of the
wood and
its
if
ivory carvers of ancient India, not forgetting

smiths, that
I
should seek their origin. But,

thus attached by
all its
ancient
native
Buddhist
soil,
art is
roots to
its
we should
wild stock.
have to be wilfully blind not to see the
foreign shoots which have already ingrafted themselves

this
on
quantity of decorative motives have
appeared to us so directly borrowed from Persia that their importation can scarcely be explained otherwise than by
82

tliis is
an immigration of Iranian artisans. But
not
all
here and there, in bold foreshortenings, in the skilful plac-
ing of three-quarter length

balancing of groups
figures,
in
the
harmonious
in a
word,
in the detail of the
work-
ing process, as also in the general arrangement of the composition
we
detect
growing
traces of an influence
more
poli-
subtle and
more
difficult to disentangle,
but incomparably
more
tical
artistic,
which
in fact
had by the vicissitudes of
history been brought
Hellenistic models.
much nearer, the influence of Moreover, we now know from a reliable

penetrated as far
artists of Vidica
source that this influence had already

as there
;
and the native
could see quite

raised
close to their
town
the
column which had been
on
behalf of a local
rajah in
the reign of the Indo-Greek
king Antialkidas (about 175 B. C.) by the envoy Heliodoros, son of Dion, a native of Taxila
(').
But,
if
these bas-reliefs have deserved to hold your attenit is
tion for an instant,
not solely for what they teach us
or inspire us with a desire to

art
know
of the civilization and
of India
it is
also and especially for the curious
coman
parisons with our
own
religious art to
which they lend
themselves.
You have
first
surely observed
in every
among them
employment of symbols,
exhibited by the
way analogous
to that
Christian artists of the Catacombs at a

at their
time
when
they also had not
disposal an universally
parallelism of the
further
:
accepted image of the Saviour.
The
still
two
on,
developments might be pursued
and
later
when
in
both cases the type of the Master had been definiit
tely fixed,
would be no
less easy to find in
Buddhist
tra-
dition written evidence of the tendency, so well
known
to
(i)
The
quite recent discovery ol this inscribed pillar

J. R. A. S. 1909, p. 1053.
is
due to
Mr.
H. Marshall,

US, to authenticate the resetnblance, as
if it
83
were
a question
made from a Uving model Another feature which you must also have noticed in passing is the narraof a portrait
tive character
of the bas-reUefs, forthwith employed
to
relate edifying stories;
and
it
will not have escaped

altar screens
you
either that
we
find again
on the
of the Middle
Ages, and even on certain panels of the
first
Renaissance
for
example on those with which Ghiberti decorated the

at
doors of the Baptistery
Florence
the same procedures
of juxtaposition ot episodes and repetition of persons which
were already
in use at B-xrhut
andatSanchi. Thus these old
monuments, in exchange for the trouble which we have taken to become familiar with them, offer us ample material
for
comparisons of an interest more general and more
closely connected with us than
we
could have expected.
It is
of this that
wished
in
conclusion to remind you as a comrather
pensation
for
the perhaps
too
technical
subject
which circumstances,
posed upon us.
as told in
our preamble, have im-
SECOND PART
SUMMARY CATALOGUE OF THE SCULPTURES

[We have not deemed
cessful attempts
it
necessary to encumber this
short notice with a detailed account of the
which have already

them,
more or less sucbeen made with a view

essay of
to the interpretation of the sculptures of Sanchi.The principal publication treating of

after the first
(London, 1854), is thit of Fergusson, Tree and Serpent- Worship (2'-^ ed., London, 1873 reproducing the identifications proposed by Beal, Journ.
Cunningham, The
Bhilsa
Topes
of the Roy. As. Soc.,nQ\v series, V, 1871, pp. 164 and sqq.)
84

annotated by numerous
scale has
but the photographs, ahhough
drawings, are almost unusable, because their
been too
much
reduced, and the text, ruined by strange

all
theories, has lost nearly
value.
The same remarks apply

Famous Monuments
to the photographs of Sir Lepel Griffin,

oj Central
and of H. Cole, Preservation of National Monuments, India Great Buddhist Tope atSdnchi (1885), and
India,
:
to the text of F.
Maisey, Sdnchi and
its
remains
(LonBerlin,
don, 1892). Fortunately the moulding of the eastern gate,

given to the
a
Museum
in
fur
Volkerkunde
in
attracted in a very special
manner
the attention of Profes-
sor Griinwedel
(Êuddhistische
Chapter
of his celebrated Handbuch
Kunst
inlndien, 2^ ed., Berlin,

J.
1900; revised
in India,
and enlarged by Dr.
Burgess, Buddhist Art

pp.
Lon-
don, 1902, particularly
72-74).
We
are
in
perfect
agreement with the eminent archaeologists of Edinburgh

and Berlin
as regards the
method
to be followed
at the
same
time,
several
we must warn the reader once for all 'that on points we have arrived at conclusions somewhat
from
due
theirs.
If this treatise
different
marks any progress

it
w^hatever in the interpretation of the Sanchi bas-reliefs,

is
entirely
J.
to the excellent direct

at
photographs which
Mr.
H. Marshall has put
our disposal.]
The
sculptures which cover from top to bottom the eas-
tern gate of the siupa of Sanchi
may
be divided into
two
great categories, the decorative elements
and the Buddhist
scenes. In reality the line of demarcation between these
two orders of
subjects
is
at
times very
difficult to trace.
Many
lical
of the so-called ornaments have a traditional
symbo-
value, and, on the other hand, a great
edifying representations
distinction
is
tend
to
number of the pure decoration. The

practice.
justified,
however,
if
in
We
shall
avoid
many
useless repetitions,
we
decide to classify
EASTF.RN GATE OF SANCHl

in the first
85
category
all
all
those motifs
is
whose
character,
being before
ornamental,
sufficiently
emphasized by
the fact that they are symmetrically repeated on the
beams
or the uprights of the stone scaffolding which constitutes

the toram
(cf.
above, pp. 63-6).
THE DECORATIVE ELEMENTS

^
I
.
Decoration of the jambs.
Thus
left as
it is
that the
two jambs
of the gate, that of the north and that of the south,
or
more simply, of the

two of
tary.
right
and
you
enter,
bear on
their faces motifs
which
are evidently
complemen-
a) Their
ow/(?r
face
is
simply decorated with those pink
lotus flowers (^padma or
nelnmhim speciosum), which,
as
we
know, play
considerable part in Indian ornamentation
and symbolism.
is
To
the right a series of full-blown roses
enclosed within two waved garlands of these same flowgraced with buds and leaves.
ers,
To the
left
the principal
subject consists of a similar garland,
whose decoration
a
changes likewise between each
undulation of the chief

tortoise
branch
in addition Indian
swans (hamui) and
are intermingled with the flowers.

F) In the
two male
figures placed opposite each other at
the foot of the inner face of the
two jambs we must, from

spirits
analogy with Barhut, recognize the protecting

the eastern region, that
inusicians, the chief of
p.
is,
of
the Gandharvas or celestial

is
whom
Dhritarashtra
(cf.
above,
71). Nevertheless, they are presented siinply under the
appearance of great Indian lords,
wearing
turbans and
adorned with heavy jewels, earrings, necklaces and bracelets of precious stones. The ends of their long loin-cloths hang
in close little pleats in front; as for the
second part of their

is
costume, the
scarf,
whose usual function
to drape the
86

it
body, they wear
negligently tied
the ends of
it
round
with his
their
left
loins.
The one
pi.
holds up
hand,
whilst the other has placed his awkwardly on his hip (see
VIII, 2).
The
latter
holds in his right hand a Bignonia
flower, while the former has a lotus. Both are looking in

the direction of the sanctuary, and are leaning against a
background formed o( a Bignonia

tree bearing fruit.
in
blossom and
mango-
2. Capitah.
1 he great
capitals
which surmount the
two jambs of the

phants
eastern gate are decorated with
tame
ele-
(pi. VIll, i).
Four of these animals

pillar in
are placed very

their heads
ingeniously about each
such a
way that
form
round embossement
front
to the four edges of the corners.
Their harness consists of a rich head-stall (from wdiich
hang
in
of the ears
two pendants of
tasselled
pearls,
and
kept
behind
two
bells)
and
saddle-cloth,
in its place
by cords which pass under their bodies and

their backs.
form knots on
necks
The person
of distinction
place
was
their
seated astride in
:
the
most comfortable
fact,
on
holding in his hand the special crook
(jilikuga),
he
was
his
own
driver
and, in
we know
that in ancient
integral
India the art
of driving elephants
education.
formed an
part of a complete
Right on the elephant's
hind quarters crouches a standard-bearer,

in
who
doubtless,
the case of a rapid
motion, held on to the knot of

the
the
belly-band.
As
for
elephants themselves with
their trunks and
one of
their fore-feet slightly
bent back,
they are, as usual, admirably rendered. Formal leaves and

flowers decorate the upper part of the capitals.
tion
An
inscrip-
on the inner face of that

shall
to the left invokes imprecations

a single stone of the gate or
on whosoever
the railing.
remove
As
regards the
two
caryatids, see below,
a.
3.
87
Decoration of
the lintels.
The three
we
lintels
Hkewise
repeat
on both
their faces several
symmetrical forms of
decoration.
a)
On
the facade (pi. VIII, i)
shall note first three
kinds of false capitals, of a character quite Iranian, which,
continuing the two uprights, break through each
lintel.
On
two lower ones the decorative designs consist of winged lions, two of which are seated back to back,
the
while
a third protrudes
its
head and
through the space between them.
On
two front-paws the topmost one
they consist of two great fully harnessed draught oxen,

likewise seated back to back, but furthermore ridden by
two men.
a)
On
the reverse side (pi.
VII, 2) the corresponding sub:
same order two pairs of goats, with or without horns; two pairs of two-humped camels, likewise
jects are
in the
seated;
two
pairs of
horned
lions,
standing and passant. All
these animals serve as steeds for riders of both sexes and of

different types, native
and foreign.
One
of those
at the
sum-
mit has short hair, tied with a
fillet,
and
carries in his left
hand
^)
a piece of a vine-stock.
The
extremities of the lintels are uniformly decora-
ted both
on the observe and on the reverse by

seven
kind of long
tendril, rolled
times round
itself
and attached to
:
the whole by an
ornament of honeysuckle
and produces
this
a
this
makes
total of twelve snails,

effect. If
it
somewîat unfortunate
an attempt to imitate
were claimed that

it
is
the Ionic volute,

is
would have
to be
acknowledged that
it
inverted and executed in a

c)
most rudimentary
fashion.
The whole
is,
surface of the lintels unoccupied
by these
decorations
as a general rule, consecrated to legendary
scenes. There
is, it
seems, no exception to be made, except
upon the
facade and only on the projecting portions of the
88

lintels.
lower and middle
two
latter
pairs of peacocks
is
The former
a
are garnished with
triumph of graceful design,
which
to be found also
on the northern gate
and the
by wild elephants.
4. The supports.
We
agree to designate by this term
the four cubical blocks placed in the prolongations of the

uprights and the six uprights set in between the three lintels to separate
them from one another.

VIII, i) the lower support to the
left
a)
right
On
the
fafcick (pi.
and the upper one to the
both represent
feminine
a lotus
figure seated, with
one
leg
hanging down, upon

:
issuing from a lottery vase (hhadra-ghaia)
she holds in
same flower, and on two other lotuses at either side of her two standing elephants douse her, or are in the attitude of dousing her, with two pitchers held at the
her hand this
ends of their trunks.
We know
that this motif
is
preserved
even to our days in the representations of the Indian Fortune

:
but
we have
reasons for believing that this was not

(').
the original denotation
The
subjects of the
two other
corresponding panels belong, in any case, to the category

of Buddhist miracles.
preaching of
The one on
the
left
represents the
Buddha
by means of the Wheel of the

a parasol
Law
wor-
placed
on
as is
tree,
a throne
under
among
the usual
the right
shippers,
human and
divine.
The one on
shows
us
of his
lised
proved by the characteristically twisted floweret
the Messiah of Buddhism, Maitreya, symbocampaka or miga-pushpa (^Michdia champaka or
by
this
Mesua Roxburghii).
fl')On the rwc?-5C side of the gate (pi. VII, 2) the lower supports are decorated only with lotuses issuing from a hha-
(i) See above, p. 70, n.
i.

dra-gbata; but the
89
upper ones return to the legendary scenes
with
two
slupas
emblematic of the Purinirvdm of the

they complete the number.
these the symbols
Master, and quite similar to those on the front, of which,

as
we shall see below ( lo a), ^) One may connect with

railing
on
the
front of the six uprights,

a
symbols usually enclosed between

:
and merlons
namely, formal Bodhi-trees and

the
columns surmounted by the Wheel of

lion simply.
b')
Law
or by
Behind they are
all
covered with the same ornamentais
tion, in
which the lotus
united with the honeysuckle.
rical
The detached figures.
To exhaust the
in full
list
of
symmetthan
to
subjects,
nothing further remains for us

relief
enumerate the detached figures

page 66, and
a)
p.
pi.
(cf.
above,
VIII, i).
cf.
The most
interesting are the fees Qyakshini,
above,
70),
who, with the curve of the mango-tree from which
they hang by the two arms, form so ingeniously decorative a bracket.
Only
the figure
on the
right
is
preserved.
Like the men, she wears a long dhoti; only

a
it is
made
is
of
more transparent
form of
a
material.
Her
hair, curiously erected
in the
brush on the top of the head,
spread
the In
over the back (instead of being gathered in a

case, for instance,
plait, as is
with the female dancers of 6
a).
addition to earrings, necklace and bracelets for the wrists,
she wears ankle-rings, which
come
nearly up to her knees,

toilet,
and the
characteristic feature of
an Indian woman's
the rich belt of jewelry which covers the loins. In confor-
mity with the custom of the ancient school, the sex

indicated.
b)
is
The few smaller figures to be found on this gate which we may complete in our thoughts by analogy
90
with the northern gate
comprise also another
fairy in a
different pose, three elephants, in each case
mounted b}- two
persons, and a miserable vestige of a lion.
As for the symbols at the summit, they were three in number. At the top of each upright two, of which one is
c)
still
in its place, represented the top of a flag-staff. In the
middle
on
a pedestal probably
formed of four
lions,
stood two worshippers bearing fly flappers finally the ancient solar symbol of the wheel, placed at the service of the Good Law.
flanked by
The Legendary
Scenes.
After this rapid sketch of the decorative elements

enter
we
upon
a necessarily
much
it is
iTiore detailed
examination
it is
of the religious scenes.
For
self-evident that
emin-
ently these that need explanation.
We
faces,
will begin with those
which
jambs.
are figured
namely
the front and the interior

in the
on the two ones, which hold

motif
the place of
honour
We
have already seen
that their exterior faces bear only
one decorative
left
a).
As
regards their rear faces, they
no space
above the balustrade, except for two

analogous to those which
the
little
bas-reliefs,
we
have already noticed on

a')
:
supports
(cf.
4 a and
taken
all
together,
they represent in the
same stereotyped inanner, by the

tree,
pretended adoration of the
the wheel and the slupa,
the three great traditional miracles of the Illumination,
the Preaching, and the Death of Buddha.

6. Front face of the right
jaiiih.
This facade
:
is
decorated
with four superposed buildings
the lower one has onlv
one story; the middle ones have two, both covered with a rounded roof, in which are open bays in the shape of a

horse-shoe
;
91
the top one has one story, surmounted by an
uncovered
a
terrace,
which
It
is
is
surrounded on three sides by
group of buildings.
difficuk in the present state of
the stone to judge of the distribution of the persons on the
lower panel; but the

into three
five
following ones, divided likewise
compartments by columns with or without

all
Persepolitan capitals, are
composed
in the
same manner.
is
The
centre
is
occupied by a divine personage, as

in his right
proved
by the thunderbolt which he holds

the vase of ambrosia in his
for the rest conceived in the
left.
hand and
is
God though
he be, he
image of an Indian king. Behind
him stand
on
left
the bearers of his parasol and fly-flapper, insignia
of his royalty; on his right, in the same surroundings, but

a slightly lower seat,
is
his viceroy (jipardja).
At
his
is
are seen the musicians
and dancers of
is
his court. It
well
known
life.
that this concert-ballet
according to Indian
a
ideas the indispensable
accompaniment of
happy mun-
dane
Indications of trees form the background.
On
the upper terrace, as on a balcony, lean

likewise fanned by
two other gods,
women.
have enumerated above (p. /[) the reasons which mihtate in favour of the identification of this series of stories
We
with those of the Buddhist paradise. They would there-
fore serve respectively as dwelling-places, (i) for the
Four
Great Kings
guardians of the four cardinal points (the

all
necessity of housing
absence of bayaderes in
them would explain the the compartment to the right of the

four of
that their subordinate cha-
lower panel,
racter
at the
same time
would
justify the line of
demarcation traced by the
roof of the palace between them and the following ones);
(2)
Gods
for the Thirty-three

for those ruled
and (3)
Gods over whom Indra reigns, by Yama; (4) for the Satisfied
(^Tushitd),
among whom the Bodhisattva resided before
92
EASTERN GATE OF SANCHI
hislast re-descent
upon
of their
own
creations; (6) and
earth; (5) for the
Gods who dispose
finally, for those
who
even dispose of the creations of others, and whose king

Mara,
God
of Desire and Death, extends his empire over
the five lower heavens.

terrace, they
As
for
the
two persons on the

still
would represent
eyes, those of
the last divinities
visible
to
our
human
Brahma's world.
7.
Inner face of the right jamb.
This
to us
.
face,
according to
Fergusson, presents an exceptional interest, only subject

at
being the
Sanchi that
it
bute to Buddhism, as
is
we known
can, with certainty, attri-
To-day
it is
better
known; but
wise, the
(c
the representation, on the upper extremity of
the middle bas-relief, of the
dream
ot
Maya
,
little
otherdescends
conception of the Bodhisattva
who
into his mother's
bosom
in the
form of a
elephant
remains certainly
in this case the pivot of all identification.
We know that
it is
this scene, so strange to
our eyes, in which
pachyderm which
, is
plays the part of the
dove
in
our
Annunciations
:
itself certainly identified
by the Bar-
hut inscription
The
Descent of the Blessed
One
Consequently,
we might
be tempted to see in the upper
bas-relief a picture of the Bodhisattva in the
heaven of
the Tushita gods at the
moment when
he prepares to be
born again in the royal
family of Kapilavastu. But the
sculptor prevents us from going astray in that direction by
which he has taken to represent before and behind the empty throne obviously the same king and the same
the care
tree
which we
find again at the
bottom of the lower panel.

he
is
He could not more

(7)lf
all,
clearly indicate that
referring us to
the latter to find the solution of the enigma.
we
turn then to that (pi. IX, 2),
we
shall find, first
of
in the centre of the
composition
this
same
king, about
EASTERN GATH OF SANCHl

to set out with great
93
town of
pomp from one of the gates of his good Kapilavastu. He is in his chariot, accompanied by
As
is
the three usual servants, the driver, holding the reins and the whip, the parasol and fly-flapper bearers.
cus-
tomary, the horses, whose head-adornment

have their long
tails
is
very high,
carefully
tied
up
to the harness,
doubtless in order that they
may
not inconvenience the

left
occupants of the chariot. At their
the archers of the

city,
guard stand out along the ramparts of the

front
and in
march the herald and the seven musicians of the royal

blowing oblique
flutes
orchestra,
and
shells or beating
streets
drums. Behind we perceive, emerging from the

of the town, a brilliant suite
mounted on horses and
ele-
Through the balconies of the verandas mostly women, protrude their heads, curious
phants.
spectators,
to see the
procession of the feudal cortege of king
Cuddhodana and
his peers, the noble lords of the race of (âkva.
Where
idea
is
are they
going? Not
all
far,
it
seems, into a park

first
near the town, where

that they are
have dismounted; and the
theatre of the
going to the famous park of Lumbini, Nativity , which may be presaged by the
scene (at the top oi the panel) of the

there
is
Conception
But
nothing to corroborate
all
this hypothesis.
The king
and the âkyas appear indeed
occupied in contemplating
with clasped hands some miraculous event: but their eyes

are raised into the
air,
and the object towards which they are

above
turned
is
a small rectangular slab, stretched exactly

It
their heads.
cannot take us long to recognize
in this slab
the promenade of precious stone (Skt. ratna-cahkrama)
which Buddha created by magic

sion of his
(i)
first
in
the air
on the occa(').
return to his native

III,
town of Kapilavastu
the
Mahdvnstii,
p.
113;
,
Commentary on
st.
Dhanimapada, ed.
Fausb0ll, p. 334;
Mahdvamsa XXX,
Si, etc.
7
94

legend
is
The
between the
known on the occasion of this meeting father, who had remained a king, and the son,
well
:
who
other
had become Buddha,
most
delicate
question of
etiquette
had arisen
which of the two should salute the
first?
The
Blessed
One
escaped the difficulty by the
miracle which the sculptor has endeavoured to represent as

well as he could
representation of
b)
with his limited means and without

himself.
still
Buddha
Apparently he was
somewhat
distrustful of the
intelligence of his spectators; for, in ordertogive

cision,
more
the
preleft
he has been careful to put in the
first
row at
nyagrodha tree surrounded by a balustrade. This Ficus indica

(clearly distinguished
it is
from the
dgvattha or Ficus religiosa, as

left
represented, for instance, on the face of the
jamb)
is
evidently intended to symbolise by itself the nyagrodhaat
drama
sion
the gates of Kapilavastu, which on the
same
occaresi-
king Cuddhodana assigned to his son for a

the
dence. Henceforth
meaning of the upper

clear
bas-relief
becomes, reciprocally,
enough.
It
represents in the
same
under
elliptical
manner
the
Buddha
seated
upon
a throne,
this
same
nyagrodha, in the before-mentioned hermi-
tage; and the said king, his father
always
to be recogniits
zed by the spindle-shaped object kept in

buckle of
place
by a
renders gems on the top of his turban homage to him for the third lime , whilst the (Jakyas, whose pride has been broken by the miracle, imitate his example. As always, the tree is adorned with garlands and
surmounted by
a parasol of
honour, whilst
griffons,
in the
heavens
two
divinities,
mounted on
bring
still
and two others, half
man and half bird,

to rain
more garlands or cause flowers
down.
is
But what now

ception
,
the point of the motif of the
Con-
thus intercalated between two episodes which

took place more than simple
;
95
forty years after?

:
The answer
is
it is
there solely to say ; and

it
the action takes place at
Kapilavastu
is
just this
which explains why,
in
spite of its traditional importance,
it is
treated in so secon-
dary a manner. he attached a
What
else could
our sculptor do, unless
label, as at
Barhut? He has taken care to

that
supplement by the addition of the nyagrodha the somewhat
summary
is
indication of the ralna-cankrama. For the
rest,
for the royal procession, he has given free play to his
spirit
of observation and his taste
for the
picturesque,
at
trusting in the
means which otherwise he has put

point
our
disposal for localizing the event and identifying the prota-
gonists
and,
if on this
we
have, as
we believe, arrived
to the docility
at a definite interpretation,
it is
solely
owing
with which
we have
followed his indications.

at the foot
For the person standing
of the jamb and the

i
/
one opposite to him we must
refer to
above.
8. Inner face of
the left
jamb.
For the general sense

said
of
the bas-reliefs of this
jamb and the link which connects
them we must
a)
refer to
what was
above on pages 76-7.
We
will begin this
time with the upper panel of the

represents the rural country
inner
face.
Apparently
it
town
of Uruvilva, whose immediate approaches had been a few
months previously the scene of the Sambodhi, and

after
later
Buddha's
first
journey to Benares
at
of the conversion
are
of the Kacyapas. Above,
the
left,
women
a
doing
their
household work on the thresholds of

ing
rice in a
it
their huts;
one is husk;
wooden mortar with
huge
pestle
another
winnows
with a fan in the form of a shovel; two neigh-
bours are one of them rolling out pastry-cakes and the other
grinding curry-powder.
The
attention of the latter seems
to be distracted by the (perhaps amorous) conversation of
96
the
man
seated beside her. Further

pitchers
down
to the right
their hips
two
are
more wômen with round

going
in the direction
Lilafij),
upon
of the river Nairanjana
(now
the
where
are
a third is already
stooping to
fill
her ghali.
coming and going, the bamboo-pole on their shoulders laden or empty. It is the village life of two thousand years ago
is
:
Some men
it
is
also the village
life
of to-day, and there
not one of the utensils represented there that

in use.
we
have
not somewhere seen

sheep add
consist
to
?
Troops of oxen,
buffalos, goats,
its
life
to the picture. In
what does
edification
is felt
Simply
in this, that the invisible
Buddha
be seated under a parasol and on a throne, behind

are standing. Before the gate of the
is
which two devotees

village a third person
likewise to be seen, with his hands

is
clasped
and the
attitude of this villager
the only connec-
ting link between the genre scenes, so complacently treated,
and the religious subject, which
is
decidedly a
little
sacrificed.
As for the two worshippers, we

and Brahma, paying a
oldest of the
believe, after care-
lully
weighing everything, that we must recognize in them

visit to
to,
the gods Indra
the Bles-
sed
One
in his residence,
which was near
but distinct
from, that of the
Kacyapas, the Kacyapa
of Uruvilva. This interpretation not only has the advantage of connecting the subject
with the series of won-
ders which in the end determined the conversion of the
Brahmanical ascetics
it
also provides a place moreover for
the third and fourth of those pnltihdryas, besides containing
an implicit allusion to the second, in the order in which the
Mahavagga
the night,
ally
(i,
16-18) counts them.
If
it
is
objected that
these miracles are given in the text as taking place during
we shall
reply that our sculptors have systematic-
ignored this
detail, for
the very
(cf.
good reason
1 1
that
it
was
not within their competence
below,
a).

b)
97
However
the case
may
be,
the panel
immediately
victory over
below represents patently the miracle of the

the wicked serpent , the
first in
the version of the
Mahdat
vagga, the last in that of the Mahdvastii.
Buddha has been

in
allowed by the oldest of the Kacyapas to pass the night,

his
own
risk
and
peril, in
fire-temple,
it
spite of the
redoubtable ndga which inhabits

at
(pi. IX, i).
The
latter
once attacks him, and the two struggle together
for a
long time, smoke against smoke, flame against flame,

until the final defeat of the dragon.
This
is
why we
.
here
see flames escaping
by the horse-shoe bays

if it
in the
rounded
roof of the temple, as

pillars
were
prey to
fire
Through the
(or rather
supporting the roof, between the
fire altar
1
vessel of fire)
and the five-headed hood of he serpent you
see the throne of the invisible
Buddha.
On either side
Brah-
manic anchorites, characterised' by their high conical-shaped head-dresses and their bark-garments, are contemplating
with surprise or respect the victory of the Blessed One,
whilst below, to the
to
left,
three
young novices
are hastening
if
go and
fill
pitchers at the Nairaujana. Their intention,
we
are to believe the
analogy of Gandhara
fig.
(cf.
Art
is
greco-
boiiddhique
du Gandbdra,
224, 225
b,
etc.),
to use
them
in extinguishing the fire.
On
the right
an ascetic
made his report to the old Kacyapa, seated on a rolled-up mat (brishi) on the threshold of his round hut, with
has just
its
roof of haves
(^parnafdld')
a
is
band
is
passed round his
knees and loins, and his head

cushion. In front
river.
is
leaning upon an esparto
row of
trees
along the bank of the
The instruments of the Vedic sacrifice, an elephant, antelopes, two buffalos, which lift their heads with an air
of alarm, trees swarming with monkeys, complete or close

the picture of the hermitage.
is
On
the whole, the miracle

to the sculptor.
related as minutely as
was possible
The
98

is
whole question
middle bottom,
lines, lotuses
is
to find out whether he has not sought, in
accordance with his habit, to combine two subjects. At the
indicated usual by waved and aquatic birds an adult anchorite, who

in the river
as
about to bathe, seems to be watching a fire-cauldron,
placed in unstable equilibrium on the edge of the water.

If
we remember
that
one of the wonders accomplished by

fires, in
Buddha
bath,
consisted precisely in creating
order to
allow the Brahmans to
warm
this
themselves on leaving the
we cannot
I,
help asking ourselves whether
we have not
(cf.
here
at least
one allusion to
{miher pnltihdrya
Mahd-
vagga,
c) In
20, 15).
case,
any
two, or even three, miracles are grouped

again,
it is
on the next small panel. Here

treated in a picturesque
it is
understood, the
intention of edifying does not prevent the scene from being
manner. After the
life
of the village
the
life
of the hermitage that
On the
right
two anchorites
we have before our eyes. are sphtting wood by means of

must be made of stone; two
axes which,
if
we may
judge from their inassive appearance
and the form of
their handles,
others are occupied in lighting fires, and a fifth holds in

his
hand
a sacrificial spoon, whilst

a
two novices
are car-
rying on their shoulders the one
fagot of logs and the
other a double basket of provisions.
Among
of
the trees at the
back a sacred tumulus, as
is
proved by the balustrade surrelics
rounding
it,
must enclose the
some
superior of the
(').
community, and thus gives the
last
touch of local colour
(i)
We
may
(a
notice that the form
of this slupa
In
is
the most ancient of

its
which Indian
circumference
art
has preserved the image.
the objects decorating
long shell, a double basket (?). and a large conch) we should like the oar planted by tlie companions of Ulysses on be disposed to see
the tumulus of Elpenor

lifetime.
the
implements used by the deceased during his
EASTERN GATE OF sANCHI
99
Bul
at
for the initiated all the details
of the decoration have
the
same time an edifying
signification.
The
texts tell us,
in fact, that according to the will of the Blessed
One these
logs and these fires alternately refused and consented, the
former to allow themselves to be

themselves burn. That
rites
is
split
and the
latter to let
why, on the right, one of the anchoair,
continues to hold his axe in the

it
without being
able to lower
(');
whilst his neighbour has just succeeded

splitting his piece of
that,
by a lucky stroke in
for the
wood.
It
is
also
are
same reason
of the two Brahmans
who
lighting their fires
by fanning them with esparto screens,
the one in the second
row cannot succeed

first
in obtaining
any by
flame whatever, whilst the one in the

blaze up brightly.
the Mahdvagga
(i,
row
sees his fire
These two miracles

20, 12-13) '" the
are related to us
same
breath. But
what
then would be the role of the anchorite on the
left?
We
426,
imagine that we must turn to the Mabdvastu

1.
(III, p.
13-18)
for the
answer. His attitude suffices by
itself to
indicate the twofold marvel,
which
is
perfectly analogous
to the preceding ones, of the offering
which
at
at first will
not be detached from the spoon, then

fall
last
consents to
in the shape of a snail
doubled up
into the sacri-
ficial pile (pi.
IX, i)-
9.
fl)
Front
face
of the
left
jamb.
Nevertheless, in order to overcome the arrogance of
the old Brahman, there was need of another miracle,
whose
to be
decided importance was of sufficient value to cause
it
(i)
1.
We
borrow
this
interpretation
from the Mahdvastu,

it
III,
p.
428,
4-8, but without concealing from ourselves the fact that
may
just as
well have been conceived afterwards in view of a bas-relief analogous to the one at Sinchi.
loo
placed
upon
the front of
tlie pillar,
as
it
forms the denou20, 15

;
ment of
heavy
the episode in the

:
Mahavagga
followed
(i.
wanting
in the Mahdvastti)
rain,
At
this
time there
.
fell
out of season a
will understand
and
a great flood
You
henceforward
why
the Nairanjana has risen to the point
of washing the lower branches of the trees, to the greatest

terror of the
monkeys who have taken
refuge there, and also
to the evident satisfaction of the water birds

crocodile.
and even of a
On
the swollen waters of the river old Kacyapa
hastens
ascetics
in
a curiously jointed
canoe, attended by
two
at
with paddles, to the assistance ot the Blessed One.

latter
But the
has
left
his seat (relegated to the
bottom
the right of the composition), and has formed for himself

a
(c
promenade
feet
)),
which allows him to walk about with
dry
in the
midst ot the wild waters. This time the
anchorite cannot but recognize the transcendent superiority
of his host
the
when we
make
see
him again below, standing on

he
is
bank with
his disciples,
turning his back towards
us, in order to
in the direction of the master's cfl/errtw
the gesture of submission or ahjali(^).

/')
There remains then
to be explained the panel

it
immeevery-
diately below.
capital
:
Once more
represents a king leaving his

spectators,
(7.
chariot,
music, guards, suite,

is
thing, even the architecture,

notice the
similar to 7
Only we
right to
way
in
which the rampart of bricks goes
the top of the panel, in order to separate the citv from the
(i)
It
appears to us that the ingenious suggestion thai

:
lie
has prostrated
his
himself must be put aside

disciples could
for in that case

;
we could not understand how
remain standing
8
besides, the flowers placed near
scattered almost everywhere in the picture and are
him are found likewise on one of
the preceding bar.-relicfs

sition to the
h).
identification of the
cankrama
Also, the analogy of 7 is in oppoof the Blessed One with the

the cod India.
great washing-stone brought to
him on another occasion by
EASTERN GATE OP SANCHl

scene which takes
|)lacc'
loi
on
its
:
outskirts.
The
first
thing
is
to
know the nameofthe town but this time it is to the neighbouring scenes that we must address our questions. We have
already seen above (p. 77) that they reply unanimously
is
:
it
the capital of Magadha.
The
texts for their part agree in
telling us that
immediately
after the
conversion of the Kacya-
pas and their thousand disciples the Blessed
One,
at the
head of his
griha,
new community
the gates of the
(').
of saints, repaired to Rajareceived the solemn visit

tlie
and
at
town
of King Bimbisara
In accordance with
usual cus-
tom
road
the king advanced in his
good
chariot as far as the
would allow a carriage to pass; then he descended and went on foot towards Buddha. This is what he is doing at the top on the left, followed by one sole companion, whose
duty
is
to represent in his
own
person the king's innume-
rable cortege. Before the
empty throne of the Blessed One
conventional indications of water and rocks succeed, in

deQiult ot a
wood
As
of bamboos, in particularizing the location

hill
of the scene on the of Rajgir

(').
Antagiri near the famous hot springs

it
:
for the rest of the story,
must
naturally
be supplemented by the help of the texts

people of
the king and the
Magadha wonder
is
at first
concerning Buddha and
old Kacyapa, which the public
the master and
which the
disciple;
question.
homage of the old anchorite will soon decide the If we see nothing of all this, it is because the
all
Sanchi bas-reliefs systematically omit
representation
(i) Mahdvagga,
etc.
I,
22; Mahivastii,
III, p.
441-449
140
Divydvadaiia. p. 393,
(2) Cf.
Cunningham, Arch.
Reports, III, p.
fixed the position of

hill
the
Bamboo
Forest to the south-west of Rajgir, on the

It is
lying
between
the hot- springs of Tapoban and old Rajagriha .
precisely by the Gate

xvi,
of the Hot Springs
(Japoda-dviira)
that the
LaUta-V istara,
makes
Buddha
for the first time enter Rajagriha.
102
not only of Buddha, but also of his

p. 73). It is
monks
(cf.
above,
easy to observe
how
infinitely clearer the sole

series of epi-
representation of the latter
makes the same
sodes on one of the pillars of the balustrades of Amaravati
(Fergusson,
fig.
pi.
LXX,
or Aii greco-bouddh.
du
Gandh.,
228).
c) Finally,
every one must recognize
at
the top of this
same
tree
face, in the religious fig-tree (aQvalthd)
surmounted,
genii, the
as usual,
by
a parasol
and inhabited by winged
and the symbol of the perfect
Bodhi of the Blessed
One Cakya-Muni
gous
bas-relief at
of this the inscription on an analo-
Barhut convinces us. In both cases we
find at the foot of the
same
tree the
is
same throne, surmoundouble

at
ted by the
same symbol (which
Barhut), and,
about the offshoot of the branches, the same temple open

to the sky.
We may
the
safely aver that this strange sanc-
tuary
built
is,
at
earliest,
that
which Aôka had piously

centuries after
is
around the sacred
tree,
:
more than two
the death of the Master
but this flagrant anachronism

are perfectly
all
one of those
to
which we
all
accustomed
in the
religious art of
times and
countries, and does not in
any wise prevent the picture from relating to the very miracle of the Illumination of Buddha. Perhaps it has not
been observed with sufficient attention that the analogy of
Barhut forces us to establish a close connection between

this scene
and the double row of people contiguous to

while
it
the
whole
it,
difference co.nsists in the fact that here they are

in the
above
former case they are below; but the
inscriptions prove that they are different categories of Gods,
and must be regarded as grouped

the SamhodhiC). Henceforward
(i) For the bas-reliefs see
in
adoration
at the
four
cardinal points of the tree, as happened at the
moment
and
of
we must
here also recogXIV,

1,
Cunningham, Barhul,
pi.
for thff

nize in the
103
four worshippers
at tlic
bottom
the
four
great kings ,
whoHve
in
our atmosphere, to the right those

left
of the east and the south, to the

west.
those of the north and
The
ten persons of the
first
row, counting two
for
each heaven, would then indicate the kings and viceroys of the five other paradises of the Kamavacaras, just as on
the
hce of the other
pillar (
6) they happen to be repre-
sented in their heavenly palaces; then the eight gods in the
row above, of whose bodies

form
half
their counterpart
is
(as in the case of the
two who
on the upper terrace on the

in
right) only
seen,
would represent
us
(cf.
twos the inhabitants of the

last that
four stages of Brahma's heaven, the

sculptor to
we may ask
a close
the
show
above,
p.
71).
Thus
exami-
nation reveals, under the evident striving after variety in

the
outer forms, a striking carefulness in balancing the
intrinsic
importance and the religious value of the subjects

faces of the twô jambs.
on the symmetrical
10.
Upper
lintel.
We
shall find traces of the
same
carefulness
side
on the two
faces of the lintels,

(cf.
where, side by
above, 3), great Buddhist compositions also are to be found. will begin
with symmetrical decorations
We
our study of them
at
the top, a
method which
will appa-
rently allow us to follow a certain chronological order in
reviewing the scenes.

a)
Thus
it is
that thQjrontal of the gate

a
is
occupied from
one end to the other by
symbolical representation of the
inscriptions Holtz^cm, /;/i. Aiitiijuary,
XXI,
p. 235. Let us
notice also on
the front face of the lower lintel of the western gate (the back face of the
same
lintel in
the restoration of to-day, and the front face of the upper lintel
pi.
in the
plan of Cole ap. Fergusson,

is
XVIII) that the defeat of Mara's
army by Buddha
represented beside a Bodbi tree,
which
is
already sur-
rounded by his temple.
104

last
seven
Buddhas of the
past, typified alternately
by the
tumulus of
(pi. VIII, i).
their Parinirvana
and the
tree of their
Samhodhi
two trees at his disposal, considered it his duty to give the honour of being placed on the fronton to the first and the last Buddha of
sculptor, having only
The
the series
in fact,
by comparison with the reverse
side,
one can
siiipa,
distinctly
recognize on the right of the central
the Bignonia of Vipacyin, and
on the
left
the sacred
fig-tree of
Gautama, otherwise
called
Qakya-muni.
On
the
other hand, the
two missing tumuli

(cf.
are restored
on the two
upper supports
fl')
of the reverse side, so as to
com-
plete the traditional
number. This observation allows us to

aesthetic scruple alone prevented tlie
stiipas in a
suppose that some

artist
from placing the seven

face he did
row on
the fiicade,
as
on the other
For the
not hesitate to do with the

p. 72).
seven corresponding trees (cf. above,

IJ)
rear fa^cule (pi. VII, i)
it
will be sufficient to
bas-reliefs at
give, according to the text
and the inscribed
Barhut, a
list
of the seven Buddhas and their respective

are, in the
left
BodUdrumas. Here they
order in which they are
presented, going from right to
of the spectator
Vipacyin
(?<;//
Vipassin).
PataW {Bignonia suaveokns).
Cikhin (P. Sikhin).
Pundarika (Mangifcra
[and not iiyinphaa]').
Vi^vabhu (P. Vessabhu).
(âh {Shorea robusta).

îrisha (Acacia
sirissa).
Krakucchanda (P.
sandha).
KakuKona-
Kanakamuni
gamana).
(P.
Udumbara
rata}.
{Ficits
ghme-
Kacyapa (P. Kassapa).
Nyagrodha
(^Ficiis
indica).
Gautama
It
(P. Gotama).
Acvattha {Finis
religiosa).
will be well likewise to connect with this series the

representation, on
105
one of the upper supports of the hqade,
of the tree of the eighth and future
Buddha
of our age,
Maitreya (d. 4<7)-
II.
to the
pictures
Middk
lintel
The middle
Hntel,
which
is
closer
eye of the spectator,
replaces
these symbolical
by two episodes, borrowed, the one from the youth,
the other from the career of (âkya-muni.
75) what from the point of view of Buddhist iconography

rt)
Front
face.
We
have already stated (above
p.
constitutes the chief interest of the central panel (pi.
X,
i).
On
a
the
left
we
perceive the stereotyped representation of

in its
is
town, proved by the context to be Kapilavastu,
streets
and
at its
windows
:
the customary animation

it
to be
seen
(of. 7
a and 8 h)
is
clear that the sculptor has

fact
not troubled himself in the least about the

course he
knew
as well as
we do
which of
on
his
that the escape of the
Bodhisattva took place during the night.
The
latter,
good horse Kanthaka,
is
passing through the city gate for
the great departure
{Mah'ibhinishkmmand)
less
and we
but on
can follow, to the right, in no
than four successive

:
editions, the progress of his miraculous course
each occasion the embroidered rug which serves as a saddle

to his steed
is
presented to us without a rider. Each time

is
also the cortege
the
same
Chandaka, the
;
faithful atten-
dant, holds, as usual, the parasol
four
Gods
are lifting the
horse's feet, in order,
it
was thought,
that the
sound of
his
shoes might not give the alarm; another has taken possession of the fly-flapper
:
two
others,
who
at first are
dwarfs,
but for the sake of variety, strangely enough, grow bigger
by degrees
waving
as they advance
;
towards the
right, are carrying
the ewer and the sandals
next, others are throwing flowers,
their scarves, or beating the
heavenly drums.
When
io6
the right jamb of the gate forces the sculptor to end the
series of his repetitions, the attendant
it is
and the horse
are, as
is
written, taking leave of their Master. But the latter
figured only by the gigantic imprint of his feet,
marked by
parasol.
the wheel and
surmounted by the fly-flapper and the

bottom on the
in
right,
Finally, at the
Chandaka
is
returning
(in
to the house, leading with

his right
him Kanthaka and bringing

kind
hand and
of wallet slung over his

prince has just taken
life.
shoulder) the jewels which the

off for ever, in order to
young
embrace the religious
The three
are,
persons, at once both edified and contrite,
who follow,
doubtless, the emissaries
whom
king ûddhodana vainly
charged to bring back his son.
Such
still
is
the manifest
meaning of
this
long scene
but
have to account
it,
for the sacred tree
the parasol surit,
we
mounting
of
this
and the
railing
sacredness
which surrounds
are a proof
which occupies the centre of the

there for reasons of
panel. Assuredly
this position of
it is
symmetry
it
but
honour demands
this
also that
shall
have a
meaning
and
meaning
will
it
come
to us the very
moment
ningham,
jambn
art,
that
we
recognize in
(thanks always to the
comparison with the inscribed bas-relief of Barhut, Cunpi.
XLVIII,
1) a jainbu tree {Eugenia jambu).
tree so close to Kapilavastu
cannot be,
in
Buddhist
anything but the one whose shadow ceased one day
to turn to the sun, in order to continue to shelter
the
first
meditation
notice
of the
still
young Bodhisattva.
We
shall
how
three persons,
without ceasing to associate
themselves with the principal action, form around the tree

of the miracle the necessary group of worshippers.
the artist has been able to
Thus
in
combine most ingeniously

a
one and the same picture
summary
indication
of the
commencement, and a detailed
representation of the dt^noue-
EASTERN GATE OF SANCHl ment, of the religious vocation of the Predestined.
107
And who
can say even whether the quadruple repetition ot the horse
and the procession leaving the town were not connected

in his
mind with
the intervening episode of the famous
four outgoings ,
which by the successive encounter
with an old man, a sick person, a dead

revealed to the future
man and
life
monk,
and the
Buddha
the miseries of
only way of salvation?

b")
Rear
face.
In case the
good sculptor had
still
further intentions,
may we be pardoned by his ashes, if we cannot perceive them! May he pardon us above all, if we cannot grasp exactly with what episode of the legend we
must connect the scene
of the middle
that covers the
whole reverse
side
lintel. It is,
muni who
is
supposed to
no doubt, the Buddha Cakyabe seated on this empty throne,

it is
since the tree

similar to the
which
shelters
Holy
left
Fig-tree, exactly
one which decorates the
projection of the
upper hntel.
On the other hand, the Blessed One is evidently

the sole companionship of the beasts
far in the jungle, in
assembled to do him homage and belonging as

the
much
to
kingdom of phantasy
and two
as to the
kmgdom
of nature. First
of
all,
there are four lions guarding his throne,

in profile
;
two seen
in
full face
then buffalos and antelopes,

;
observed and rendered in a marvellous manner and further-
more
birds,
some
see
wîth,
and some whhout
crests,
bearing
flowers and fruits in their beaks. Side by side with these real
animals
we
faces
dream-monsters
human
and
forgetting
on the
right, bulls
with
their natural
contemplation of the Blessed

serpent by the side of an
One
;
enmity
in the
a great polycephalous
enormous vulture Garuda, whose ears are adorned with earrings on the left Tibetan dogs, with manes and claws. To suin up, nearly the whole of the
sculptor's decorative menagerie
was mobihzed in
this scene.
io8
EASTERN GA.TE OF SANCHl

indeed a celebrated occasion on which,
after
Now there was
the great internal quarrel of
Kaucambi, Buddha
into
left
his
com-
munity, in order to
retire
solitude
and he was
among
the beasts and the beasts even served
him (Mahdtraditional
vagga, X, 4, 6-7). But here
we
find
none of the
details of the episode, at least as

text.
it is
related in the
PaU
12. Lozuer
Jiiitel.
Then
the last lintel seems to us to
bear on
its
two
faces scenes
subsequent to the death of
Buddha.
^) Front face.
In the centre stands the tree
now
so
well
known
to us as that of his Illumination (cf. 9 c)

a
but here this tree receives

tain that the
royal
visit. It
is
quite cerat
Blessed
One was
not visited by any king
Bodh-Gaya
for the texts give us a detailed account of the

tlie
manner
It
in
which he employed
davs,
and even weeks,
which preceded and followed

remains, therefore, that
it
his attainment of omniscience.
can only have been in
commeis
moration of Buddha that the ceremony here represented

took place. Let us remind ourselves, however, of what
told us
ofAcoka,
how
it,
the great
emperor evinced
a special
devotion to the tree of the Bodhi, and continually showered presents
upon
so
many and so
pariah
often that his favorite

it
queen, Tishyarakshita, looking upon

jealous
as a rival,
became
a spell
and caused
sorceress
to
cast
upon
it.
The
tree
began to wither, and Acoka declared

it;
that he
would not survive

whereupon
done
tiic
fortunately the queen, being

tlie
undeceived, was able in time to arrest

witchcraft;
effect
of the
emperor decided to do
past, neither
what
none of the sovereigns of the

the others, liad
Bimbisara nor
, that is, to
come
in
procession and,
with a view to giving back to the
tree all its first splen-

dour, to water
(DivydvadAna,
see here (pi.
usual,
p.
it
109
with pitchers of scented water
397-398).
Now
what
and
is it
exactly that
we
X, 2)?
On
the right a king, accompanied, as

his guards,
it
by
his wives, his orchestra,
dismounts
seems, by
pro-
languishingly from his elephant, encouraged,

his
queen and helped by
young dwarf. The

those
latter is
bably a Yakshu, exactly

of the sanctuary; for
like
who
frequent the interior
we
are told that, like
Solomon, Agoka
the
his
commanded the genii. Immediately on the right of sacred tree we see again the same king, preceded by
homage
to the
faithful
queen, and both with their hands devoutly clasped render

to
it.
On
the other side there advances likewise,

orchestra, a
sound of another
and
solemn procession of
(in
laymen, bearing banners, flowers, and further
their midst
in the front rank) pitchers, evidently intentree.
ded for the watering of the
This
last detail
has
won
our conviction
fication
it
(cf.
above,
p.
79). Finally,
from
this identi-
would result that this time the indication of the temple round the tree open to the sky would not be
an anachronism
b)
is
Rear face.
(cf. p.
102).
Besides, as
we
have already said, this
not the only legend belonging to the cycle of Aôka
that
seems to us to have inspired the image-makers of
Sanchi. Concerning the tumulus of

stories
Ramagrama two
;
other
were
still
current
story.
among them
or rather
two verwas was

:
sions of the
same
According to one
this sUipa
it
honoured by mythical serpents

wild elephants (jidga^
are not far
(fuiga); in the other
who
paid their devotions to
it
we
from believing
that this simple
pun gave
rise to
two forms of the tradition. However that may be, the first is figured on the southern gate the other, we believe,
the
:
is
here. Besides,
whatever
is
may
be the
name by which
the
stiipa is called,
there
no doubt
as to the
meaning of the
no
Story written in stone.
Those
are, in fact,
wild elephants,
which
are
marching in procession towards the sanctuary

lintel
;
from the two extremities of the

votive offerings that they
lift
and
it is
indeed as
still
in their trunks, or are
dragging with their tusks, flowers torn from the lotuses in

the nearest lake.
We
shall here
end these notes, already, perhaps, too

If
long and nevertheless most summary.
we wished
to
describe in detail and one by one the five hundred and

characters,
more
figure
who, without counting the animals,

just as well
on
and
this
one gate alone, we should never have finished

undertake to write an ency-
we might
clopaedia of Indian Antiquities.
The
Httle that
we
have said
will, at least, be sufficient to justify the
double allegation
which we believed might be put forward regarding this gate

(p.
80)
it
seems
in fact
upon
investigation that these

;
sculptures are for the
most
part deciphered
and no one will
think of disputing the
fact that
they offer a certain amount
of interest for the history of civilization in general, and
more
especially for that of art applied to religion.
PLATES
All the photographs of
VII-X
which
plates
VII-X
are
composed have been

India.
kindly lent to us by the Director- General of Archaeology in
Mr.
J,
H. Marshall, and
all
the stereotypes by
M.
E. Leroux.
PI. VII,
described on pp. 63 -64

>'
PI. VII, 2
PI. VIII,
I
72, 79, 87-8, 104, 107-8, 109-110
>.
65-66, 86-89
PI. VIII, 2: PI.

PI.
PI.
71,85-86
76, 97 99
IX,
IX, 2
92-95
75, 105-7
X,
PI.
X, 2
79, 108-9
THE GREAT STUPA AT SANCHI
PL, VII
1.
GENERAL
VIEW, TAKEN FROM THE EAST
BACK VIEW OF LINTELS OF EASTERN GATE
THE GREAT STUPA AT SANGHI
PL. VIII
U o
2: <; a: s;
w
<;
<:
Q
<
o u
> Q
CM
o
w
<
THE EASTERN GATE OF SANCHI
PL. IX
<;
<
o H
ri
>i
^ o
ri
U
3d
CQ
THE EASTERN GATE OF SANGHI
PL. X
THE VOCATION, OR GREAT DEPARTURE

(FRONT VIEW OF MIDDLE LINTEL)
A PROCESSION TO THE
(FRONT VIEW OF
BODHITREE
LOWER
LINTEL)
The Greek Origin
of the
Image of Buddha ('K
One
to
of the
advantages of the Mustê Guhnet most

its
appreciated by
orientalist lecturers
is
that they are free
dispense with the oratorical precautions which they

take everywhere else. Generally, wherever they ven-
must
ture to
open
their
mouths, they believe themselves obliged

in speaking
to begin by asking pardon of their auditors for the great

liberty
which they take

their usual
on
subjects so far
for
removed from
occupations
and
drawing
in
them
they
into surroundings so different

are
from those
which
accustomed to move. Such a formality would
in this case be entirely superfluous.
You
could not but
be aware of the
this
tact that
on crossing the threshold of
Museum you would

to apologize
if
immediately find yourself trans-
ported from Europe to Asia, and you would hardly expect
me
for speaking of
is
Buddha
in the
home
of
Buddha. For,
table
he
not the sole inhabitant of this hospiall
house, haven of
art, I
exotic
manifestations of reliis its
gious
dare at least to say that he
principal tenant.
it
To
whatever gallery your steps
may
lead you, be
conse-
crated to India or to China, to
Indo -China or to Tibet, to

the
Japan or to Java, him you will never fail to meet again and
again, in
room after room, with
dreamy look of his
half-
closed eyes and his perpetual smile, at once sympathizing
and
disillusionized. If the distraction of yourgaze,
wandering
Musec
(i) Lecture at the
Musee Guiinet [Bihliotheqm
de Vulgarisalion da
Guimet, vol. XXXVIII).

9
112
GREEK ORIGIN OF THE BUDDHA TYPE
from image to image, does not too much dissipate your attention, and if your minds succeed by degrees in disregarding the
diversity of the dimensions
and the variety of the materials, and everywhere,

modelled
you
will not be long in noticing that always

in
minute or gigantic, carved
wood, cut
in stone,
in clay, cast or beaten in metal,
he continues to be astonish-
ingly Hke himself. Soon, by dint of verifying the justness
of this
first
observation, you will arrive at the reflexion that

all
so great an uniformity supposes, at the origin of

idols, the existence of a
these
common
prototype, from which
they
will have been
And
thus in
more or less remotely descended. the end you are inevitably confronted by the
I
question which
ing. If
it
have to-day
set
myself the task of answerback straight-
shall appear that the reply brings us
way and
in
rather
unexpected manner towards the

classic antiquity, well
!
familiar horizons of
our
that will
simply be one more element of interest.
But before interrogating the images of Buddha concerning their more distant origins,
it is
well to define exactly
what we mean by the name. Europeans commonly make

the strangest abuse of
heard
and
it.
How many
times
have
not
usually on the most charming lips
the
very elementary principles of Buddhist iconography outraged, and
no matter what
statuette,
it
Chinese, Tibetan,
or Japanese,
however monstrous
might
be,
thought-
name which ought to be reserved for âkyamuni and his peers! What would you think of an Asiatic who should designate en hJoc, by the one name of Christ , not only Our Lord, God the Father, the Holy
lessly designated by the
Ghost, and the Blessed Virgin, but also

the saints, and even
all
all
the angels,
all
the devils of Christianity? After

at
having
lege
:
first
laughed, you would soon cry out

is
the sacri-
and yet that
what we calmly do every day by lump-

ing together under the
113
all
name
of the one
Buddha
the
inhabitants of the Buddhist heavens and even hells. Therefore, let
me
implore you, once for
all
ladies
no more thus to profane the name of the Blessed

applying
it
especially the
One by
bristling
indifferently at
at
one time
to savage or
even obscene demons,
another to extravagant divinities,

at
with manifold heads and arms, and
another to
simple monks.
In strictness, the
title
of Illuminated
very nearly the equivalent of

served for a personage
Buddha
for
ought
for such
is
to be re-
whom,
my
part, I
should not
hesitate to regard as historic, for that scion of the noble
family of the âkyas,

at the foot
who was
born in the north of India,
of the central Himalaya, towards the middle of

;
the
VP
century before our era
who
about his thirtieth

his wife, his
year gave up
his possessions, his parents,
child, in order to
embrace the wandering
life
of a mendiausterities,
cant
monk who, after six years of vain study and

;
finally at the foot of the ever-green fig-tree of
Bodh-Gaya
from
discovered the secret of liberating

the evils of existence
;
human
beings
who
during more than forty years
preached in the middle portion of the basin of the Ganges

salvation
by the suppression of desire, the root of all

died and
suffer-
ing;
as
who
was cremated; whose
ashes, regarded
holy
relics,
were distributed
to the four quarters of
India and deposited under vast tumuli, where
we
still
find
them to-day
whose image,
all
finally,
is
still
enthroned
above the flower-adorned
altars,
mid clouds of incense and

its
murmurs
And,
of prayers, in
the pagodas of the Far East.
doubtless, this effigy served in
turn as a model for
those of the mythical predecessors, or of the transcendent

hypostases, which Indian imagination
was not long in

through
creat-
ing for
him
in
unlimited
numbers,
infinite
114

terrestrial past
all
time and space, in the depths of our

well as in the abysses where at this
other universes.
as
moment move
the
But such
is
the servile fidelity of these
copies that from the iconographic point of view one
may
and
say
tial
There
is
no Buddha but Buddha

is
Now the
essen-
character of this figure

all
precisely that always
everywhere, through
it
the differences of gesture and pose,
assumes only one form, simply and purely human. This

the
is
most important
first
fact to
be borne in mind. As for the

failing to recognize
particular signs
which prevent our ever
the type, the

tamiliarize
statue or photograph to
your hand will
you with them.
Here then we are agreed
together
we
seek the origin of
the image of the Indian mendicant who, by the prestige of

his intelligence, his
goodness and, perhaps, also of

over
his
his per-
sonal
beauty,
exercized
contemporaries
an
influence capable of forming a basis for one of the three

great religions .of the world, that
which from
his epithet
we
call
Buddhism. At the
first
view the problem does not
seem so very complicated. Granted that all these representations seem to descend from a common prototype, the
question resolves
itself
first
into discovering the place, time,
and occasion of the

words,
it
appearance of this type. In other

to determine
will be necessary, but sufficient,
which
are the
most ancient known images of Buddha.

is
Theoretically, nothing
more simple;
is
in
practice
we
quickly perceive that the thing

It is in
sooner said than done.
Ceylon, the
first
Buddhist stage on the maritime
high road of Asia, that the European usually finds himself
115
for the first time in the presence of veritable idols of the
Blessed One. Most often he restricts himself to an excursion along red roads losing themselves in the distance under
,
a slowly diminishing arch of green palmeries, to the singularly
modernized temple of Kelani, a
little
to the north of
Colombo. But, even if he pushed on as far as the ancient ruined towns of the interior, he would be no more successful in
finding in their old statues the origiiial type which

still
we
the
are seeking. With
greater reason
it
would he renounce
idea of encountering
in the
other terrestrial paradise,
that of the austral hemisphere; for the not less luxuriant
island
of Java was also

it
only an
Indian colony,
and,
doubtless,
became so
later
than did Ceylon.
The hunThe even

Burmah
dreds of Buddhas
who
have given a
name
to
Boro-Budur
are attributed only to the IX"' century of our era.
more
are
recent character of the majority of the idols which
still
venerated in
Cambodia,
Siam
and
shows only too clearly through their tinsel and their gilding. The most ancient Lamaic images could hardly be anterior to the official proclamation of Buddhism m Tibet towards the year 632. In Japan everyone will tell you that
the figure of the Master was not introduced there until the
VI"' century,
and that
it
came from China through the
inter-
mediacy of Corea. Nor do the most ancient Chinese images known to us, those of the grottoes of Long-Men or of Tat'ong-fu,
which M. Chavannes has

go back beyond
just
made known by
century
(').
reproductions,
the
IV*
Finally, the last archaeological missions in Central Asia
have succeeded in proving, as had already been supposed,

that their
model came from India by the two routes which
(i)
E.
Chavannes, Mission
archeologique dans
la
Chine seplcntrionak,
Paris, 1909.
ii6

skirt the
on the north and the south

tan C).
desert of Turkes-
Thus
clearly
were we directed
in
advance to seek the

places
it
plastic origins of
Buddha
in the very
which saw
not of inte-
the beginning of his doctrine. And, were

rest to
prove the diffusion and permanence of the type
through the whole of eastern Asia,

ourselves this vast circuit.
we might have
is
spared
The
point clearly marked for

the country of
lat-
the serious
commencement
of our quest
Magadha, otherwise
est imperial
that province of
Behar which the
proclamation of Delhi has just
officially detach-
ed from Bengal. But the numerous statues in black basalt,
which we there
set
find
altar
to begin with that
which has
at
been
up over the go back
of the temple of Bodh-Gaya,
the very spot where the Illuminated received his Illumination
site
for the
most
part only to the dynasty of
the Palas, which was overthrown by the

XII"" century
Musalmans
in the
of our
era.
The
excavations
of Sarnath,
the
of the First Preaching, in the northern suburb of
Benares, have furnished us with
more ancient examples,

tint,
carved in a grey sandstone of an uniform
which mark
a.
atthe timeof the Gupta Kings (IV"' and V"' centuries

a kind of renaissance of Indian art.
d.)
More
to the north-west
the ruins of Mathura, far
to the south-west those of

still
Ama-
ravati have supplied us with
older ones, which the
mention on the former of the Indo-Scylhs, on the second of

the Andhras carry as far back as the
11"'^
century of our
era.
But whether carved in the yellow-spotted red sandstone of
in Idikufschari uiid
Grunwedel, Bericht iiher archdologische Arheiten Umachung im Winter 1902-1903 (Munich, 1906), pi. IV, fig. I, a specimen from TurHm, and in M. A. Stein, Ancient Khotan, pi. LXXXII, 2, another example from the environs of Khotan.
(i)
See, for example, in

Mathura or
in the
117
white marble of Amaravati, they are as
like as brothers,
and everyone will agree that they are desancestor of blue slate and native
cended from a
common
to the north-western corner of India.
Thus, following our thread, we have already remounted

in the scale of years nearly
twenty out of the twenty
five
centuries which separate us from the time of Buddha.

result is appreciable,
The
and can only encourage us to conti-
nue. But just at this

step
moment
the thread
which guided us
art
by step through the chaos of Buddhist

century
breaks
off sharp in
our hands. While statues of the Master, dated

first
with certainty from the

Christ, are to be
is
after,
if
not before,
found abundantly in the Upper Panjab
as
proved by the collections of the provincial capital
(pi.
XI,
i)
we vainly seek
One
it
their archetype in the
still
older
mo-
numents of central
era.
India, prior to the
second century of our
significant fact robs us even of all
hope of ever
either better
finding
by means
carried out or
some excavation more successful. While on all

of
the bas-reliefs
of the Panjab the Blessed
One is represented
standing in the
middle of the panel, on the balustrades or the gates ofBarhut
orofSanchi he
is
totally absent
is
even from the scenes of his
own
biography. This fact
too well
known
wish to
to be again
dwelt upon, especially as
we have
already
I
made an
are those
experi-
mental verification of
to-day
is
it (').
All that
insist
upon
the
that the oldest
known Buddhas
the
which
we have encountered in natives call the museum

exactly
House of Marvels
, as
of Lahore.
it
To
complete the geo-
graphical part of our quest,
remains only to find out
whom
whence these Buddhas come. The former keeper many of us know from the fine portrait drawn by
(i) See above, pp. 4-3 and 74-5.
ii8

filial
the
piety of
Rudyard Kipling
to
tell
at
the beginning of
;
Kim
is
no longer there
us
we
regret to have
heard
ago.
last
year of his death, and moreover he retired long
But
his successor will
answer you that

district
all
these car-
vings came originally from the

right
of Peshawar, on the
bank of the Indus,
at its
confluence with the Kabulfirst
Rud... And,
that, after
doubtless, your
astonishment will be
having vainly sought not only throughout the

still
whole of
Buddhist Asia, but in the very places which
saw the
founder,
try
birth of
Buddhism, the
cradle of the images of the

it
we have finally
this district
is at
discovered
in a
Musalman coun-
and on the western confines of India.

present
I
What
would only too willingly

it
stop to describe to you; fori have trodden

tion during
in
every direc-
happy months of archaeological campaigning.

for
Gandhara
after all
such was
its
Sanskrit
name
shows us
only a
vast, gently
undulating plain, bristling in
places with rugged hills, and three parts encircled by a belt
of fawn-coloured or bluish mountains, which nearly every-
where
limit the horizon.
But the opening

is
left
by them on
the south-east over the Indus

to the west the winding
the great gate of India; and

principal
Khyber pass remains the
route of communication between the peninsula and the

Asiatic continent; and the
this ancient route of
towns which formerly guarded

Pushkaravati,
invading armies and merchant cara-
vans were Purushapura
(now Peshawar);
the Peukelaotis of the Greeks; Qalatura, the natal

;
town of Panini, the great legislator of Sanskrit grammar Udabhanda (now Und), where the great river was passed, in winter by a ford, in summer by a ferry, and whence in
three days
one reached
Takshacjila, the Taxila of the histofeel
rians of Alexander...
And immediately you

call
how
in this
country, which one might
doubly
classic,
memories

associated with the
arise
119
two
antiquities, Hellenic
at
and Indian,
history had
from the ground
each step. Even
if
not preserved for us any remembrance of the memorable
encounter between
the
two
civilizations, the
mute
wit-
nesses in stone, which

ate,
we have come
you
purposely to interrog-,
it.
would be
('),
sufficient to establish
To
cut as short as
possible
let
me
lead
straight to the centre of the
country, into the
little
garrison
town of Hoti-Mardan
and
there, at the hospitable

I
mess of the regiment of the Guides,
will
show
3'ou,
leaning against the wall of the dining-
room and no
most
ed to
longer inhaling any incense but the
smoke
the
of the cigars, the most beautiful, and probably also

ancient, of the
Buddhas which
it
has ever been grant-
me
to encounter (pi. XI, 2).
Look
its
at it at leisure.
Without doubt you

fail
will appreciate
at
dreamy, and even somewhat effeminate, beauty; but
the
same time you cannot

That
:
to be struck
by
its
Hellenic
character.
least
this is a statue of
Buddha
I
there
is
not the
a
doubt
all
the special signs of which

its
was speaking
Is
it
short time ago bear witness to

sary to
identity.
neces-
make you
lay
your fingers upon that ample monastic
robe, that pretended
bump
of
wisdom on
the
crown of the
bare
head, that mole between the eyebrows, that lobe of the ear
distended by the wearing of heavy earrings, and
left
because of the
total
renunciation of worldly adornments?
These
are
all traits
which we might have anticipated from the

if it is
perusal of the sacred texts. But,
indeed a Buddha,
it
(i) Here, of course,
we
can only note the principal points. Those

its
who
are anxious for details concerning the country,
archreological sites, and

refer
the results of the excavations, will pardon us
if
we
them to our works
Sur
la
frontiere indo-afghane (Paris,

I,
1901),
La
Geographic ancienne du Gan-
dhara (B. E. F. E-O,
1901),
L Art greco-bouddhique
du Gandhdra (Paris,
1905-1914).
120
is

less evidently
no
not an Indian work.
Your European
eyes have in this case
no need of
the help of any Indianist,
in order to appreciate with full
knowledge the orb of the

of the pro-
nimbus, the waves of the

file,
hair, the straightness
the classical shape of the eyes, the sinuous
bow
of
the mouth, the supple and hollow folds of the draperies.
All
these
technical details,
and
still
more perhaps the
harmony of the whole, indicate in a material, palpable and striking manner the hand of an artist from some Greek
studio. If the material proofs of the attribution constitute
what
should be prepared to
call the
native contribution,
occidental influence
neither will
you hesitate to ascribe to an
the formal beauty of the work.
Thus
the statue of Mardan,
with
all its
congeners, appears to us as a kind of compro-
mise, a hybrid work, which
have a name,
had not the
would not in any language no less heteroclite term of

it.
Greco-Buddhist
been forthwith invented for
II
Such
is
the
must confess unexpected

It is
result of
our researches on the spot.
only in the country which

call
from our point of view we might quite correctly

vestibule of India, that
the
we
is
finally discover the archetype
of Buddha; and
when
at last
we
at
find
it,
it is
to
acknow-
ledge that
as Indian.
call for
its
appearance
the least as
much Greek
The fact is, doubtless, sufficiently surprising to some commentary. What historical circumstances
Buddha?
can have rendered possible, and even spontaneously engendered, this creation of the Indo-Greek type of
What attracts
us most in the question
is, I
will warrant,
how
the Hellenic influence could thus have reached as far as the

banks of the Indus. Allow
fact that
121
me
to call
your attention to the
Gandharais scarcely
of the
the
mouth
crow flies, from Hellenized Euphrates than from that of

further, as the
the Buddhist Ganges. In reality the problem has

like the
two
faces,
images which we have to explain.

it is
To
account for
the birth of such a statue,

tration not only of
necessary to justify the penereli-
Greek Art, but also of the Buddhist
gion, into the country which

prolific
was
to be the theatre of their

latter that it will
union.
And
it is
indeed with the
be
best to undertake the historical part of our quest.
At the present time not only

dhara, which had always so
tion
is
this unfortunate
Gan-
much
to suffer
from
its situa-
on the high road of the conquerors of Asia, no longer Buddhist; it has become more than half Afghan in race, Iranian in language, and withal Musalman. It is a curious
fact that,
according to Strabo,
at the
time of the rude and
passing conquest of Alexander, the
Gandaritis
did not
form
at
a part of India,
which
at that
time commenced only
the Indus. Seleukos, after his fruitless attempt at invais
sion in 305 before our era,

treaty,
said to
have ceded
it
by
together with the hand of his daughter, in exfirst historical
change for 500 elephants, to the

of India, that Candragupta
emperor
whom
the Greek historians call
Sandrakottos Fifty years

of the domains of the
later this district still
formed
part
latter's
grandson, the famous Aco-
ka; and he caused to be engraved
on
huge rock, half-way

(pi.
up
i),
a hill near the present village of
Shahbaz-Garhi
XII,
the pious edicts in which he
recommended
it
to his peo-
ple the practice of all the virtues, beginning with kindness
-to animals.
From
the fifth of these edicts
quite clearly
appears that for
him Gandhara was a frontier country, still to be evangelized. We know, on the other hand, the zeal of thisConstantine of Buddhism for the propagation of the
122

again, according to the Singhalese chroit
Good Law. Then

nicle, the
Mahdvamsa,
was
precisely during his reign that
the apostle Madhyantika converted Gandhara as well as
Kashmir. Thus the religion of Buddha would have taken
more than two hundred

as the frontiers of
years to spread from
Magadha
as far
northern India,
We see no reason for con-
testing the authenticity of a tradition in itself so probable.
Besides, whatever
tion of
may
be the exact date of the introducit
Buddhism
into Gandhara,
must
there have been

there,
specially
successful.
We
shall
end by finding
duly
acclimatized and deeply rooted, a quantity of legends
which
the missionaries had brought with
country.
Some
It
did not hesitate to
them from the low bring Buddha himself
on the scene.
was, they said, the Master in person,

terrible
who
Naga of the Swat river, and had limited the disastrous inundations, whence this aquatic genius derives all his subsistence, to one in every twelve
had overcome the
years. In the
at
same way
it
was no longer
at Rajagriha,
but
one stage to the north-west of Pushkaravati, that the Blessed One is now supposed to have converted the insatiable ogress of Smallpox. Thanks to the want of ortho-
doxy on the
dren
is
part of mothers,
when
the health of their chil-
in question, this last superstition has in the
minds
of the present inhabitants of the country almost alone
survived the total wreck of Buddhism.

earth
A small quantity of
tavii,
from
a certain
tumulus, placed in the
or amuletis
case, usually
still
suspended round the neck of the new-born,
considered an infallible preservative against the terrible
infantile
epidemic
and
it is
owing to this curious property,

site
joined to the topographical information of Hiuan-tsang,

that
I
was
able
to
recognize the traditional
of this
miracle.
However,
it
was
to be feared that these narratives of a

personal intervention of the historic
125
Buddha
in
Gandhara
which,
might
in
justly
meet with the same increduUty

:
as those
my
native province, begin with the words
At that time,
our Lord Jesus Christ was travelling in Brittany...

back upon the numerous previous
For the
it
purpose of localization in the country they preferred,

seems, to
fall
lives in the
course of which the future Buddha attained the

or, as
summit
we
should say to-day, established a record
in all
perfections.
The monks
of several convents in the neighfor
bourhood of Shahba^-Garhi had,
instance,
divided
among
themselves, by very clever adaptation to the pictur-
esque accidents of the landscape, the various episodes of

the romance of Vicvantara, that
monomaniac of
charity.
Others had, so to speak, specialized either in the touching

story of the
young anchorite Qyama,
sole support of his
old blind parents, or in the galant adventure of the wise
Ekacrihga,
whom
the seductions of a courtesan reduced to
the role of beast of burden, etc... But they did not stop
there
in
;
an exceptionally holy tetrad of great

in the
stiipas,
situated
Gandhara proper, or
place
bordering territories, soon
marked the
in
where the Sublime Being had formerly,

after another,
one existence
eyes, his head,
and
his
body
the
made
a gift of his flesh, his
first
to
buy back
tigress,
dove
from
hawk, the
last to satisfy a
famished
and the
two others with an intention whose

its
practical utility, if not
edifying character, escapes us.
And
its
thus northern India

four great pilgri-
came
to possess, like central India,

. It is
mages
not in any
way an exaggeration
Magadha)
as
it
to say that
Gandhara thus became

pilgrims
(after
;
were a second
without
Holy Land of Buddhism and we
see that certain Chinese

visit
were quite content with a
there,
feeling the necessity of pushing as far as the basin of the
Ganges.
124
Only this local prosperity of Buddhism can explain to us the number and the richness of the ancient religious foundations
of the country.
plains
Some
repose under the tumuli

side,
which dot the
on every
and
are
used by the
present inhabitants as stone-quarries. Others are hidden in

the folds of the mountains, or with their crumbling walls
cover the sharp crest of

will
some
spur.
Among
(pi.
the former
name
to
you
in particular those
which underly the

XIII)
:
enormous mound of Sahri-Bahlol

excavated long ago, they
the
as
still
though
enrich
with their
artistic spoils
museum which has lately been established in Peshawar, capital of the new North- West Frontier Province .
second
I
Among the
will
show you
as a
specimen the cele-
brated ruins of Takht-i-Bahai with their equally inexhaustible reserves (pi. XII, 2)
;
on the platform above the imposing

where once were
retaining walls rise the dismantled chapels
enthroned the statues which have since taken the road to our museums, those mortuaries of dead Gods.
to restore
You
are free
them
in thought with the splendour
borrowed
from the colours, and even from the gold, with which in
former days care was taken to increase in the dazzled eyes
of the faithful their appearance of
life.
But, above
all,
you
walk
must grasp the fact on ruins, and there

relief or statue.
that in this country

is
you
literally
scarcely a corner
where a few strokes
with the pick-axe will not bring to light some Buddhist basEvidently Hiuan-tsang was scarcely exagestimated approximately, and in round
gerating,
when he
at a
numbers,
Gandhara.
thousand the number of monasteries which
once constituted the ornament, as also the sanctity, of

If
you
will
all
now
reflect that this
anti-chamber
of India has from
times been the region most open to

artistic,
western influences, moral as well as

derstand the double role which
it
you
will
un-
was naturally
called
upon

to play in the evolution of the religion
125
which
it
had embra-
ced with so
much
zeal.
The numerous
doctors
whom
it
has produced have taken a preponderating part in the trans-
formation of the Buddhist egoistical salvation into the

theory of a charity more widely active, but also of a character
more metaphysical and

is
pietistic,
which
its
adherents
adorned with the name of Mahayana. But the important

thing for us here
not so
much
the abstruse depth of

its
its
theologians as the pious generosity of
donors.
It
was
they who, according to
all
probability, took the initiative
in utilizing for the satisfaction of their rehgious zeal the
talent
torical
and resource of the Hellenistic

circumstances had led as
their
far as
artists,
whom
And
his-
Ariana.
thus
they
made
country the creative
home whence Buddhist
iconography was by degrees propagated throughout the

rest of India
and the Far
East,
Of the two
elements, the Greek and the Buddhist, which
concurred in the production of our Gandhara statues,
we
comprehend then already the second.

the intervention of the
first.
It
remains to explain
But
this is a story already famiI
har to you, and
it
will be sufficient if
recall
it
in a
few
words; or rather
and, as
it
should
like to give
you an
illustration
were, a direct apprehension of it, by putting before

artistic
your eyes the most

prefer, the
of the documents
or, if
most documentary of the works of
art
you
mean
the coins.
In the
first place, I shall
mention only by way of remin-
der Alexander's forced entrance into India in the spring
of the year 326 before our

it
era.
We
too
much
forget that
was on
his part a
notable
folly
to
venture during
the hottest
of the
months of the year on the burning plains Panjab; that he was soon forced to retire, and that
126
his retreat across the deserts of Gedrosia (the present Be-
luchistan) ended disastrously

into India,
if
so that this expedition

the
only
we
replace
the cold by the heat,

it
snow by
results
tria,
the sands, was, as
were, the Russian cam-
paign of the Macedonian conqueror.
Much more
fruitful
of
was the
constitution of the Greek
kingdom of BacIndia, about
on the confines of the north-west of
250
2,
B.
C,
in open revolt against the Seleucides.
The
beautiful
coin of Alexander, son of Phihp, which you see in
pi.
XIV,
was struck not by Alexander

his
himself, but in imitation of

titles
by king Agathokles, whose name and

medal
purely Greek.
you read on
the reverse, encircling the image of Zeus. Everything in

this
is still
Fifty years later Demetrios,
son of Euthydemos, profit-
ing by the break-up of the empire of the Mauryas, con-
quers
and annexes the whole of northern India; and

in
it
immediately you see

head of an elephant, as
that helmet,
made from
latter
the
were a
trace of the Indian orien-
tation of his policy (pi.

sides,
XIV,
2).
This
must, be-
have ended by costing him his original kingdom. An-
other valiant condottiere, Eukratides, rebelled in his turn,
and made himself master of Bactria; so

us,
that, as
Strabo
tells
there remained to Demetrios nothing
more than
his
Indian conquests, and he was henceforward

the
known
under
to
name
I
of
King of the Indians
This
is a capital fact,
which
could not
a century
too strongly draw
your attention.
During
and more the Panjab was thus a Greek
colony, in the same
way
as
it
afterwards became Scythian,

is
then Mogul, and finally English. That
to say, a handful
of foreigners, supported by mercenary troops, in great part

recruited in the country
levied the taxes.
itself,
became masters
there,
and
You may
easily perceive that this
kingdom
was
a centre
of attraction for Greek adventurers of all kinds.
GREEK ORIGIN OV THE BUDDHA TYI'E
127
beginning with soldiers of fortune and mountebanks, and

passing by
way
of merchants to the artists
who
took
upon themselves, among other tasks, that of making the superb coins to which we are indebted for the survival
of the classically sounding names and the energetic features of those so-called
rajahs.
Basileis ,
changed into very authentic
Of all
these Indo-Greek kings

is
will
name only Menanfrom

texts.
der (pi. XIV, 2), since he
known
to us not merely
the narrative of Plutarch, but also from Indian
A
ot
curious
apologetic treatise, entitled
The Questions
Milinda and composed as a dialogue in the Platonic
manner, brings before us
in the
town of Sagala on
by Menander,
the the
one
hand
Hellenism,
represented
king of the Yavanas (lonians), and on the other hand
Buddhism,
in
the person of Nagasena,
one of the pa-
triarchs of the church.
According to native tradition the
monk
even converted the king. However, on the reverse of

Pallas
his coins,
Athene continues
still
to brandish the
paternal lightning of Zeus. She does not

to care
seem
in
any way
which
his pre-
how
little
her image squares with the exotic sur-
roundings of the language and the writing in
Menander, generalizing a usage inaugurated by

decessors,
is
always careful to have the Greek legend of the
face translated for the use of his Indian subjects. Never, in

truth,
were the circumstances more favourable than during

(between 150 and 100 B. C.) for planting the
the whole subsequent development of Greco-Bud-
his reign
germ of
dha.
dhist art
by the creation of the Indo-Greek type of Budin fact, is that beautiful statue
(pi. XI, 2),
What,
just
which
showed
you
into
now
but an Asiatic coin struck in
Euot
ropean style?
all
And what more
simple for
art, as
artists initiated
the secrets of Hellenic
were the authors

10
128
those magnificent medals, than to adopt for the representation of the Indian Saviour the
most
intellectual type of their
beardless
Olympians? Thus we
time ago,
at this
arrive quite naturally at
the strange and quaint mixture which

a short
statue,
we were
is
it
analysing
which
a Hellenized
Buddha, unless you prefer to describe

figure of Apollo.
as
an Indianized
Thus must have been created under the industrious fingers of some Graeculus of more or less mixed descent
and perhaps,
also,
of
who knows?
at
the
command
or an Eurasian convert to Buddhism

the images of Buddha. Yet, since
of a Greek
earliest
the
we
it
are forced to touch

is
upon
at last
the question of chronology,
only,
must con-
fess, in
the
first
century of our era, that the type of Buddha
makes
its
appearance on the reverse of the coins.
And
certainly his
name
is still
written there in Greek char-
acters
Boddo
But on the observe, instead of an elegant
Greek,
we
perceive the figure of another invader, of a beard-
ed Scythian, grotesquely accoutred in his high boots and

the rigid basques of his tunic (pi. XIV, 2). His
name
is
given in the inscription
he
is
the Shah of the Shahs

great
Kanishka, he
who was
after
Aôka the second
emperor
of the Buddhist legend, and
whom
M.
S.
L^vi has in his

:
turn so well surnamed the Clovis

for
he also
either from conviction or from calculation

to the religion of the country vanquished
just as the
of northern India
became converted
by his arms. But,
Frank Clovis had no part

art,
in
the development of
Gallo-Roman
you may
hold
easily
ima-
gine that the Turk Kanishka had no direct influence on

that of Indo-Greek art; and, besides,
we
now the certain
proof that during his reign this

if
art
was already stereotyped,
not decadent.
All the Chinese Buddhist pilgrims
who
Iroiii
the IV"' to
129
the X"" centuries of our era visited the holy places of India
agree, in fact, in testifying, that Kanishka had built by the
side of his winter capital
Purushapura
the
highest pagoda
of the country
Now in
the course of
my journey
on the
Indo-Afghan
the
frontier,
numerous tumuli
flat
tiges of ancient
simple monuments
I
on the 21" of January 1897, among

refuse of brick kilns or ves-
which
I
are scattered over
the
(pi.
its
outskirts of Peshawar,
i),
thought
recognized in one
its
XIV,
by reason of its
site, its
form,
composition,
surroundings, finally of a number of concordant indica-
tions
not to count
that secret voice of things,
which soon
the remains
whispers to the heart of the archaeologist
of the great religious foundation of Kanishka. That dusty
mound, which, if in circumference it measured three hundred metres, was not more than 4 or 3 metres above the
present ground surface, did not look very promising.
ever, when the Anglo-Indian
How-
government did at
last
reorgan-
ize its archaeological service, Messrs.
Marshall and Spooner
were pleased to consider that the proposed identification
was
at
least
worth the trouble of verification by digging.

during the cold sea-
The
son
results of the first campaign,
1907-1908, were most disappointing. Fortunately

;
the English archaeologists were not discouraged
in
March
dis-
1909 they
at last
the sanctuary
the
determined the dimensions of the base of

vastest, indeed, that has ever
been
covered in India
and soon they were fortunate enough
to unearth in the centre the
famous
relics
of Buddha, which
there by
Chinese evidence assures
us were deposited
is
Kanishka himself, and which to-day Burmah

possessing.
so proud of
They were enclosed

I
in a
golden reliquary, about
i8 centimetres high, of which

(pi.
you have before your eyes

wish to take note of here
is
XV,
i) a view. All that

this
first,
that
box does
in fact
bear in dotted letters the
130

in
name, and
repouss^ the image, of our Kanishka, the one
perfectly legible
and the other a good resemblance. Now, and
in
point of execution the reliquary already betrays signs of

artistic
decadence
this styHzation is especially notable
in the
Buddha
divinities
you see seated between two standing on the top of the lid. This votive document is
back
at least a
before
whom
sufficient, then, to carry
hundred
years,
and
consequently, to the i" century
our
era, at the latest,
the creation of the plastic type of the Blessed One.
Ill
Thus, then, we
sions, that of
are
on the whole well informed
as to the
where and when, from the rencontre of the two inverse expanHellenism towards the east consequent upon
the political conquests of Alexander, and that of
Buddhism
of
towards the west by favour of the religious missions of
Acoka, was born once for
all
the
Indo-Greek type
Buddha. Our geographical and historical quest may, therefore, be considered as
ended. But
we have
as yet
accom-
plished only two-thirds of our task, and the iconographic
question awaits almost in
its
entirety an elucidation.
We
La-
have indeed from the
first
glance at the
Museum
at
hore seen that, in opposition to the old native school, the
image of Buddha
Gandhara.
tured.
It
is like
trade-mark of the workshops of
remains to learn
how
it
was
its
itself
manufac-
We are agreed that at
the time of
composition the
Indian material was poured into a western

all
mould
among
still
the possible results of this operation, which one defini-
tely
emerged from the foundry? This we have

at
to
analyse,
ther.
the risk of passing from one surprise to ano-
13
What
in fact did
tell
you? Here
is
a creation
which the
experience of centuries and the exploration of Asia have
taught us to regard as one of the most widespread and the
most durable successes

chronicled.
It is
that the history of art has ever
proved to have been adopted with enthu;
siasm by the entire Buddhist world

ed,
it
was, and has remain-
for the
faithful the sole
manner of conceiving and

cannot hide the
felt
figuring the Master...

if
And yet we
fact that,
from the beginning the people must have
the attracat its first
tive
charm of
its
ideal
and serene beauty,
it
must
appearance have been the object of just and bitter criticisms
on the
even,
if
part of the old
champions of orthodoxy. To-day
we, Buddhists or students of Buddhism, could free
ourselves from long custom and create for ourselves

eyes,
new
in
we should
what
is It
it
be the
first
to be shocked
by the ambi-
guous character of the Gandhara type of Buddha. For

fact,
that Buddhist scriptures are never tired of
repeating?
is
not we,
it is
tradition
which poses
:
for
the new-born Bodhisatwa the famous
dilemma
Either
thou wilt remain in the world and reign over the universe; or else thou wilt enter into religion
a Saviour of the
and become
see here
world
We all know that the second alterNow

what do we
not a prince, for he wears neither
native
(pi.
was
the
one
realized.
is
XI, 2)? This person
the costume nor the jewels of one; but
how
could one
monk, since his head is not shaven? If he were a bhikshu, he would not have retainif he were a cakravartin, he would not have ed his hair donned the monastic gown. A monk without tonsure or
maintain that he
is
a real Buddhist
a king without jewels, decidedly these strange images, from
whichever side one approaches them, are frankly neither

flesh
nor
fish.
From
the artistic point of view
we have
already
seen that, properly speaking,
they were neither
132

;
Greek nor Indian from the iconographic point of view we
must admit
still
that they are neither cleric nor
layman, but
and always a hybrid combination of two heteroclite
elements.
we lean over the crucible in which the formula of this new compromise was elaborated, and try to reconstitute from the monuments themselves how things happenShall
ed? Let us take the princely heir of the Cakyas

at
(pi.
XV,
2)
the critical
moment when
crisis
he
is
realizing his religious

just cast
vocation.
The moral
which has
him out of
by night
the world, and, as a beginning, has
made him
flee
from
by
a
his native
town, must, in
fact,
be translated occularly
complete transformation of his exterior aspect.
Now
we
read,
and we
see, that
on the dawn of his
escape, judging
himself beyond capture, he stops and sends back horse and

squire.
At the same time he charges the
latter to
carry
back to his
rich turban
a
home
all
his
princely jewels,
his
including the
which encircled
and already
are
long
hair,
gathered up in
us,
chignon on the top of the crown. Thus he appears to

in the act of
his head bare

clothes,
changing
his silken
state, for
which
no longer
suitable to his
all
new
the coarse garment of a hunter. In
these details the figur-
ed tradition conforms with a good grace to the written.
There
is
only one point on which the Indo-Greek

intractable.
artists
all
have shown themselves

texts will
At that instant
the
have
it
that the Bodhisattva himself with his

:
sword cut
off his hair
but to this
last
exigency of Indian
its
custom the school of Gandharahas never given
consent.
Whether
it
represents the Master at
the
height of his
in all his
ascetic macerations, or
whether
it
shows him
splendour,
at
the
moment when
he has just attained to

it
Illumination, his chignon continues to remain such as
was before
his
entrance into religion.
When
at last
he

begins to convert his
first disciples,
133
there
is
only the more
striking contrast between his wavy hair and the shorn
crowns
life,
of his bhikshus
for these latter, evidently sketched
from
wear the
full
tonsure, exactly like the bonzes of the pre-
sent day. Accordingly,
we may
say that by systematically
refusing in the case of the Blessed
One
to complete the
expected transmutation of layman into monk, the Gandhara

sculptors have not only put themselves in intended contradiction to the sacred writings
:
they have also obstinately
closed their eyes to the data supplied by the direct observation of a
number
of their
own
clients.
Visit afresh the collections, or turn over at
your
leisure
the reproductions, of Greco-Buddhist bas-reliefs.

distinction
The
sole
between the Bodhisattva, or any other great lay
person, and
Buddha
consists in this, that the latter appears
without jewels and draped to the neck in the monastic
gown.
On
the other hand, the only characteristic difference

his order lies in the
between the Master and the monks of

privilege,
which he alone enjoys, of retaining
his
hair.
At
this point the recipe for fabricating a
Buddha
after the
mode
(pi
.
of Gandhara presents
i).
itself
spontaneously to you
it
XVI,
You
take the
body of a monk, and surmount

first
with the head of a king (or what in India comes to the same
thing, a god), after having
earrings.
stripped
it
of turban and
sufficing ingre-
These
are the
two necessary and

;
dients of this curious synthesis and the advantages of this procedure.
you divine immediately

it
Were
not for the head,

:
confusion with any other
and
this
simple
monk would be almost inevitable consideration may help to explain why the
abstained
ancient native
school
from
representing
the
disciples as well as the Master (').
On the
other hand, were
(i) See above, p. 76.
134
it

little
not for the monastic cloak, you might be a
puzzled
to distinguish the Perfect
whenever the second

even
little
is
Buddha from the future Buddha, shown without a headdress, or

to
when
the lips of the former continue

still
wear
that
on the remote Japanese images. But join together the two elements, however incongruous, a layman's head on the body of a cleric and this combination will at once give you an individuality sufficiently marked to answer all the practical needs of iconomoustache which you
find
:
graphy.
The
result has
shown
it
well.
But, however complex the Indo-Greek type of
you doubtless consider that and dissected it more than sufficiently

be,
may
Buddha we have examined for to-day; and you
tremble to perceive the endless
conclusions which
we
might
even
at
once draw from
this analysis,
it
however
superficial
and summary.
if
First of all,
would be
chic,
sufficient to prove,
history did not so state, that this type
was created
esthetics
at
as an afterthought and, let us say, de

artists
by strangers more
for
than
theologians,
I
than for orthodoxy.
more would go
solicitous
further
Not only
the
moment
of
its
conception had the face of the Master long
been blurred
in the mists of the past,
and
lost
;
all
precise icono-
graphic data concerning
him been
but
among
the
vapours of incense which the worship of posterity caused

to
mount towards
his
memory, while waiting

is
for the latter
to be materialized in his image, he had already

a
assumed
(Joliot-
superhuman and,
character.
as
written, a supernatural
tard)
At
least,
we
could
scarcely otherwise
explain the success of that stroke of audacity whereby the
school of Gandhara assigned to him from the beginning a

special
physionomy, derived from, and

at
at
the
same time
remaining
an equal distance from, that of a
monk
and

that of a god.
It
135
results, further, that this type issues
from
with
the fusion of a double ideal, that of the Greek
Olympian
,
and that of the Mahdpurusha, or Indian
Great
Man
we except the detail of the distended lobe of the ears. And this would to some extent excuse the defect that many of these images are not exempt from some academic frigidity. Finally, we
no borrowing from
living reality,
if
comprehend the reason

ations thought
the hair.
it
for the retouches
which
later
gener-
necessary to apply, notably as concerns
We
can even see in
how
mechanical a manner
through uniformly covering bandeau and chignon with the

short
traditional curls, their
want of
skill
has suddenly
caused to stand out on the top of the crown the boss called
ushnisha, a
word which formerly meant only headdress And this is not yet all what should I not have to
:
tell
you concerning the diffusion
in India
and the Far East of
the idolatrous worship of Buddha, parallel to that of the
images! But reassure yourselves

its
sufficient for each
hour
subject,
and
will
not further abuse your patience.
Moreover, as
easier than to
prefer, less
we remarked at the beginning, nothing is see how much better preserved or, if you
deformed
at all
times and in
all
places
I
was
shall
the face of the Blessed

not, therefore, insist
One
than his doctrine.

the conquest
to-day on
of upper
and lower Asia by

did not
this irresistible
propagator of the Indo-
Greek school of Gandhara. But you would not forgive me,

if I
show
by
its
in conclusion
how
this
Buddhist school
art.
finds itself
origins in contact with our Christian

statues (pi.
Look
at
Christ,
XVI, 2); the one represents and the other Buddha. The one was taken from a
these
is
two
sarcophagus from Asia Minor, and

Berlin; the other
to-day to be found in
comes from
ruined temple in Gandhara,
and
is at
present in Lahore. Both, with the pose of the right
136

similarly draped in their mantles, are direct descen-
arm
dants of a
common
ancestor, the beautiful Greek statue of

called the Orator, in
It is
the Lateran
Museum,
which we have
a
long recognized
a Sophocles.
not to be doubted that,

is
plastically speaking, they are
cousins-german. The one

other
is
Greco-Christian Christ;
the
Greco-Buddhist
Buddha. Both
are,
by the same
right, a legacy left in extreart.
mis to the old world by the expiring Greek

After this last experience
it
will, doubtless,
seem to you
at
proved that
this figure of
Buddha, which, smiling
us
from the depths of the Far East, represents

mination of what
is
for us the cul-
exotic, nevertheless
came
originally
from
I
a Hellenistic studio.
Such,
at least, is the truth
to-day
mean the conclusion arising from the documents at present known and such, at the point at which archaeo-
logical researches
have arrived, will probably be the truth
to-morrow. Must we be glad or sorry for this? Facts are

facts,
and the wisest thing

still
is
to take
them
as they
come.
It
was
recently
the
custom to triumph
noisily over the
artistic
inferiority of
the Indians, reduced to
accepting
ready
made from
the hands of others the concrete realiza-
tion of their
tic bias
own religious ideal. At present, owing to aestheit is
or to nationalist rancour,
the fashion to
make
by
for
the school of
Gandhara pay
this
for its manifest superiority
a systematic blackening of its noblest production.
We
our part refuse in

fiable
connection to share either the unjustifor native inspiration,
contempt of the old criticism
or the ill-disguised spite of the
new
against the foreign
make.
It
;
is
not the father or the mother

the father and the mother.
who
The
has formed
the child
it is
Indian
mind
case
has taken a part no less essential than has Greek genius in

the elaboration of the model of the
Monk-God.
It is a
where the Hast and the West could have done nothing
GREEK ORIGIN OF THE iJUDDHA TYPE

without each other.
It
137
would be
childish to associate our-
selves, in a partizan spirit
and turnabout, with the exaltation
or the contempt, whether of Europe or of Asia,

fine
when
so
-
an opportunity offers for siluting
in the
Eurasian pro
totype of
Buddha one of the most sublime
creations where-
with their collaboration has enriched humanity.
PLATE XI
Cf. pp.
1
17- 120,
s 3 o (U 3
J5 O
J2
u
on
H ?
1)
_C
1)
^
oj
3 6
-C
Si
rt
3 c
^
.
t/5
bc
^
 C J- C3 JJ O o 2 jj r^ ]X C r^ 3
"2
t'l
'-'
rt
^ O
Cu D.
>< 11
iii
to
-a
c;
<-
_c
3 E u O "1
O ^
aj
*-^
H-,
.B -S
.E
c
Dt-H
W-^"rt 2 t-^ o o
o-
O
rt
O O
-5 -^ rt -C ^-^
d. oT j:
.
rt
O^ O
,1
PL XI
<
Q
<
in
w Q 3 o u
a:
< X Q Q
;=)
<M
PLATE
XII
124.
Cf. pp. 121, 123,
I,
An engraving borrowed from Sur

fig.
1 1
;
la frontiere indo-ajghane (Paris,
Hachetteet C'^ 1901,
cf.
executed from the author's
photographs.
Tour du monde, ôw. 1899, p. 543); On the left, beyond the
ploughed land,
Tises the hill of
is
seen the vilLige of Shahbaz-Garhi. In the background
Vi(;vantara (cf.
Mekha-Sandhi, once sanctified by the legend of prince ibid., p. 55 ; yotes sur la giographie ancienne du GanI,
dhdra,
in B.
. F. E.-O.,
duite
to the right stands the
1901, pp. 347-59; and above, p. 123). rugged hill-side, on which is still to be
(cf. p.
found the inscription of A?oka

II.
121).
at
photograph taken by the Archôlo gical Survey and placed

J.
our disposal by Dr.

see the central spur,
Ph. Vogel
(cf. p.
124). In the foreground

:
we
the
on which stands the principal monastery

east
view extends towards the north

Takht-i-Bahai as
far as
above the
hills
of the
little
range of
the Swi: mountains. For other views of the

14, or Tour du monde,
same
ibid
.
site
cf.
Sur
la frontiere indo-afghane, fig.

,
figg. i and 63-4 (with plan 545, and Art g.-b. du Gandb and description of the buildings, pp. 160-163).
p.
PL, XII
'i*"^^.
-J:
I'f'-wr'-Tr-rf'
*f<i4
^ "-J^
THE VILLAGE OF SHAHBAZ-GARHI
2.
THE RUINS OF TAKHT-I-BAHAI
PLATE
Cf. p.
XIII
124.
I.
An engraving borrowed from 5"Mr/a/ro//drfmio-a/^/we,

Nov. 1899,
is still
fig.
15
(or Tour Ja monde, author.
The
544); after a photograph taken by the eminence, increased in height by the slow accumulation
p.
of the dust of the past, buried in the earth.
surrounded by
a magnificent wall,
now
The people
of the country continue to maintain a

hill
connection between the village and the

at a
of Takht-i-Bahai, situated
distance of less than a league to the north,
which would represent

one and the same rAjah
respectively the capital and the throne of

(cf. p.
124).
II.
An Archajological Survey photograh, communicated by Dr.
J.
Ph. VoGEL, representing a corner of the recent excavations of Dr. D. B.

in one of the neighbouring tumuli of Sahri-Bahlol (cf. p. 124). These excavations have been described by their author in the Ardhxological Survey of India, Annual Report, iôS-"], pp. 102-118. For previous explorations of the same district see H. W. Bellew, General Report on
the
Spooner
Euinfiai (Lahore, 1864) and Punjab Gaxelteer, Peshawar District
(1897-1898), pp. ^(, sqq.; for the more modern researches (1912) of Sir Aurel Stein see, on the other hand, Annual Report of the Arcbxological
Survey of India, Frontier Circle, 1911-12 (Peshawar,
1912, with
map).
PL. XIII
1.
THE VILLAGE OF SAHRI BAHLOL
EXCAVATIONS NEAR oAHRI-BAHLOL
PLATE XIV
Cf. pp. 126-129.
I.
An engraving borrowed from Sur

in
la frontiire indo-aJghane,Rg. ô,
du Monde, nov. 1899, p. 556). The identification of this tumulus with the Pagoda of Kanishka (cf. above, p. 129) was first devel(or Tour
oped
our Notes sur
la geographie ancienne
du Gandhdra (B. . F.
E.-0.,\, 1901, pp. 329-333, with maps). Of the excavations by which it was verified an account has been given by Dr. D. B. Spooner in Archaeological
Survey of India, Annual Report, 1^08-^, pp. 38-59.
II.
The four coins reproduced are borrowed from

the British
the Catalogue of
Indian Coins in
Museum, The Coins
of the Greek and Scythic
Kings of Bactria and India, by Percy Gardner (London, 1886), pll. IV, I II, 9 XI, 7 XXVI, 8 a. Head of Alexander, son of Philip ,
;
;
; :
wearing
a lion's
skin, like Heracles;
reigning king, Agathokles the just

a throne
his
on the reverse, mention of the inscribed round a Zeus seated

(cf. p.
on
with a back, holding
in his raised left
and on
extended right hand the eagle
diadem and a helmet in head; on the reverse, mention of King Demetrios , inscribed on both sides of a standing Heracles, bearing in his left hand the club and
king, wearing a
hand the long sceptre b. Head of a the form of an elephant's

126).
the lion's skin and with the right hand crowning himself with an ivy-
wreath
(cf.
p.
;
126).
c.
Diademed head of the
Saviour King
hurl-
Menander
on the reverse, Pallas Athene, bearing the aegis and

:
ing the thunderboh
round her the same inscription, but
this
time
in the Indian alphabet
and language
of the north-west
(cf. p.
127).
d. Full-length portrait of the<<
Shah of Shahs, Kanishka

;
the
Kushan
128).
spear in the
a standing
left
hand, the right extended above a pyre

a
on the reverse,
Buddha, having an aureole and
nimbus
(cf. p.
PL. XIV
*5H^1.
'#fM'W^-"'
SHAH-Ji-KIDHERi (KANISHKA STUPA)
*>>"'W/y.
'-''î'
INDO GREEK AND INDO SCYTHIC COINS
PLATE XV
Cf. pp. 129-132.
2 H
3
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73
4)
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PLATE XVI
Cf. pp.
133-136.
I.
The type of Bodhisattva and that of Buddha are borrowed from

museum of the Louvre (cf. Art g.-b. du Gandh., fig. 134) monk from a bas-relief in the British Museum. For the
cf.
a frieze in the
that of the
reason of their being placed together
pp. 133-134.
II.
The
image of Christ
is
;
reproduced from
let
a plate
in
Professor
it
SxRzrGOWSKi's Orient oder Rom

been
to
artificially isolated
us not omit to confess that
has
its
slender figure
from the rest of the sarcophagus. In contrast the image of Buddha (no. 527 of the Lahore
0,60)
is
Museum; height m. left arm we shall find

and
in the sixth
I.
noticeably squat.
The
gesture of the
Buddha of this same plate XVI, i, of the seven which are ranged on the base of plate
again in the
XXVI,
For comparison the Sophocles of the Lateran
museum may
be found reproduced in most manuals of classical archeology. (Cf.

pp. 135-136).
PL. XVI
1.
TYPES OF BODHISATTVA, BUDDHA AND MONK
2.
GRyECOGHRISTIAN CHRIST AND GR^GOBUDDHIST BUDDHA
The Tutelary
in
Pair
(')
Gaul and
in India
When
turning over the leaves of the monumental and

bas-reliefs, statues
et
valuable Recueil des

roinaine of
busies
de
la
Gaide
figure
M. Esperandieu, we see again and again a usually entitled Abundance or Goddess Moit is
ther
Rare in Provence, where apparently
better con-
cealed under the purely classical features of
Demeter and
in
;
Fortune,
it
shows
itself
from time to time
Aquitaine
with an appearance already more indigenous

plying
itself, it
it
then multi-
passes into Lyonnaise ,
where we have
:
counted
no
less
than forty times (vols. III-IV)

tell
the se-
quel of the publication will
us whether
it
enjoyed the
type, very
left
same favour
a
in Belgian Gaul. Its
most usual
close to that of the puUulant Matres, holds in the
hand
horn
of abundance, and in the right a patera. In no.
3225 (Langres)we see moreover on either side of the goddess
two
little
genii,
one of
whom
dips into a purse placit is
ed between her feet

sisters,
. If it is
is
not she, then
one of her
who
elsewhere
represented with a child in her
arms, like a Madonna (nos. 1326-13 34, Saintes), or with a sack on her knees, from which drop coins (no. 1567,
Ruffec). At times fruits are also placed actually
on the
lap
of the goddess (nos. 2350,

Lastly, the patera
is
Mont Auxois
3237, Langres).
1 5
occasionally replaced by acake (nos.
28,
(i) Revue archeologique, 1912,
It,
pp. 3-ii-y11
140
THE TUTELARY PAIR

or, in
IN
GAUL AND
IN INDIA
by a goblet of the special form called an o//a (nos. 1161, Puy-de-D6me; 21 12, Beaune). These last attributes seem to be only borrowings from another Gallic divinity, or rather two
Bourges),
the
pieces,
more debased
others
who
are masculine
and likewise of frequent occurthe

olla
ence. Their usual attributes are
and the purse,

;
often difficult to distinguish from one another
but local
and barbarous variants represent them as holding likewise

the cake and the sack of
money
(no. 1553, La Guerche,
Cher), or even a child (no. 2882, Auxerre),
when they do
not in their turn borrow the patera
full
of fruits (no. 2263,
Entrains)or the horn of abundance (nos. 2 1 62, Macon; 2166,
Chalon-sur-Saone).
One of the
it
types
is
bearded
like Jupiter,
whose long
of a mallet.
sonality
sceptre
replaces, as
we know, by
the handle
his perrela-
The
other, beardless,
most often hides
under the figure of Mercury. The intimate

of both
is
tionship
with the goddess, or goddesses, of

:
Abundance certain for a proof we require only the numerous groups in which they appear in company, standing on the same stele or seated side by side on the same
seat.
Some
cate clearly
from the wings
represent the god without a beard, and indi-
on
his feet
sus, taking the caduceus en route
up
to the peta-
his assimilation to
;
Mercury (nos. 1800, Fleurieu-sur-Saone 1856, Autun), or give him the appearance of a local Mars (no. 1832, Autun). The majority resort to the model of the bearded
god with
a mallet (nos. 2066, Nuits

as
3441, Dijon
etc.).
Often they assign to the husband,
mark of
office,
the
same horn of abundance
as to his
companion, unless they
lend to the latter the purse (no. 3382, Chatillon-sur-Seine), or make both place their hands on the same olla (no. 21 18,
Beaune). In
one case
a child
is
playing
at
their feet
(no. 1830, Autun). For the necessities of our case
we
will
THE TUTELARY PAIR

restrict
IN
GAUL AND
IN INDIA
141
ourselves to borrowing from
M. Espirandieu's
and 2)
col-
lection
an almost complete specimen of each of the two

i
principal variants of the subject (pi. XVII,
(').
No one
take
expects from an Indianist that he shall under-
more closely to identify Gallo-Roman divinities or even to distinguish very carefully between them; but perhaps he may be allowed to point out the existence, on the opposite
confines of the world
known
to the ancients, of per(pi.
fectly
analogous figures and even groups

far as
XVIII,
and
2).
As
in
one can judge of the popularity of gods by
the always fortuitous result of excavations, this divine pair
was
it.
Gandhara no
less in
vogue than
in
Lyonnaise; but
there
we possess more precise information concerning The Buddhist community showed itself more receppopular superstitions than the Christian clergy.
its
tive to
It
assigned a place in
its
convents, and dedicated passages of
scriptures, to this conjugal association of the fairy with

:
the children and the genius with the purse
for, after all,
they are only demi-gods of

for the use of the
fairly
low
extraction, created
middle
classes,
and on a level with them. In

but the texts merely desi-
the
man
it
has long been proposed to recognise Kuvera,

;
the King of the Spirits (^)
gnate
is in
him
as their general
by
virtue of this title that he
is
name Paiicika, and it nearly always leaning upon

his
like the
a lance.
These Yakshas of
India,
dwarfs of our
mythologies, are essentially guardians of treasures; and

doubtless this
is
how
Pancika must have
commenced
(i) In addition to the specimens represented or quoted in the texts, see

also nos. 1564, 1573, 1828, 1837, 1849, 2129, 2249,2252-2253, 2255-2256,
2271, 2313, 2334, 2353, 2878-2881, 2911, etc. It seems that the same two gods are again found in the company of the same goddess on the triades
of nos. 2131 (Autun) and 2357 (Asile-Sainte-Reine). (2) Cf. Dr. J. Ph. VoGEL, Note sur une statue du Gandhara, in B. E. F.
E.-O.,
Ill,
1903.
142
THE
TUTF.LA.RY PAIR IN
GAUL AND
IN INDIA
his career; but the purse of gold ,
which he holds
even
if
in
his right hand,
would
sufficiently prove,
we were
not expressly told, that he had already transformed himself
from a jealous gaoler into
generous dispenser of
riches.
Whilst the miserly demon was thus changing into a
liberal geniu:, his wife Hariti
was undergoing
was becoming
terrible infantile
five
a parallel a matron.
evolution, and from an ogress
Originally she personified
some
epidemic;
little
;
and,
elves,
although herself a mother of

she found her food in
she
is
hundred
the children of
art,
men
is
but
when
depicted for us by religious
she
suppos-
ed to have been already converted by Buddha, and her sole
function
is
to accord to the
vows of the
faithful a
numerous
myth into GrecoRoman terms. Lamia was metamorphosed into Lucina. Most often she is represented as holding on her knees, or
progeny.
If
we
care to translate the
even suckling, her last-born, which has caused her to be

called
the
Buddhist Madonna
('),
whilst
numbers of
her sons frolic around her or, climbing about her person,
make her look

authors of
pi.
like
an Italian allegory of Charity.

i
The
XVIII,
and 2 have expressed the traditional

and fructifying Hariti in a man-
conception of the
ner
fruitful
more sober than
usual, being content with putting a
cornucopia into her left hand.
They
forget only
one point,
an
namely
that according to Indian ideas a
horn or any other

is
remnant of a dead animal (except the black antilope)

unclean thing, and that only people of the currier
the least fastidious and the
caste,
most despised of men, can touch
such an object. For us Europeans,
who
are not disturbed
by such refinements of delicacy,
this attribute, far
from
shocking, only awakens in the delighted mind ideas of fer-
(i) Cf. infra,
tlie List
essay.
THE TUTELARY PAIR

tile
IN
GAUL AND
IN INDIA
is,
143
maturity and maternal prosperity. This
indeed,
how
the Indo-Greek sculptors
understood
it,
and the mere
choice of this symbol would be sufficient to prove that
they were more Greek than Indian
but the meaning of
these abridged versions remains evidently the same as that
of the more ornate replicas, which encumber with urchins

the pedestal, the knees, and even the shoulders of these
same persons (cf. pi. XLVIII, i). The mere sight of the god leaning lovingly on the arm or the shoulder of his companion, and the latter not fearing to caress his knee in
public, leaves us in
cult
no doubt that popular imagination and
have
in fact united in
matrimony the genius who
dis-
penses riches and the fairy
who
grants posterity.
We
same
ney
itself
should be willing to believe that the Gallic groups,
like their Indian prototypes,
must
practically
answer to the
and
for
eternal desires of
humanity
for offspring
mofar
although our modern civilization seems to

from the one
god
is
detach
to the advantage of the other.

it
As
as the
concerned, whether
be a question of the
Gallic Mercury,
who, we
are told
by Caesar, controlled the
gains of commercial transactions, or of that Dis Fater,
who
seems
to be the native
double of Plutus, as well as of Pluto,

is in all
the purse which he holds in his hand
languages an
expressive
emblem
and
as for the goddess,
by whatever
name she may

svelta, or
be called, Rosmerta, Ma'ia, Tutela, Nanto-
simply BonaDea, her horn of abundance signifies

all
fecundity. According to
appearance, whilst her husband
was more the men, her
particularly destined to fulfil the aspirations of
task
was
to satisfy those of the
women
and
thus in Gaul, as in India, both sexes must have found

faction in the
ficient or four
satis-
worship of
this divine pair. Besides,
it is
suf-
purpose that their tutelary character should
be incontestable.
What
chiefly interests us
is
the analogy
144
THE TUTELARY PAIR
IN
GAUL AND
IN INDIA
artists
between the procedures followed by the
of
such
distant countries, in order to picture before
our eyes ideas
on the whole analogous. Between the two groups reproduced

only contrast
at all striking
in
our plates the
consists in the respectively

as
it is,
inverse positions of the

it
two spouses. But, inverted

for the
retains the
the place
same intention of reserving of honour in relation to the man
goddess
ac-
that being
XVIII,
i
cording to the old Indian custom on the

right as with us (').
left,
and not on the and
The
stool placed beneath the left foot

i is
ofthe persons in
but
pi.
it
pi.
XVII,
lacking in
pi.
2;
exists
on other
pi.
replicas, and, besides, the

it
group of
XVII, 2 dispenses with
likewise.
i,
The
scaly decoration
ofthe pedestal of
each other,
purse.
is
XVIIL
on
made of
coins half covering
only a paraphase of the signification of the

seats
pi.
The double
XVIII allow a sight of

:
their
four
feet,
turned on the lathe in the Indian manner but, on
the other hand, the

character of the pair
eyes.
nimbus which emphasizes the divine

is
perfectly familiar to our western

local differences,
!
Then, beside these small
what
re-
semblances are to be observed
If
we
leave aside the leg-
gings and the large earrings of the Indian genius, his cos-
tume
even, consisting of a tunic and a cloak,
is
not so very
different
from that usually worn by his Gallo-Roman equi-
(i) For other conjugal pairs thus

dhAra, figg. 160-162.
placed
cf.
Art greco-bouddhique du Ganis
curious fact to be noticed
that
two Gallo-Roman
groups, to be classed
among
those which have best retained the accent of the goddess on the
left
their birthplace, also place
of the god; they are
nos. 1319 (Saintes) in which the god with the purse is crouched down k I'indienne near the goddess with the horn of .abundance, who is seated
in the
European manner, and 2354 (Auxois). We may ask ourselves if the custom of the Gauls was not the same as that ofthe Indians on this point, exactly as we know that it was the common custom of the two nations to
count past time by nights and not by days,
etc.
THE TUTELARY PAIR

valents.
IN
GAUL AND
IN INDIA
145
To
a
the mallet of the one corresponds well

its
enough
in the
the long sceptre of the other, with
end rounded
form of
pi.
mace
2,
(pi.
XVIII,
i).
As
for the beardless
god of
a lance,
XVII,
he,
we
are told, holds in his left
hand
and
in the other
:
an object scarcely recognizable, perhaps
a purse
these are precisely the insignia of the correspondpi.
ing person in
XVIII,
2.
Last but not least, the
women
,
have the same pose, the same attributes, the same draperies,
even the same headdress in the form of a bushell

basket
:
or
between them
a quasi-identity asserts itself,
and there would be no exaggeration

cheated even the eyes of the donors.
in saying that,
it
from
the banks of the Indus to those of the Seine,
would have
it
Such
prove
?
is
the testimony of the
monuments. What does
Let us hasten to say, nothing very

will venture to
new
for certainly
no one
imagine direct influences between

as far at least as
Gaul and India. Moreover, the connection,

the goddess
is
concerned,
is
already established in the
memory
figures
:
of instructed readers by a number of intermediary

at
need
it
would soon be discovered among those
tiny mercantile and travelling folk, the Mediterranean terracottas.
We shall
be excused for holding in this case also to
prudent generalities and confining ourselves to the introduction of our Indian replicas into the discussion.
If it
were
not sufficient to indicate this
new
fact,
it,
and
ther to essay an interpretation of
that
we ought furwhich we should

if
propose
is
a very simple one. It has long been ascertained
that the art of

lenistic art
:
Gandhara borrowed
its
technique from Helit
it is
impossible then that
should not have
features in
common
with Greco-Roman, and consequently

art.
with the Gallo-Roman
This kind of relationship, howbe,

is
ever distant the degree
may
justified principally, in
archaeology as well as in linguistics, by the same construe-
146
THE TUTELARY
PAIR IN
GAUL AND
IN INDIA
tion of the forms and the
employment of the same grammar, verbal or decorative: and in this particular case no specialist could turn over the leaves of M. Esperandieu's
collection without noticing, in support of the cousinship
of these distant schools, a number of details of composition
and the constant return of the same ornamental subjects,

amorini, griffons or tritons, garlands, acanthuses or flowers.
But, after
for
all,
nothing
is
more
the
public than
it
more persuasive comparison bearing on vocabustriking and
lary, especially if
is
a question of a
common
significant
word. This
believed
is
just
the kind
of contribution
that
we
we
could supply here by noting the suggestive
correspondence of the oriental

sions of the
and
occidental expres-
same
ideas, or, better, of the
same rehgious
needs. In truth, these works, however complex they

be,
may
Such
only transcribe quite rudimentary notions; but notions

in
only the more deeply grounded

as
they are, these groups
human
nature.
which, besides, are nearly

for the
contemporaneous
seem to us to furnish
at
moment
one of the most palpable

first
verifications of the fact that in the
centuries of our era the sculptors of the Gauls and
those of Ariana had each learned
the school of the Greeks,

to the other
and spoke from one end of the ancient world

the
same common language, the same
artistic
koine
PLATE
XVIl
Cf. pp. 141-145-
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THE TUTELARY PAIR
PL. XVII
CKl
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PLATE
XVIII
Cf. pp. 141-145.
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THE TUTELARY PAIR
PL. XVIII
CM
< Q
<;
The Great Miracle
at Qravasti (0.
The
narratives of the death of
his cremation eight
Buddha assert kings or ruHng clans shared
that after
his ashes,
and that they deposited their several portions under as

stupas.
many
this
We
:
see
no reason
for disbelieving tradition

is
on
point
first
the important thing
not
the
at
times to confuse these
eight sanctuaries with
historical eight
grand
caityas
Q. We
knovv?, indeed, for certain that eight
towns
of Madhyadeca had finally divided
among
themselves, not
the rehcs, but the legend, of Buddha. In their immediate
neighbourhood were eight

to
specially holy places,
supposed
preserve the vestiges of the eight principal miracles
of the Master. This implies that
they formed as
many
centres of attraction for pilgrims, the organized exploitation
of
whom
It
one of the few industries which

easily be
still
survive
in India
must have constituted an

may
appreciable source of
income.
imagined that the definite choice
of scenes and sites was not accomplished without rivalries
(î')
Journal asialiqup, Jan. -Feb. 1909.
(2) That there
proved
at
once
in
is no lack of opportunity tor these confusions we find Unc pohic iiiconnuc du roi Harsa Qlhiditya, restored from
Chinese transcription by M.
1894,
I,
S.
Levi {Adcs du
X''
Congrcs
int.
dcs Orient.,
p. i88,
Caityas
Leiden, 1895) and entitled Hymn to the Eight Great which enumerates still more. The eight reliquaries of stanza 5,
sti'ipas
followed by the
of the
urn
and the
ashes
are evidently the 8
-|-
2 stupas oixhtMahdparinibhdna-sutta, VI, 62,

eight great caityas of the title.
and have nothing todo with the
12
148
THE GREAT MIRACLE

least four cities, indeed, received
and hesitations. At
first
from the
an undisputed recognition.
A relatively ancient text, the

the pilgrimages
Mahaparinibhanasutla., already
recommends
to the four sacred places of the Birth, the Illumination, the

First Preaching,
and the Death, of Buddha

stiipas
(').
On
the
square bases of the httle
of Gandhara and the
stelae
of
Amaravati these four scenes are invariably associated (pll. IIIV^)

:
only
we must draw
Kapilavastu
is
attention to the fact that in the
latter case
usually represented not by the

called
nativity of the child
Buddha, but by what might be

life,
abandonment of home ("). However, neither the cities of Gaya and Benares, nor certainly the obscure frontier market towns of
his birth into the spiritual
we mean his
Kapilavastu and Kucinagara could pretend to monopoliiê
between them the Buddhist legend and the advantages

accruing therefrom. Throusrh the disconnected accounts of
(i)V, 16-22; the

and Neil,
Gandhara,
p.
/ij/i,
the Ahlmamhodhl,ih<iD}]armacakrapravartaiia, and
the Parinirvana are similarly associated in the Divyavadana, ed.
Cowell
244 and p 397,

little
1.
18.
cf.
(2) For the

fig.
stiipas
of the north-west,
stelas
Art greco-hmddhique du
J.
208. For the
of Amaravati see
Burgess, The Buddhist

5
;
SI upas of Amaravati and Jaggayyapefa, pll.
XVI, 4; XXXII, 4; XXXVIII,

cf.
XLI, 6 (with the departure on horseback; Serpent-Worship, pi. LXXV on the right), and
to
J.
Fergdsso.n,
3
Tree and
pi.
XVI,
(with the farewell
On all those cf. Fergusson, ibid., pi. LXXV, which are complete the Parinirvana is constantly symbolized by a simple sliipa.^hh tliese one may connect others, in which the Ahhisainhodhi and the Dharmacalcrapravartana are figured by an empty throne under a tree
Chandaka;
to the
left).
stelie
or a wheel (Burgess, ibid.,

1-3
;
pll.
XXXVIII,
and 6
XLV.
and 4; XLVI,
i,
XLVII,
XLVIII,
Fergusson,
ibid., pll.
XCIII; XCIV,
a)-
The
most curious of this kind are those which shrink from representing not only the Buddha, but even the Bodhisattva, and wherein the Mahiibhinisi'kramana is no longer represented, except by a horse without a rider (Fergusson,
ibid., pll.
XCIII, to the
several
left
XCVI,
is
and XCVIII,
2). It will be
observed
67, 2 and
besides that on
stehf of Benares (Ânc.

associated
Mon.
hid., pi.
68,
the Mahabhinishkrainana
with the Jdti in the same
framework.
THE^..GREAT MIRACLE
the
i49
documents we seem
to catch the play of the
two domi-
nant forces which brought the number of the great pilgrimages up to the sacred figure of eight. Sometimes the pre-
ponderant element seems to be the prestige which a certain

miracle had very early acquired in the popular imagination.
Thus we
see the descent
from heaven
separate itself
;
very early from the crowd of traditional marvels

localization
but
its
continues fluctuating,
at least
if
we keep
free
to
the letter of the texts

capital
Q. On
the other hand, the ancient
ofMagadha, Rajagriha, and the wealthy
town of
Bud:
Vaicali easily,
by reason of their preeminent
role in the
Kaucambi or Mathura there is, however, no consensus of testimony as to which among all the edifying scenes which had there come to
dhist scriptures, eclipsed the titles of
pass
it
was
right
Cravasti even,
more particularly where the interest is

fall,
to
at
commemorate. At
once concentrated
upon
ity of
the Jetavana, the Master's favourite sojourn,
might the great miracle , the triumph whereby its immediate environs had been rendered famous O-'ifi the face ol the
choice does not
as
have been expected,
unanimon
(i)
It is
known
that the Divyavadana
and Fa-hicn locaUze the Devavatara

(cf. S.
atSankaijya, Hiuan-tsangat Kapitha and Fa-t'ien

at
Levi,
loc. cit., p.
190)
193) and Wou-k'ong (trans. S. Levi and Ed. Chavannes, Journal A sialiquc, sept-oct. 1895, p. 358) do not give
Kanyakubja; the Mabdvyutpatti
definitely the place of this
Descent
of Buddha.
(2)
The Mahapraliharya
is
indeed mentioned by the text of Harsha and
somewhat incorrectly, by Fa-t'ien in the Jetavana of Qravasti (the Divyavaddna[^^. 151 and 155,11. 12-14 and 17-18] specifies, in fact, that the but theatre of the scene was situated between the town and the park)
placed,
;
Wou-k'ong
associates with the Jetavana the preaching of the
Mahdprajmpavague
ramila-sLitra. In the
same way,
at Rajagriha, in direct antithesis to the
teachings
of Fa-t'ien, he places the preaching of the Saddbarmapundarika
hill of the Gridhrakuta. At Vaicali both agree to call by names the touching episode of the rejection of life (Jiyur or dyuhsamskdra-utsarj(tiui), which supervened three months before the Parinirvdiia. But we shall see that, guided by considerations of a pictorial and technical
on the neighbouring
different
ijo
THE GREAT MIRACLE
capricious divergencies of the texts the concordant precis-
ion of the figured
monuments
list,
has fortunately permitted
us to make out the
and to sketch the traditional scheme,
of the four supplementary great scenes, the miracle oi Qravasti,
the descent from heaven at Sankacya, the monkey's
offering at Vaicali, the subjugation of the savage elephant

at
RajagrihaC).
It is
true that, in order definitely to fix this
scheme,
we have
availed
ourselves chiefly of miniatures

late date
in Nepalese
and Bengali manuscripts of rather

a
(Xr'^-XIH"' centuries). At the most
we had been
slabs,
, at
able to
compare with them only

from the scene of the
few carved
preaching
which came
first
Sarnath, in the
northern suburb of Benares, and which date back approxi-
mately to the V"' century of our

slabs
era.
Unfortunately, these
were quite incomplete
we may
be permitted, thereat
fore, to
emphasize the interest of the recent discovery

place of a stele in fairly
the
same
good condition, divided

once that seven of these
of the sub-
into eight panels and consecrated precisely to the eight great
scenes (pi. XIX, i). Let us say

bas-reliefs only confirm
jects
at
what we already knew
which they represent and the conventional manner of

J.
treating them. Besides, Mr.

identified
H. Marshall has completely
them. He has no hesitation, except as regards
one single scene,

is doubtful,
of which the identification
he says,
at
but which appears to have taken place

it is,
Cra-
vasti (').
And
in
fact,
concerning the traditional
order, the artists

different choice
made from
the mass of the traditional accounts a quite

letters.
I'liidc,
I
from the men of
(i) See Et. sur I'lcoiiogr. hcuddh. dc
(1900, pp. 162-170), sum-
marized, corrected and completed,
ibid., 11
/.
(1905), pp. 115-114.
(2) See Mr. Marshall's (article in

pi.
R. A. S. 1907, pp. 999-1000, and
IV,
1).
We
take pleasure in here thanking the very distinguished Direcin
tor-General of ArchajoJogy, India, lor his extreme kindness
putting at
THH G:<EAT MIRACLE
151
manner of representing the Great miracle of (^.ravasti that this new document will furnish us with useful evidence.
II
The
as
canonical importance of the mahd-prdtihdrya of Cra-
vasti is incontestable.
The DivydvadAna
gives
it
expressly
one of the ten
acts
of which every perfect Buxldha must

It is
necessarily acquit himself before dying (').

in this text
likewise
that
is
to say, as
MM.
S.
Levi and Ed.
Huber
have show^n, in the Vinaya of the Mula-Sarvastivadins

that
|il
most ancient and most detailed account of the miracles whereby on this occasion âkyamuni triumphed over his rivals, the six chiefs of sects. Thanks to
find the
we
the translation of Burnouf, this account

to need citation here
(").
is
too well
known
We
shall
restrict
ourselves to
bringing out the essential points. After having wrought a
few minor miracles, which were mere preliminary and refusing to allow anyone,
trilles,
monk
in
or layman,
man
or
our disposal a photograph of the

reproduction.
(i) Divyavadana, pp, i;o 151
p. 147,
11.
;
slele
question and authorizing
its
no Buddha of the past has
failed in
it
ihid.,
24-27); according to the Tibetan testimonies the Buddha of our age accomplished it in the sixteenth year of his ministry (Rockhill, Life of
the
Buddha, p 79). (2) Divyadana, XII and Burnouf, Inlrodiictioii a Fbisl.
dii
Boiiddb. indicii,
pp. 162 sqq. The XIII"' story of the AvadAnakalpahtd, deplorably edited indeed in the Bihl. Iitdica, V, 1895 (see, below, p. 174, n. 5), adds, in accordance with the usual custom of Kshemendra, nothing but poetic graces
RoCKHiL(Lz'/"e of the Buddha, pp. 79-80, following the Dulva) and Schief.ver
(E)e
tibct. Leherisbeschr. Cdkyamuni's, p. 293) restrict themselves to a reference to Burnouf. For the connections of these various authors with the
tradition of the Mula-Sarvastivadins see also the very clear conclusions of
Prof. S. Levi, Journal Asiatiquc, July- August 190S, pp. 102 and 104.
152
THE GREAT MIRACLE

to be substituted for him, so as to confuse the
woman,
Blessed
Tirthyashy the exhibition of a supernatural
power, the
One
At
accomplishes successively, on the direct and
twice repeated invitation of king Prasenajit,

miracles.
first
two kinds of
terms
is
he displays what
in technical
in
called the yamaka-prdtihdrya,

air in
which consists
walking the
various attitudes, while emitting alternately flames

;
and waves from the upper and lower parts of his body
the second place, multiplying images
in
of himself up to
heaven and
in all directions,
he preaches his law.
A violent
convert-
storm, raised by a chief of the genii, completes the over-
throw of the heterodox.

ed to the good law.
An immense multitude
is
now after the Sanskrit version we consult the Pali tradition, we find that the mahd-prdtibdrya of Cravasti is there
If
usually designated the miracle

tree .
at
the foot of the
mangoJdtaka,
The Mahdvanisa and

it
the
commentary o{ the
for example, give

latter, as also
no other name. According

did, in fact, begin
to the
according to the Singhalese and the Bur-
mese
are
(') accounts,
Buddha
by accom-
plishing the magical operation
which the jugglers of India always endeavouring to imitate from the stone of a
:
mango
and
planted in the ground he

tree,
is
is
supposed to have forthat
with grown an enormous

fruits.
covered
a
once with flowers
But then this
merely
simple extra, scarcely
even a curtain-raiser.
divinities assemble,
When
the great day has come, the
and the introduction to Jdtaka no. 483
(i)Cf. Mahiivamsa, cd. Turnoor, pp. 107. 181, 191 ;cd. Geiger, pp. 137,
241, 2^4; JAtakit, ed. Fausbî-l, I, p. 77, 1. 23 ; 88, !. 20, etc.; amhamtde, or gandainba-mule, is written; Gand.i has become in the commentary of the
Jdlaka, no. 483, and
pp. 295-296), the
Gandamba in Sp. Hardy {Manual of BuiiJbism, i"' name of the gardener who supphed the mango sec
:
ed.
also
BiGAVDET, Life of Gaudama, Rangoon, 1S66, p. 205.
THE GREAT MIRACLE

tells
153
US in a single sentence that
The
Master, having accom-
plished the yamaka-pdtihdriya, and having recognized the
believing dispositions of a great
number of
people, redes-
cended, and, seated on his Buddha

If
seat, taught, the

it is
law (')
difficult
we
analyse this brief resume of the scene,

it,
not
to recognize in
exactly as in the overelaborate version
of the Divydvaddna, the distinct and successive enunciation of the
same two moments,

these
that of the
pair of miracles
and that of the preaching.
Of
diately as
two manifestations the first strikes one immethe more original and the more picturesque
:
one would have wagered

the choice of the artists
that
it
must have
it
thrust itself
on
whose duty
was
to decorate the
Buddhist monuments with edifying scenes, or to compose

pious cx-voios for the use of the
laity.
As
a matter of fact,
at least
we have found
in the ancient
school of Gandhara
one indubitable representation of the

and even at the present
us not in the
twin miracles
moment
the special attribution of
this bas-relief to the mahd-prdtihdrya of ^ravasti seems to
least untenable,
on the
sole condition that

It
we
mark well
its
exceptional character ().
was, besides, the
accidental circumstance of this find that prevented our car-
rying still further our researches on this point. Nevertheless

as we
had already observed,
it
was the scene of the manifold
(i) See
1. 1
/ii/rtte,
IV, p. 265,
11.
3) of
oruyhaâvaruyha by
13-14 the English translation (IV, p. 168, then arose seems to us to be a lapsus calami,
;
going directly against the meaning.
It will
be noticed that the Pali, like the

loc.
Mahdvastu, makes use of the technical term oi yaniaka-p; Bigandet,

p. 207, gives us a very clear description of
tions, cf.
it
cH.,
(perhaps even two descrip-
below,
p.
157);
it
is
also easily recognized

Joe. cit.,
through the
/s/o"
and
apokasiiia-samdpntti of Sp.
(2) Sta Art g-h.

India, pi. 115, 5),
p. 297. Gaudb.. pp. 516 and 535, and fig. 265(=:^);r. Mon. where we give the reasons which led us us to prefer this
dii
Hardy,
identification to the equally possible
one of
the arrival at Kapilavastu
154
THE GREAT MIRACLE

later, if
preaching of the Master that
we may
judge from
the miniatures of the manuscripts, inspired the traditional
image of the
regularly
great miracle
at least,
they represent
side
it
by three Buddhas teaching, seated
by
side
upon as many lotuses ('). Now the stele recently exhumed from the ground of the ancient Mrigadava testifies, five or six centuries earlier, to this same manner of conceiving
the subject
:
the
compartment which we know beforehand
to have been reserved for the miracle of Qravasti

in fact, like the miniatures, three
shows
us,
Buddhas seated on
is
lotuses
in the attitude of teaching.
This
the
new
fact
supplied
by
this discovery,
and
it
will not be
long before
its
conse-
quences unfold themselves before our eyes.

But,
restrict
first
of all, a question arises as to whether
we must
can sucartists. If
it
ourselves to merely stating, or whether
we
i),
ceed in explaining, the unexpected choice of the
we
consider only the stele in question (pi. XIX,
seems
that
we may immediately
see a reason, although an external

its
one, for the course taken by

fact,
author. Let us observe, in
that of the four great
supplementary scenes of the
legend of Buddha there are two which absolutely necessitate a
standing posture
they are the subjugation of the
wild elephant and the descent from heaven.

care for
legitimate
symmetry
in the alternation
of the poses would
have demanded a sitting posture in the corresponding

scenes, not only in the
monkey's
offering, but also in the

is
great miracle of Cravasti. Such, at least,

riously suggested
the idea impe-
by an examination of the apportion-
ment
of the subjects on the
new
stele
the only one,
(i) See Icon. hoiuLlb. de llinle,
1,
pi. .\,
(cf.
Bkndali., Catalogue of the
Buddlnsl Sanshyit Maiiiiscripts

pi.
II, i),
in
the
University Library, Cambridge, 1SS5,

II,
and
cf. ibid. p.
205, no. 82, and
pp. 114, no, 4.
THE GREAT MIRACLE

let
155
US remember, that
(cf.
we
possess with the eight scenes
complete
the table below).
First Preaching
Parinirvdna
Buddha seated
Buddha lying down
Descent
from Heaven
Miracle of Qravastl
Buddha standing
Buddha seated
r
Offering of the nionl-ty
Stihjiigalion
of the elephant
Buddha seated
Buddha stakding
Nativity
Perfect enlightenment
M^Ya STANDING
Buddha seated
It
is
scarcely
necessary to
is
remark that
this reason,
valid
for the whole,
inapplicable to an isolated panel?
The
reading of the texts will furnish an argument of wider

It
bearing.
does not, in
fact,
take us long to perceive that they
use and abuse the yamaka-prdtiMiya.

tion of the Jdtaka
The
general introducas
makes
it
to be
wrought by Buddha
early as the eighth day after the Bodhi, and specifies that
he repeated
time of his
his father
it
under three other circumstances, (r)
at
the
visit to
Kapilavastu and of his meeting with
and
his relatives, the Cakyas, (2) at the
time of
his
encounter
last,
with
the
heterodox
monk
Patikaputta,
(').
and
(3) at (^ravasti, at the foot of the mango-tree

attributes
it
The Divydvaddna
further to a simple
monk;
hun-
the Mahdvastu to Yacoda or Yacas, the converted son of

the banker of Benares; the Sntrdlahkdra to the five
dred hhikshunis, companions ot Mahaprajapati
the Jdtaka-
(i) ]dtaka,
I,
pp. 77 and 88; trans. Rhys Davids, Buddhist Birth Stories,

;
pp. 105 and 123

p. 115,
on the
first
of the three other occasions
cf.
Mahdvastu,lll,
and on the second the Manual of Sp. Hardy,
p. 331.
156
THE GREAT MIRACLE

to a Pratyeka-Buddha; finally, the
it
mdU
îf
-
Mahavamsa twice
places
to
the account of simple relics of the Blessed
One,
etc. (').
We
receive the impression that the yamakain
pnUihdrya has
classic.
become hackneyed
after
consequence of being
it,
Moreover when,
having accomplished
Bud-
dha returns and

Prasenajit in a
seats himself in his place,
he informs king
moment
is
of proud modesty that this

to
all
kind of magical power
common
the disciples of the
Tathagata
Hence it may be conceived that artists and worshippers were of one mind in no longer finding in
(').
this banal
wonder anything
to
characterize with
suffi-
cient clearness the great scene of Cravasti,
and preferred
:
the multiplication of the teaching images of the Master

for
it is
written that this last miracle
is
realizable only
by
to
the special
Finally,
power of the Buddha and the gods (^). must conceal nothing, we seem if we
detect in the texts themselves a tendency to confuse the
two kinds of wonders, and even

in favour of the latter. First of
to eliminate the former

all,
there
seems to have
been
at
times a misapprehension as to the real meaning
of the expression yamaka-prdtihdrya. This technical term
twin miracles
does in
fact
lend itself to confusion.
We
know now from
the very explicit descriptions of the

it
Divydvaddna and the Mahdvastu that
must be understood
(i) Divydvaddna, p. 378 Mahdvastu, III, p. 410; SiiirdlahMra, trans. Ed. HoBER, p. 399; Jatahamdld, IV, 20 Mahavamsa, pp. 107 and 191 (Tdrnour), 137 and 254 (GniGnR).
; ;
(2) Divydvaddna, p. 161,
1.
13
sarvai;rdvaha-sddhdram.
265,
11.
The
text of the
commentary of
kehi yamaki-p",
Jdlaka. n"4S3, IV, p.
12-13
Asadhdraiiam sdva-
which seems to mean the contrary, becomes in consequence at least if the two texts are speaking of the same miracle. Divydvaddna, p. 162, ad fin. The power of holding a dialogue with a (3) magic double is likewise stated a little further (on p. 166, 1. 11) as a privilege of perfect Buddhas only and inaccessible to simple (rdvakas.
most suspicious,
THE GREAT MIRACLE

as the
157
combined alternation of the two opposite wonders

fire
:
of water and
but
it
was not without reason

it
that in
1880 Prof. Rhys Davids understood
to
mean
making
another appearance hke unto himself

narrative translated
. In the
Burmese
by Bigandet
(*)
Buddha
does, indeed,
begin by making flames or streams gush forth alternately
from the upper and lower parts of his body

and his walks, and sometimes
but very soon
he hastens to create a companion for his conversation

it
is
his turn,
sit
and someto ques-
times that of his double, to walk or to

tion or to
reply.
It
down,
is
curious to notice that the Divyd-
vaddna also makes the magically multiplied images of the

Blessed
One assume
varied attitudes,
and whilst some

others either
repeat afresh the marvels of water and
fire,
ask questions or give answers to

far as to
them
. It
even goes so
introduce most unexpectedly, as an ending to the
Buddha and another self, created expressly for this purpose ("). Thus it manifests at least a certain propensity to amalgamate the two successive moments which it at first endeavoured to distinguish, and
chapter, a dialogue between
to confuse the reduplication of the miracles with that of
the images
Q.
But this
is
not
all.
In another passage of the
same
collection the reverend Piridola Bharadvaja relates to
king Acoka this same miracle of ^ravasti, of which he

(i) See
he.
eit.,
Rhys Davids, Duddh. Birth

11.
Stories,
p. 105, n.
4; and Bigandet,
cf.
p. 207.
(2) Divyavaddna, p. 162,

of plate
(3)
17-20, and 166,
II.
3-1
the description
XXI, 2. The same confusion seems
to be reproduced with regard to the miracles

;
attributed to the
monk Panthaka
:
as regards these last
am
indebted to the
obliging friendship and incomparably extensive information of Prof. S. Levi

for the following references
(p. 24)
;
Divydvnddna,
Pi'ili
p. 4<)/^; Aiiguitara-'Niliaya,
I,
1
14 14
;
Fistiddbi-niagga, analysed in/.
Text Society, 1891-1893, p.
F/aya (Chinese] of the Sarvastivadins (c. 11), of the Mahi?asakas (c 7), of the Dharmaguptas (c. 12), etc.
158
THE GREAT MIRACLE
represents himself as an eye witness.
Now
:
he no longer
o!
even mentions the yamaka-prdtibdrya
And when,
Great King, in order to triumph over the Tirthyas, the

great miracle
was accomplished
at (^ravasti
by the Blessed
One, and
there
was created an array of Buddhas which
mounted up to the heaven of the Akanishtha gods, at that time I was there, and I saw these sports of Buddha (') .
Here
it is
no longer
a question of anything but the
second
its
miracle. Finally,
we
again find this latter, reduced to
most simple expression, in the Buddhacnrita of A^vaghosha,
whose descriptions
translation
are
always so close to the figured monufar as
ments. According to him (so
we
can trust the English
made by
the Rev. S. Beal from the Chinese
translation of the original Sanskrit)

to rising into the air
Buddha
restricts
himself
and there remaining seated, and

he shed
In this version
in
diffusing his glory like the light of the sun,
abroad the brightness of his presence
it
by
a strange coincidence, but
one which
our opinion
would be vain
quite
to seek to press further
the mahd-pnilihdrya
:
assumes the
characteristics of a Transfiguration
cc
His
face did shine as the sun,
and
his
raiment became white as
the light (-)
Ill
These waverings of tradition, as they are thus indicated in the texts, may help us to understand the at first somewhat
surprising choice of the Indian image-makers. Regarding
(i) D/vydvad(hin,p. 401

that these are cxactl}' the
in the
(cf.
BuRNOor, Iiilrod., p. 398) it will be noticed same terms as are emploj'ed on two occasions
:
previously quoted
1.
si'ilra
(^Divynvadi'iiia, p,
162,
11.
16 and 26).
P. /joi,
15, read probably

of the
(2) Sacred Boohs
uham instead of rnahal. East, XIX, p. 2^0; Gospel according
io Si.
Matthnv,
XVII,
2.
tHE GREAT MIRACLE

the fact of the choice itself there
is,
159
as
we
said above,
no
room
issues
is
for doubt. Let us

5
resume the examination of the new

i
:
panel, no.
of plate XIX,
a ripple of
On
a lotus,
from
waves
rolled
whose peduncle into volutes, Buddha
seated with crossed legs in the hallowed posture, and his
hands are joined in the gesture of instruction; on his

right
and
left,
again, there rises
3.
padnia ^?^hh along stalk,

all
bearing another smaller Buddha, similar in

the
that
first-...
respects to
Now
it
is
written in the Dlvydvaddna that at
moment namely, at a second invitation from Prasenajit and when the first series of miracles was already accomplished Buddha conceived a mundane thought".
Immediately the Gods rush forward to execute
it
:
Brahma
takes a place at his right and Cakra at his
left,
while the
two Naga
Nanda and Upananda, create entire a wonderful lotus, on the corolla of which the Blessed One seats himself. Then by the force of his magic power,
kings,
above
this lotus
he created another, and on this one also

:
Buddha was
seated with his legs crossed
and thus in
hold-
front, behind, at the sides...
The crowd of Buddhas,

rise
ing themselves in the four consecrated attitudes (erect,
walking, seated, or recumbent), soon
to the highest
like the text,
all
heavens
(').
The
bas-relief,
unable to juggle,
with numbers and forms, shows us just three of them,

alike seated
:
but by
now there
we must
see in this restricted
no question that space an attempt, however

is
for us
timid, to realize the legendary phantasmagoria.
(i) Cf. Divydvaddna, p. 162.

is
We know
that the
heaven of the Akanishthas
2y^ story of the Buddhist paradises. We remember also that the two kings of the serpents, Nanda and his junior , play a part in a number of episodes in the life of Buddha, beginning with the bath which followed the nativity. We shall find information concerning them extracted by M. Ed. Huber from the Vinaya of the
the highest heaven of the Riipadhdiu, at the
Mula-Sarvastivadins in the B. E. F. E.-O., VI, 1906, pp. 8 sqq.
i6o
THE GREAT MIRACLE

this
With
as that
abridged version
we may connect immeexample,

stele originating
diately other
more developed
totally covers
pictures, such, for
which
('),
another
from
Sarnath
and in which are staged no
less
2).
than four
rows of Buddhas, seated or standing pi. (XIX,

the upward-branching lotus stems
figures,
On
seeing
which bear these small

are invincibly led
we might
believe ourselves in the presence of a
genealogical tree of Buddhas.

to recall those which, either
Thus we
carved or painted, entirely
cover great stretches of the walls of several of the subterranean temples of Ajanta.
a
One
of these frescoes, of which

gracefully
copy has
been
published, very
combines
wreaths of flowers and foliage with the dreamy figures of

the seated or standing Buddhas (")
:
it
decorates the wall
on
the right, in the antechamber of the sanctuary of
Cave
I;
(i) Again
Catalogue,
let
us cite no. (Sdrndth)
of
tlie
Calcutta
Museum (Anderson,
4; Anc. Mon. India, pi. 68, i), the left upper division of which unfortunately broken) represents similarly the great miracle of
II, p.
Qravasti opposite to the descent from heaven (cf. below, p. 164, n. i).
It will
be observed that on two other stelie of the same origin

3
{Am. Mon,
bouddb,
India, pll. 67,
and 68, 2
Art g.-b. du Gandh.,
fig
209, and
Icoitog.
de I'lnde,
I,
fig.
29, to the right) analogous representations of the
same
miracle decorate the borders of the stone and enclose the scene.
(2) See Griffiths, The Paintings oj Ajanta, pi.
XV
(cf.
on the plan of the
grotto the letter
and X,
ibid., pi.
IV and
pi.
VIII) and Burgess, Notes
on
the
IJauddha Rock Temples of Ajanta, p. 17; the paintings of this cave are
usually attributed to the VI"" century.
In Cave
II
the walls of the ante-
chamber of the
of a very inferior
sanctuary are likewise adorned with figures of Buddha,
M. Griffiths counm. 20 high and covering a surftice of 22 square metres he has reproduced some of them, pi. XXIV (cf. p. 28, XVIII ad fin.). One may immediately and Burgess, loc. cit., p. 55,
make
:
to those of the preceding ones.
ted 1055 of them, measuring about o
!?
connect with these frescoes the thousand

of the grotto no.
i
Buddhas
painted on the vault
of Murtuk, a specimen of which Prof.

I'lhcr
Grunwedel has
reproduced in his interesting Bcricht

schari
Archxologischc Arhcilcii in Idikiit-
und Untiêbung
lotus.
iin
Winter 1902-1903, pi.
XXX
notice the strangely
stereotyped character of the support of this Buddha, affecting both a cloud
and a
THE GREAT MIRACLE

and no one
will be surprised to learn that there
it
i6i
forms a
pendant to another of the eight great scenes,

Illumination
dharshana.
in stone
failed to
:
the Perfect
symbolized on the
reliefs
left
wall by the Marait
The high
of plate
XX merely reproduce
in imitation
of the painting the sculptor has not
fill
the space between his characters with leaves
and buds of pink

which bear
his
same kind even as those superposed rows of Buddhas ('). Only it

lotuses, of the
will be observed that the

figure, at the
stem of the
seat of the central
bottom,
is
supported with both hands by two
kneeling
ndgarajas.,
both wearing head-dresses of five serjust
pent heads.. As
their
we have
been reading the D/fj/Jm^rtM,

:
names immediately occur to our minds they are Nandaand Upananda. Thus wefind ourselves in possession of an explanation satisfactory down to the details of the compositions.
We have not,
as
was thought,
to
:
do with simple
debauches of piously decorative imagery
we must
here
recognize representations on a vast scale, by reason of the

space which the artist had at his disposal, of the
miracle of Qravasti (-). This
is
great
indeed,
if
one
reflects
upon
ture,
it,
the
only orthodox method of explaining the

absolute law says that there shall never be
simultaneous presence of several Buddhas in the same pic-
when an
(i) All the necessary particulars concerning this sculpture are given opposite to plate
XX.
In the Arch. Survey of Western India, vol. IV, pi.
XXXVII.
found a drawing of the opposite wall of the same vestibule of the sanctuary, with its eight rows of Buddhas, seven of
2
(cf.
ibid., p.
52). will be
rows of seven the ndgardjas are not missing. worth while to observe that nowhere, either in these representations or in those considered above, have we found any trace of an attempt at an artistic realization of the fancies imagined by the editor of the Hien-yuyin-yuen king ? Never, in particular, do we see rays which open out into lotus bearers of illusory Buddhas burst from the pores of the skin , or from
which
are
it
(2) Is
the navel
of the principal character, as
is
written in Schmidt's translation
from the Tibetan Diang-lun (Der Weise und der Thor, pp. 82 and 84).
162
THE GREAT MIRACLE

a single
more than
It
one
at
one time
in each world-system.
follows that
we must
at the outset suspect the exist-
ence of this subject every time that

the presence of multiple images of
we
find ourselves in
:
Buddha
not, certainly,
where they
are
isolated in
separate sections or merely
juxtaposed, but where they are evidently associated in the
same action
discover a
('). If
from
this point of
view we examine
shall not fail to
less prolix,
the reliefs and the frescoes of Ajaiita,
we
whole
series of replicas,
somewhat
most
but
not less surely identifiable, than the preceding. Here

will restrict ourselves to citing the
we
typical of these
variants. It
seems that we
shall
have to look for them in

:
the immediate neighbourhood of the inner sanctuaries
On
the back wall, between the
left
chapel and antecham-
ber [of the
adytum
ot cave
II],
a large
Buddha has
His
seated
himself under an dmba (mango) tree with an Indra on his

right
and
a Bodhisattva
on
his left
Q.
feet rest
on
(i) This restriction
is
necessary for tliree reasons. First,
we must
reclion
with the progressive crowding togetlier of images of Buddha on the facade

or inner walls of the same sanctuary at the expense of various donors.
Secondly,
pi.
we must
i) of the
not
forget
the relatively
:
ancient
juxtaposition
(cf.
XXVI,
,
seven Buddhas of ourage
but
we
are prepared to believe
that there
may
in
be a close connection between this motifs and the grand

latter the
i
miracle
either because in the
Buddhas prefer to
affect the
number 7
rows
(ci. p.
i6i, n.
and
p. 163), or because the representa-
tions of the
seven Buddhas
is
are strongly influenced

pi.
by those of the
maha-prdtihdrya (as
in contrast to pi.
notably the case at Ajanta for the
XCI
of Griffiths,
at a fairly
LXI). Finally,
we do
not pretend do deny that
late
period there
may have been
sought, in a mechanical repetition of images

:
of the Master, an automatic accumulation of merit

that the origin of this inept procedure
but
it
is
our opinion
single motif
must be sought
in the
where
a
employment was canonically justified. we think it necessary to make (2) Dr. Burgess, loc. cit., p. 34, XVII choice and say; between Brahma and Indra , or between two Bodhiits
;
:
sattvas
but that can be decided only on the spot. Let us remark also that
a mango-tree cannot be a Bodhi-druma.

this panel
The
letters
E-F mark the place

pi.
of
on the plan of Cave
11,
given by Mr. Giun-rrus,
XX.
Wmust
THE GREAT MIRACLE

white lotus a worshipper
:
163
is
below a
little
to the
left.
Across
the top are seven
Buddhas
in various miidrds, each
on
lotus, the stalks being
brought up from below.
On
each
side of the Bodhi-dnima, or sacred tree, are
Below
borrow
it
these,
on each
side,
were two
pairs
two Buddhas... more , etc. We

:
this description
from the notes of Dr. Burgess

to find a better
would not be possible
one
for the great
miracle
of ^ravasti, including the mango-tree of the Pali
tradition. It is again the
same
subject
which
in
Cave XVlIj
forms
on the
a
right wall of the vestibule of the sanctuary,

less
pendant to the no
famous miracle of
this
replica,
the descent
from heaven
tional detail
(');
and
unfortunately very
much damaged,
:
contains also a topical and rather excep-
The
right
is
end of the antechamber
, says
Dr. Burgess Q),
painted with standing and sitting

is
Buddhas
right side
the lower portion, however,
destroyed, except
at the
a fragment at each
is
end.
The
portion remaining
very curious, representing a

bhikshus
number of Digaman
old
fat
bara
Jaina
helping
forward
pichi,
one,
and carrying the rajobarana or
besom
to
sweep
away
stark
Most of them are shaven-headed and naked. One or two, who wear their hair, are clothed.
insects, etc.
On
the extreme left are an elephant and a horse with
two
.
men. The intermediate painting is completely destroyed
By now
it is
not
difficult for
us to recognize
exactly
on the
as
add that the fresco

(i)
is
approximately dated
.
by an inscription painted
in the
alphabet of the VI"^ century
The Devdvildra
is
there represented in three stages, as

:
pillar ot
at the top is seen the Barhut (Cunningh'M. Stupa of Barhut, pi. XVII) Preaching to the Trayastrimca Gods , in the middle the Descent from
Heaven , at the bottom the Q.aestions to âriputra two episodes are represented on Griffiths' plate LIV Cave XVII cf. his plate LIII. (2) Loc.cit., p. 69, XXXIII.
.
;
Only these
for
last
the
plan of
13
64
THE GREAT MIRACLE

plate
on
LXVIII of
the Anc.
Mon. of India
(')
at
the
left at least
an indication ofthe royal presence of Prasenajit,

;
to the right the demoralized troop of Tirthyas

less the
and doubtBuddhist
is
obese and naked old man, whose steps these have

is
to support,
the Purana Kacyapa
whom
the
legend denotes as their leader and whose defeat

to have for penalty an
about
again
ignominious
suicide ('). It is
left
he
the
whom we
new panel
believe
we
can identify on the

i,
side of
of plate XIX,
by
his
shaven head, his nakedBuddhist

side. But,
ness and, especially, by his strange backward posture, in

striking contrast to the devout attitude of the
monk who
forms a pendant to him on the other
on the whole, representations of monks belonging to other sects are rather rare in Buddhist art, even where their presence would be most expected and the pictures of the
:
Master's triumphs willingly dispense with

edifying spectacle ofthe vanquished.
It
the not very
more desirable that we should possess a of what is still to be found of this Ajanta fresco. Lacking this, we must content ourselves with giving a sketch of one of those which adorn the principal archway of Cave IX (pi. XXI, i). We know the curious aspect of that
little
would be only the good reproduction
subterranean chapel, with

its
its
three naves,
its
portal
:
gallery and
stupa
marking the position ofthe
altar
the
warm, ruddy tones of its
frescoes give the finishing touches

compartment on the
(i) At the bottom of the upper
left
we
perceive,
of
is
indeed, in addition to the

the central lotus,
i^', at
two
left
ndgardjas
who
are holding
up the stem
the
of the spectator, King Prasenajit,
who
recognizable by his parasol-bearer and his elephant, and 2"^, facing him,
also seated
upon
a stool, Purana Ka(;yapa, in the form of a fat, naked
man,
who is supported from behind under the arms by one of his companions. We may connect with this type that of the same person in Art
with shaven head,
g.-b. du Gandh. (fig. 261 and
225
c),
and read,
ibid.,
pp. 529 and 537,
remarks on the rarety of these representations of

(2) Divyavadana, p. 165
sectarians .
THE GREAT MIRACLE

to the illusion of an ancient basilica.
165
Above the
pillars,
where the triforium should
be,
ranges a series of pain(').
tings representing hieratic groups

plete,
One, almost com-
which
is
represented by our plate, has the advan-
tage of uniting only the essential elements of the subject,
namely, the three Buddhas with their
feet placed
on
lotuses,
and
ture,
at
each side of the one in the centre of the picteaching, and of whom the
who is
two others
are,
and
can only be, illusory emanations

nities,
the two
humble
traditional divi-
voluntarily reduced to the

it
role of flyflapis
holders. Is
necessary to observe that this
exactly the
same
distribution of persons (") that

?
we
find again
on the
lower row of plate XIX, 2

All the specimens of
which we have
just
been speaking,
both from Benares and from Ajanta, can in bulk be dated,

in accordance
with the alphabet of the inscriptions on some
of them, as of the V"" or VI"' century of our era.
We
shall
not hesitate,
in
spite of
time and
distance,
to
connect
with them the numerous groups which decorate the principal wall of the highest sculptured gallery of
Boro-Budur
covered
(IX"" century).
Almost the whole of
this wall is
with variations on the theme of the Great miracle of
(i) Cf. Griffiths, Paintings 0/ Ajanta,

(:)
pll.
The only
differences to be
(cf. p.
observed consist,
XXXVIII and XXXIX. i'*' in the somewhat
capricious detail
or not towards the central
167) of the orientation of theacolyteBuddhas, turned Buddha 2'"^ in the fact that the latter has a lotus
;
not for a seat, but only for a footstool. This kind of throne and this sitting
position in the European
style,
although they are not
mode unknown
are current peculiarities of the local

to the school of Benares
and although
of the Chandi
we mav
have found them even so

in Java.
far as in the great
Buddha
Mendut near Boro-Budur

bench,
for
is
They
constitute
all
the less an obstacle to

little
the proposed attribution since the central lotus, while treated as a simple
nevertheless usually supported by the
in Arch.
sliipa
two
classical nagarajas (cf.

2,
example,
Survey West. India, IV,
pi.
XXXVI.
the
Buddha
craAed on the
of cave
XXVI
of Ajanta, and below, p. 168).
i66
THE GREAT MIRACLE

;
Cravasti
fied
and
this profusion
of replicas
is sufficiently justi-
by the enormous surface which the sculptors of the

received instructions to
decorate.
monuments had
at the left
We
content ourselves here with reproducing the group placed

of the eastern staircase, which
we know was
it is still
that of the fagade (pi XXII).
On
the other side an analo-
gous group forms
pendant thereto, except that
more complex and contains no less than seventeen images of the Blessed One. The general arrangement of these doubtless imposed by compositions is a compromise
the dimensions of the
rectangular
panels,
which were
line taken
i
:
much wider
by
plates
than they were high

2 and
between the
plate
XIX,
XX
all
and that by
XXI,
but on
one
side or the other
the topical features are to be found.
This symmetrical reduplication of Buddhas, supported by lotuses and surrounded by divinities, suffices to establish
not only the undeniable relationship of the schools, but
also the fundamental identity of the subjects.
Inevitable,
again,
is
the connection with
many of
the
great rock-sculptures of northern China, less remote in time,
but not
less distant in space,
from
their Indian prototypes.
We shall note
especially,
among the
gigantic images
which
decorate the grottos of Ta-t'ong-fu

recently published by
us,
(V" century), those

as
M. Chavannes, which,
he informs
owe the
possibility of their being so clearly
photographleft
ed to the
fact that the
crumbling of the rocky facade has
them open to the sky (pi. XXI, 2). The presence of a second Buddha standing at the left of the great seated one,
the acolyte on the

is
right has disappeared in the fallen debris

:
sufficient to recall the Diahd-prdtiklrya
and the innua
merables figures of the Blessed One, superposed upon
kind of band, which form nimbuses and aureoles on the
flamboyant background ol the
Icjas,
finally
convince us
THE GREAT MIRACLE

that
ir,;
we have
to deal with a representation of this miracle
in the traditional
form of the multiplication of Buddhas

art,
(').
All these works of
painted or carved, whether Chi-
nese, Japanese, or Indian, represent

to
more or
less, in fact,
make use of the expression employed in literature, the vaipulya method of sculptured tradition. Let us return to our starting point, I mean to the quite summary lesson
presented to us by the stele of the Archaeological Survey
(pi.
XIX,
i)
we
shall see
connected with
itself.
it
also a series of
replicas
no
less sober than
carving,
which we
XXIII,
believe to be unpublished, will furnish us with a type of
them,
at least as far as
Magadha
is
concerned
(pi.
i).
A great Buddha, seated,

tus
in the attitude for teaching,
on
a lo-
whose stem is flanked by two Nagarajas, is inserted between two other images of himself, with feet also resting on lotuses. The only novelty introduced is that the two acoBuddhas, instead of confronting the spectator,
I,
lyte
as in plate
XIX,
plate
2, are
or being turned towards the central person, as in

I,
XXI,
or slightly turned from him, as in plate
XIX,
looking in exactly opposite directions. This
slab, of
rather rude
workmanship and
late date ("), will serve as a
perfectly natural transition to the miniatures of the

lese
Nepa-
or Bengal manuscripts of the XI"'-XI1I"' centuries,
(i)
We
should like to connect with these groups from Ta-t'ong-fu others

later,
somewhat
which decorate the
grottos
of the pass of
Long-Men
(Ho-nan), of which also M. Chavannes has brought back photographs taken in the course of his last mission in China (see, already, Toung Pao,
Journal asiatique. July-August 1912, figg. 14; Bull. V, 1905, fig. 36) but here the two acolyte Buddhas Scale fr. Extr.-Or., have been changed into two simple monks! The transformation might in strictness bs explained by scrupulous orthodoxy (cf. above, pp. 161-162).
Oct. 1908,
fig.
4;
cf.
(2) For a reproduction of an analogous group, of the same provenanee and likewise preserved in the Museum of Calcutta, see t. sur VIconogr. houddh. de I'lnde, I, fig. 28, where these three Buddhas are placed just below
a representation of the Nativity.
i68
THE GREAT MIRACLE
where the representation of the great miracle of ^ravasti by three Buddhas back to back has become the constant rule ('). The identification of our plate XXIII, i, which
already flowed naturally from the analogy of the
new
stele
of Sarnath, receives, on the other hand, an interesting confirmation in extremis from these latest indigenous manifestations of Buddhist
art.
^,,
Whilst definitely taking

subject a
this turn in eastern India,
our
became
in the
West by degrees stereotyped under

different.
form equally abridged, but sensibly
The
place
occupied by Elias and Moses in the Christian pictures of

the Transfiguration
is
now,
,
in the representations of the
Buddhist
great
miracle
no longer held by the two
two divine attendants. The imagery of the valley of the Ganges had reduced their part to almost nothing, or even omitted it entirely here, on the
acolyte Buddhas, but by
:
contrary, they end
by figuring alone
at
the side of the
Master, standing on lateral lotuses and retaining in their
hands their
fly-flappers.
As
sit
to the central
in the
Buddha,
at
one
time he continues to
Indian manner upon a

at
padma
like that
of plates XIX-XX;
installed
other times, and more
frequently, he
is
on
throne after the manner ol
Europeans,
as in plate
:
XXI,
i,
and only uses the necessary
lotus as a footstool
but nevertheless the

its
Nagarajas continue to hold up
two traditional stem. We borrow from a
mural sculpture of Kuda the most reduced type of the first variant (pi. XXIII, 2) ano less summary specimen of the
:
second would be furnished by one of the caves of Kondivt^ (). But, above
all,
wc must
recognize that
all
the cave-
(i) Cf. above, p. 154, n.

.(2) See Bdrgess,
i.
A. S. W.
pi.
/.. IV, pi.
XLIII,
I, left
Cf. the fuller replicas
ofKanheri,
ihid.,f[g. 22;
(cf. ibid., p.
Buddh. Art
358), etc.
part (cf ibid., p. 71J. in India, fig. 60,
and Cave Temples of India,
LVI
THE GREAT MIRACLE
169
temples of western India are covered with representations of

this kind.
On
this point
it is
sufficient to refer to the testi-
mony, which no one
will think of challenging, of
Fer-
gusson and Burgess. Along with them we might gather

an ample harvest of replicas of the
great miracle
If
we do no
tions or
undertake to draw up a
list
from
their descrip-
from the too cursory notes which we formerly

it is
found occasion to take,
because on these sculptures of
a late period there is always reason to fear contamination
of subjects
(').
IV
We
its
have followed up the evolution of the subject and
variants
from the
V"*
century of our era to the final
extinction of Buddhist art in India. Could
we
not now, after
having brought the course of

possible,
its
history as far
its
down
as
endeavour to remount towards
origin and seek
in the preceding schools,
beginning with that of Gandhara,

just iden-
the prototypes of the

tified?
monuments which we have

upon
us,
The
enterprise imposes itself
and there
is,'
seems to be no way of escape. Such fortunately
so far as
\j
(i) In fact these contaminations have not failed to take place.
The Buddha
of the mahapraliharya of^ravasti makes the gesture of instruction, exactly as
does the Buddha of the DWwaca^ra-praz/ar/awa of Benares: nothingfurther was required to provoque confusions and exchanges between the two motifs originally characterized, the one by the lotus with the Nagarajas, the other by the wheel with the gazelles. On plate 1G4 oi Anc. Mon. India, by the side of the subject of our plate XXIII, 2, we find some First Preachings
treated as Great Miracles
,
except that the gazelles have replaced the
Nagarajas on each side of the lotus; on the facade of the great temple of
Karli (ibid., pi.
rajas
!
16S) the gazelles have even been intercalated above Nagait
From
this
may
be conceived with what precautions
we must
surround ourselves before risking a firm identification from descriptions

alone.
170
THE GREAT MIRACLE

is
Buddhist iconography
concerned, the routine force of
tradition, that, in order to succeed in this
second part of
our
task,
it
will suffice to determine with exactitude the
distinctive feature
common
will
to
all
the verified represenif
tations of the mahdpnttihdrya.

plates
Now,
is
you turn over the
afresh,
you
very
all
soon observe that what

the special form of this
('), as
characterizes
them above
lotus
with a thousand petals

of solid gold, with
a
broad as a chariot
wheel,
ing out entirely
diamond stem , standfrom the plinth. Whether supported

it
or not by the two Nagarajas, whose masterpiece

constantly serves as a
is,
it
throne or
at least as a footstool
to
Buddha eated in the attitude of teaching. By this sign we must henceforth retrospectively identify a whole series of Greco-Buddhist stelae, the greater number of
a
which have already been published, but not explained,

and which for the convenience of the reader we have here
collected together before his eyes (pll.
XXIV-XXVIII,
i).
The most
sober type (and the one which most closely
resembles that of plate XXIII, 2) presents to us a Buddha,

flanked simply, in addition to the usual worshippers, by
two
standing divinities
(^),
II.
who,
like
him, are sheltered under

Buddha
in
(i) Divyavaddna, p. 162,

dra's Dafdvatdracarita,
9-11. Cf.the epithet of

:
Kshemen-
IX,
54
Bhunirgata-prataia-kdncana-padma-prstha-
padmds.wastha...
(2) We may connect with this group that of the British Museum, reproduced by Dr. Burgess (7or. of Indian Art and Ind., no. 62, 1898, pi. 8, 2 :=.Anc. Mon. India, pi. 92, in the middle) the teaching Buddha and the two
;
divinities are seated, or standing,
on the enlarged pericarp of
a lotus flower.
In the acolyte at the right
we
recognise
left
Brahma by
his head-dress and his
water vessel, in the one on the
Qakra by his diadem. The two worship-
pers are withdrawn to the bottom of the stele and separated

usually the stalk of the central lotus, but
is
by what
is
here treated as a pyre.

Calcutta
We
pay no regard
to
another image (that of

/.
th^;
Museum),
likewise
publishedby Dr. Bdrgess(/.
A. /.,no. 69, Jan. 1900,
fig.
24 =:zBuddh.Art
THE GREAT MIRACLE

parasols,
171
adorned with garlands
(pi.
XXIV,
i).
On
plate
XXIV,
which
lytes
:
we
scarcely divine the suggestion of the lotuses
on
rest the seat
of the Master and the feet of his two aco-
on the other hand, two other busts of the Blessed

hollows delimited by the
lines
One
are interposed in the

:
of their shoulders
except for the exchange of place beit is
tween the two gods and the two magical Buddhas,

dently the same group as on plates XIX, 2
(first
evi-
row) and
prin-
XXI,
I.
At other times the ingenious

doubtless
art
of the sculptor
erects graceful architectures (pi.

cipal characters
:
XXV) above the three
we must
here recognize the
prdtihdrya-mandapa, built expressly for the occasion of the

miracle; but
we remain
free to
admire in
it,
together with
the Mula-Sarvastivadins, the royal munificence of Prasenajit, or,
with the Theravadins, the divine
skill
of Vicvakar-
man
(').
At one time
(") it is a
simple portico that presides
above the three seated figures (pi.
XXV,
2^.
At another time
^les
bolder constructions lodge beneath their d
or arches
images of
Buddha or even accessory

i).
epi-
ues (pll.
XXV,
and XXVI,
land,
On
this last plate the
two
divinities, again
standing, have each provided themselves with a long gar-
which we
shall find in their
hands on aU the reproduc(pll.
tions that
i).
we
still
have to examine
those
first
XXVI, 2-XXVIII,
scene
at
The
latter, like
cited, place the

:
rather, the vision
or
in the
open sky
the most, they
in India,
fig.
112)
here Buddha
is
indeed seated between the two worshippers
on the
unique
characteristic lotus, but
by an exception which,
for the rest, is
since the last excavations of Takht-i-Bahai (cf. below, p.
172, note i) not
he
From
is
making the gesture of meditation, instead of that of instruction

1.
(i) Dlvyavadana, p. 155,

(2)
18
fdtaka, IV, p. 265,
1.
10.
the point of view of the arrangement of the attendants

J.
we
c.
may
connect with this plate the fragment published by Dr.

pi.
Ph. Vogel in
Archxol. Survey Report, i^0)-i()04,
LXVIII
(with the Nagarajas) and
172
THE GREAT MIRACLE
shelter
the
ner.
some small figures under aerial aediculoe. However, number of divine spectators increases in a striking man-
Now they are placed one above the other on

all
their lotus
supports, profiting by
the liberty which a picture of
apparitions allows to be taken with the laws of perspective.
At the same time the

his figure
still
central
Buddha becomes
bigger, and
more disproportionate to his surroundings. The garlands which used to hang above his head no longer suffice; there is now added a crown, borne by two little
genii,
with or without wings; once even other marvellous

still
beings, with their busts terminating in foUage, hold
higher a parasol of honour. Lastly,
among
the images
if
which
have emanated from the Blessed One, some, as
better to
emphasize their supernatural and magical character, are
surrounded by an irradiation in the form of an aureole
composed of other Buddhas ('). These specimens are more than

that
are required to prove
we have
not to deal with the fancy of some isolated
artist,
but, in reality, with a traditional subject, constantly
(i) See the
two upper corners of
plate
XXVIII,
and compare
fig.
78 of
Art. g.-h du Gandh., and especially the panel recently discovered by Dr. D.
B.
Spooner
lotuses
at
R. A. S., Oct. 1908, pi. VI,
The
Takht i-Bahai and published by Mr. J. H. Marsh.\li. in the/. 3. Here again we recognize the mdba-prdtihdrya. which once decorated the bottom of the slab have almost
it is
disappeared through the defacement of the stone: but
not so with those
which support the characters above,

(three of
bearers.
tation.
that
is,
whom
are at the top
among
foliage),
seated Buddhas and the two divine garlandfive

little
By way of an exception the principal Buddha affects the pose of mediThe front of his parasol is curiously adorned with a crescent moon,
doubtless in order to emphasize the aerostatic character of the miracle. But

is the indication on each between the knee and the shoulder, of four little Buddhas, standing on lotuses and arranged obliquely like the outspread feathers of a
the point which specially holds our attention

side of his body,
peacock's
tail.
cf.
It is
known
that Sir
Aukel Stein found
this
procedure in
use also on the sculptures of

I, figg.
Rawak
in
Chinese Turkestan {Ancient Khoian,
62-65
Sand-buried Ruins of Khoian, frontispiece).
THE GREAT MIRACLE

reproduced for the edification, and
faithful.
173
at the request, ot the

itself
The
series of these
examples adjusts
without
effort in all its characteristic features
ture,
surroundings of Buddha,
etc.
to
seat, attitude, ges-
that in
which we
great
have already with certainty recognized versions of the

miracle
of ^ravasti.
By
virtue of the close relationship
which we have often had an opportunity of noting between

the
Greco-Buddhist sculpture and the tradition of the
Mula-Sarvastivadins
we must more
two
than ever appeal to the
Divydvaddna for information concerning the identity of the

various personages. In the
kings
of the serpents
who at times support the stem of the great lotus (pU.XXV, 2 XXVII XXVIII, i), we naturally continue to greet our
;
old acquaintances
Nanda and
his junior , either
accom-
panied or not by their wives.
From
these fallen beings
we
pass to the
human
bystanders.
It
has been asked
whe-
ther the
sexes,
two
lay devotees without

plate
nimbuses and of different

But
will be noti-
who on
XXVIII,
surround the seat of Buddha,

stele (").
is,
it
are not merely
donors of the
ced that their point of support
like that
:
of the rest of the
figures, the enlarged pericarp of a lotus

fore, to
they appear, there-
form an
integral part of the scene.
For the same
reason
we must
:
refuse to see in
them anonymous woras in their
shippers
rather should
we
seek here
kneeling counterparts on plate
exactly XXIV,
i
that
Luhasu-
(i) This identification was proposed incidentally by Dr.
J.
Ph. Vogel,
A. S.I.
Rep.. 1903-1904, p.
257
but, in a general
way,
to look for donors only
on the bases of stelas
(cf. pll.
XXVll) or the pedestals of statues. On the other hand, the hypothesis of Dr. Vogel (_ibid n. 3) which suggests the identity of the four nimbused figures seated on the lower row of the same stele (pi. XXVIII, i) with the
,
we believe it safer XXV, i XXVI, i, and

;
four Lokapalas. seems to us most probable and confirmed by analogy with

plates
XXVI,
2,
and XXVII.
174
THE GREAT MIRACLE

and
his wife,
datta
the
mother of Riddhila
('),
who
in
One to accompUsh the miracle in his stead. Likewise, on plate XXV, 2, the text expressly invites us to recognize in the monk and nun
turn and in vain proposed to the Blessed
kneeling
at
each side of the Master the agrafrdvikd Utpala-
varna
(")
and the agragravaka Maudgalyayana,
who
also
asked, and
saw themselves successively refused, the same authorization. It is, then, these same four personages,
rather than
commonplace worshippers,
on
plate
whom we
should
prefer to recognize
XXIV,
:
2.
We should be equally
Q') president
ready to find King Prasenajit, the impartial

of this public manifestation
ber of spectators
is
but, even
where the numnever

In front of the
increased, his royal equipage

(*).
appears, as later, to betray his incognito
four
2, it
men
of good caste seated

that
at
the
bottom of plate XXVI, on

plates
seems
I,
we
are rather, as
XXVII and
XXVIII,
in the
presence of the four guardian gods
of our terrestrial horizon.
Among
the crowd of divinities
we
shall recognize
immediately on plate XXVII, above

of Buddha,
also
his
faithful
the right shoulder

Vajrapani, to
in the story,
companion
is
whom
by certain texts
a part
given
he being made
(').
to intervene in order to hasfigure facing
ten the
denouement
The feminine
him
(i)
On
this updsaka
and upasikd information taken from the Vinaya of the
Miila-Sarvastivadins will be found in the already quoted article of
M. Ed.
HUBER
(5. . F. E.-O., VI,

title
1906, pp. 9 sqq.).

cf.
(2) For this
given to Utpalavarna,
ed.
for example, the
commentary
on the Dhammapada,
Fausb0ll,
cf.
p. 215.
,
(3) For this impartiality
Divyavadana
p. 146,
1.
23.
(4) Cf. above, p. 164, note i.

(5) According to the Divyavadana (pp. 163-164) the yahha-sendpali
who,
understanding the impossibility of otherwise overcoming the obstinacy of

the Tirthyas, raises a violent storm to disperse them,
is
called Pancika; but
the Bodhisattvdvaddna-kalpalald
calls
him Vajrapani
(XIII, 57).
Only we must
THE GREAT MIRACLE

would perplex us
vasti,
175
greatly, did
not her crown of towers
signalize her at once as the incarnate nagara-dcvatA of ^ra-
an edified witness of the miracle which will hence-
forth assure her
fame
it is
in
no other form
is
that, for
example,
the native
town of Buddha
is that, if
seen on other Greco-Budfeature to be
dhist bas-rehefs (*).
But the most interesting
observed
we
are to credit the Divydvaddna, the
two chief divine acolytes can be no other than Brahma on the right of Buddha and âkra on his left. As a matter of
fact,
on
several replicas the sculptors obviously emphasize
this identification
by the aid of the usual procedures of the

of Indra they oppose,
school to the
:
much bejewelled turban

latter
as is the
custom, the chignon of Brahma, or they even

expressly by the indica(^).
endeavour to designate the
tion of a water-vessel or of a
book
warn the reader

Indica,
I,
that this stanza vasantatilaka, as
it
is
given in the Bihl.
427, has no kind of plausible meaning. Prof. S. Levi has kindly restored the text for us, by the help of the Tibetan translation on the
v, p.
opposite page.
It
should read (the corrections are indicated by the
italics)
Atrantare Bhagavatah satatnrn vipaksa
Sarvatmana ksapanakih; avadhrtJja Yaksah

.^fiptog^ravd/avrtavarsavaraic cakara
Vidravya randhracaranan bhuvi Vajrapanih
||
We
should translate
.<
In the meanwhile, perceiving that the Sectarians
persisted in remaining obstinate adversaries of the Blessed
One, the Yaksha
Vajrapani, raising a violent storm accompanied by rain, dispersed them,
and forced them to seek
a shelter in the
hollows
a.
in the earth .
(i) Stt Art g.-h. du Gandh., figg. 183-184
and
p. 560.
152, IJ4-156, 164 a (cycle of the nativity), 197 (march to Vajrasana), 212 (invitation to the preaching), 243 (preaching to the Trayastrimcas), 264 (descent from
(2) Cf. the procedure of distinction employed
ibid., figg.
heaven), where
we know
that
we have
to deal at the
same time with âkra,
the Indra of the Gods

particular case with
(cf.
fig.
which we
stele to
246), and with Brahma, the Qihhin. In the are concerned their positions are at times
(cf. plate
exchanged from one
another
XXIV
with plate
XXV and
p. 170, note 2), either
because on this point the tradition was uncertain or
176
It
THE GREAT MIRACLE

would
take too long to enter further into the details
of each variant; and besides on this point

the notices which
accompany the
bears
plates
we may refer to only, we should

a
wish to be allowed to make three remarks of

character.
general
The
first
on the importance which already

led to attribute to
in the school of
Gandhara we have been

:
the lakshana, or sign of recognition
it
seems indeed that

and wide extenit
here
we
find a fresh proof of the antiquity

(').
sion of this proceeding
In this very case
is
a lotus
with a stem rising from the ground or from the waters, that
serves as a distinctive
mark
for a
whole
series of
ments ands has allowed us to follow the series than a thousand years, through the four corners of the
peninsula.
It is
monufor more
quite exceptional that, as
on
plate
XXV,
its
2,
the peduncle of the flower should be hidden and

carp covered by a cushion
:
peri-
and,
if
the artists of western

his teaching to be
India prefer that
Buddha should cause
heard from the height of a throne {simhasana), the typical
padma
is
retained at least as a stool for his feet. Henceforth,
therefore,
we may
rank this
lotus emergent and usually

,
attended by
side
two Nagarajas
for
to
use
heraldic
terms,
by side with,
example, the
wheel flanked by two

,
gazelles, either
specific
back to back or face to face
among
life.
the
symbols of the great events of Buddha's
In the
second place, this identification seems to us to confirm

another rule which
to lay
we had thought
ourselves in a position
is
down, and
in
accordance with which there
scarcely
any Gandharian
however passive and motionless the characters therein may be, wich does not, even under
bas-relief,
because there had been a confusion, which
is
always easy, between the right
and the
left
of the statue and those of the spectator,

-b.
(i) Art
err.
du Gandb.,
p. 607.
THE GREAT MIRACLE

the
177
most
strictly
iconographic appearances, conceal the

shall
story of
be the
some episode in the legend of Buddha. We more readily excused for recalling the fact,
inas-
much as we are the most to blame for having once ranged among the simply decorative motives, in default of finding a better place, several of the stelse which now assume
for us
a definite
meaning and one of legendary
value,
as being versions of the
great miracle at Qravasti(').
But
the
at
the
same time
all
and
this third
it
observation
is
most important of
relinquish
is
to be feared that
we
must
in the
the idea of indubitably distinguishing,
whole repertory of the Greco-Buddhist school, an

group of
iconolatric
Buddha between two Bodhisattvas
As
far as
concerns the great scene of the descent from
heaven
at Sarika^ya, the texts
had already forced us to recog-
nize in the
two divine
acolytes of the Master the gods
Brahma and
Qakra. Here again ought not the same evidence
to constrain us to accept the

will disappear
same
identification?
Then
side of
our
last
hope of discovering by the
the Blessed
One
an Indo-Greek Avalokitecvara or a
i
Man-
jucri, as plates
XXIV,
and XXVI, i seem specially to invite
us to do. In
fact, all that
we
can say
is
that
we
beliewe
we
discern already
on these
stelce in
the type, head-dress, attri-
butes, meditative or pensive pose of the attendants the sug-
gestion of the procedure which later served to represent,
and
to differentiate
:
from one another, the great Mahaya-
nic divinities
but methodically
we may
not go further and
light-heartedly oppose to the peremptory assertions of the

texts
any quasi-gratuitous conjectures. Even the sign of the
urnd, so distinctly
in plates
marked on the forehead of the acolytes XXIV, i and XXV, 2 fails to induce us to lay
(i) Cf. ibid., figg. 76-79 and p. 479.
178
THE GREAT MIRACLE

So long as the sculptures do not
aside this prudent reserve.
furnish us with an image bearing a written inscription, the

verbal statements of the Scriptures will always take prece-
dence over their mute
velleities
of expression. Likewise, the with the old

artists
more we advance
in familiarity
of the
north-west of India, the nearer are
we
to believing that the

as strange to
names of Avalokite^vara and Manju^ri were

their
thought
as to that of the compilers of the
Divydvaddna
and the Mahdvastu.
V
It will
be
felt
how
far this
question passes beyond the
limits of the present article, and

it
we
will not here insist
upon
further. All that
remains to ask ourselves, in order to
complete the study of the representations of the mahd-prdtihdrya, is
whether
it
was represented or not on the most

of central India.
ancient
monuments
Now
it
seems indeed
that the old native school had already essayed in regard to

it
one of those conventional and summary pictures of

it
which
of
possessed the secret.
The
stitpa
pillar
of the southern
entrance in the railing of the

its
of Barhut has three

('),
faces decorated.
Of
the three upper bas-reliefs
the
first
represents,
we
believe,
by the symbol of the Bodhi;
tree,
the perfect illumination
the second, by the
symbol
least, is
of the
stupa, the parinirvdna; the third,
by the symbol of
.
the garlanded wheel, the great miracle
This, at
suggested by two inscriptions on the
last
named, from
which we
are not certain that
all
the admissible inferences
have hitherto been drawn (see

a king issues
pi.
XXVIII,
2).
At the bottom
quadriga
:
from
his capital,
mounted
XIII.
in his
the
(i)
Cunningham, Slupa of Barhul,
pi.
THE GREAT MIRACLE

epigraph, by informing us that he
najit of
is
179
called king Prase-
Kocala
gives us at the
same time the name of the
town and
localizes the scene at^ravasti.
Now this king and

impos-
his suite are
going
in the direction of a building of
ing appearance, which shelters a wheel surmounted by a

parasol,
and bearing a heavy garland suspended from

all
its
nave. For
is clear
:
students of ancient Buddhist art the allegory

fear the spectator
but, for
should conceive the
slightest hesitation, a
second helpful inscription informs

the wheel of the
him
that
it is
indeed
is
Law
of the Blessed
therefore,
is if
One
which
represented.
The symbol,
translated into the style of the later schools,
the exact
equivalent of an image of an instructing, and consequently
converting, Buddha.
attitude with
On
each side, standing in a devout

is
joined hands,
a personage in
splendid
lay costume, such as India has
always indifferently conit is
ceived
its
kings or
its
gods
(').
Accordingly
impossible
for us in the presence of this
group not to think of Buddha
attended by Indra and Brahma, in the presence of this edifice
not to think of the mandapa constructed for the purpose of

the
great miracle .
Cunningham, with
his
accustomed
instinct, has
already connected with this bas-relief the
passage in the Divydvaddna translated by Burnouf, which
does precisely on this occasion make the king of Kocala

betake himself
in his
good
chariot
to the presence of
the Master: but he did not follow out the identification to the
end
(-).
In truth,
we
see
no reason
for stopping half
way.
(i) For some quite similar images of gods on Barhut see also Cunningham, he. cit., pi. XVII.
(2) Ihid., pp. 90-91.
this
same balustrade of
of Ajatacatru to
It will
be noticed that the
visit
Buddha, which on the

one,
is
pillar
of the western entrance forms a pendant to this

(/6(rf.
,
likewise of importance from a legendary point of view
pi.
XVI
and
p. 89). 14
i8o
THE GREAT MIRACLE

it
Evidently
was not
a question of an ordinary visit, but of
a meeting having a
solemn
character.
We know from a sure

and the names
Blessed
source,
namely the
is
inscriptions, the exact locality of the
scene, that
^ravasti, the capital of Koâla,
of the two principal actors,
Prasenajit and the
One
the bas-relief
shows us the devout ardour of the one,

finally,
and suggests the converting gesture of the other;

the accessory details of the the invisible
two attendants standing beside Buddha and the great hall which shelters him
relative to the
harmonize equally well with the traditions

great miracle
.
We shall
not escape the conclusion that
such indeed was the subject which the sculptor had proposed to himself.
The
counter-proof
is
easy
let
us imagine
that precisely this task
had been
set
him; granted the cussee
tomary procedure of the old school, we do not

could have accomplished
it
how he
otherwise
(').
Thus we should end by

mahd-pratihdrya the sphere
restoring to this subject of the
which legitimately belongs
to
it
and which
sured out.
until
now had been too parsimoniously meaWe are now in a position to sketchîts history
surviving monuments. Treat-
from the
earliest to the last
ed allegorically
native school,
and
Buddha
with good reason
its
by the old
it is
not long in utiHzing for

created by
own
advan-
tage the type of
Indo-Greek
art.
From
(i) Again an interesting replica of our plate

plate
it
XXVIII,
2 will
be found on
XXXI,
I,
of Cunningham.
Wc
should be quite willing to connect with
the representations of wheels on pillars, like that of plate
XXXIV, 4
it
(cf.
atSanchi, Fergusson, Treeand Serpent Worship, pl.XLII, i). Perhaps
would
even be necessary to sec a reference to the niaha-praliharya in the wheel which, accordmg to the evidence of Fa hi en and Hiuan-tsang, surmounted
one of the two columns raised
at the
entrance to the Jetavana.
THE GREAT MfRACLE

the outset
it
i8i
adopts that mudrd of instruction (*) and espe-
cially that particular
lahhana of the lotus with a stem, both
of which
it
will retain as characteristic signs

its
from end to
but on
end of its evolution. Under

Barhut,
it
most
restricted aspect, as at
:
counts only two attendant divinities
other replicas these latter multiply themselves and mingle
with apparitions of Buddhas.

that are retained
It
is
chiefly
these latter
by the
later
stelae
of Benares, and, after their
example, by the
productions from the basin of the
Ganges, whilst western India to the very end reserves the

best place for the divine acolytes. At the
same time, the

with
composition, which had finally on the vast walls of Ajanta

attained
a disproportionate
development, returns,
its
the ultimate decadence, to the soberness of
commencegoing
ments.
All
being taken
into
account, without
outside the
Indian publications,
and leaving aside the
already identified miniatures of the manuscripts,
we
:
pro-
pose henceforward to inscribe the rubric of the great miracle of ^ravasti

1.
under the following reproductions

2
;
Barhut,
pi.
XXVIII,
4, etc.
Stiipa of
Bar hut,
pi.
XXXI,
i,
perhaps
B.
XXXIV,
:
(Ancient Indian
style,
2''
century
C);
2.
Gandhara pU. XXIV-XXVIII,

pi. 8,
/.
hid. Art. and bid.,
no. 62, 1898,
2=Anc. Mon. India,

pi.
pi.
92 (in the middle);

h
Arch. Survey Report, 1903-1904,
LXVIII,
andc; Artg.-b.
J. I.
du Gandhara,
no. 69, 1900,
fig.
78 (with an exceptional mudrd')

;
A.
I.,
fig.
24=
Buddh. Art in India,
fig.
i^'
112, and /.
R.A.S.,Oct. i9o8,pl.VI,3(Indo-Greekstyle,
turies
3.
and 2""' cen-
A. D.);
pi.
Benares:
XIX;
Anc. Mon. India,
pi.
68,
(in the
(i) For the only

n. I.
two exceptions known
to us
cf.
p.
170, n.
2,
and 172,
i82
left
THE GREAT MIRACLE

upper compartment) (on the
;
lateral
borders) 67,3, and
68, 2 (Gupta Style; 4"'-6"' centuries)

4.
Ajanta
;
pll.
XX-XXI,
i; Paintings of AjariWi, p\\. 13,

pi.
24, 39
Arch. Survey. West. India, IV,
XXXVII,
2 (Calu-
kya
5.
style, 6"'-7"' centuries);
Magadha
I,
pi.
XXlII,
Et. sur I'lconogr.
bouddb. de
rinde,
6.
pi.
fig.
28 (Pala
:
style, 8'"- 10^"

;
centuries)
Konkan
I,
pi.
XXIil, 2
fig.
Arch. Surv.
West. India, IV,
XLIII,
and
22
Biiddh. Art in India, fig.

style, 8"'- 10"'
60;
cen-
Cave Temples of India, ^\. LVI (Rashtrakuta

turies).
Henceforward the picture of the mahd-pratiharya would

not be missing from any school
of Mathura. This
is
:
we
await only that
just
what might be expected from

the legend,
the importance assumed by the episode in

as
compulsory prodigy of every

his
Blessed
One
worthy of
name.
It
would have been too astonfigured, of the tradition,

if
ishing, considering the constant parallelism between the
two forms, written and

texts.
no
ancient illustration had corresponded on this point to the
Our
hypothesis
fills
a real gap;
and
it
is
only just
that
the great miracle
of Cravasti
should advanta-
geously, as far as the

ed, bear
number of known
repHcasis concern-
comparison with the three other great scenes from
the teaching career of Buddha.
Why
it
then
and
this
is
the last point
on which we
are
conscious of owing the reader some explanation
why has
its
been so tardily and so laboriously recognized, whilst

f^rst
three pendants were identified long ago and at
sight?
To this question we may reply, first of all,

tiharya, especially in
that uVo'maha-prA-
the preaching form which

itself,
had pre-
vailed, does
not lend
as
we
;
have abundantly experi-
enced, to anything
more than apicture almost void of moveto effect its instant recogni-
ment,
if
notof picturcsqueness
THE GREAT MIRACLE

tion,
it
183
has neither the exceptional role of the
monkey or the
of the triple
elephant, nor the characteristic decoration
ladder
and here we
have, doubtless, an excellent reason.
There
is
room,
in
our opinion, for adding another.
We are
so accustomed to utilize the archaeological information of

the Chinese pilgrims in India, that
we no
longer think of
being grateful to them for

of their help,
it;
in order to
measure the value

is
we have
:
to be
once without it. That
the case
on
this occasion
Fa-hien and Hiuan-tsang, so
explicit as
regards the three other episodes, scarcely mention the one
which
ed too
interests us here.
The
places
where ^ravasti and the
Jetavana had been, the favourite sojourn of the Master, evok-
Miracle
many remembrances pell-mell for the Great not to be swamped in the crowd of those which
through the mouths of the guides,
interest.
on
all
sides,
solicited
their
devout
We must likewise reckon with the fact

spot inevitably entangled with the
that the
story of the rivalry between the Master and the
Tirthyas was on the
calumny of the novice Cinca, or with the assassination ofthe

courtesan Sundari
to encroach
all
:
and these dramatic
stories could not fail
upon the miracle of Buddha, which was after so neutral and quasi-passive. Thus, when the pilgrims
temple which marked the locaHty ofthe
finally arrive at the
purely doctrinal and magical conflict, they both specify
indeed that a statue of the Blessed
One was
seated (') there
(i)
We
believe, in fact, after careful reading, that the maha-caitya

locality of
of
^ravasti,
sects,
marking the
Buddha's victory over the other chiefs of
was the temple
(yihara), 60 or
70
feet high,
which Fa-hien and
Hiuan-tsang both saw and mentioned

right) of the road leading to
west (that is to say, at the the south of the town towards the Jetavana,
at the
about 60 or 70 (Chinese, therefore double) paces

gate of the park, opening from the
in front of the eastern
same
side
I,
upon the same road
(trans.
Beal,
I,
p. XLvii,
and
II,
p.
10
Waiters,
p. 393). It will
be noticed that
(cf.
this situation
corresponds
fairly well
with the indications ofthe texts
iSa
the great miracle

tell
but they both forget to
us on what kind of seat and
accompanied by what attendants. Accordingly, do not ask
why
ized.
the connection between the narratives and the repre
sentations of the
Great Miracle
has been so tardily real-
Cease hkewise to be astonished that
we
are
still
even
at the
present time posed by the question whether the

last (as
two
divine acolytes retained to the very
we
are certain
they did in the representation of the
Descent from Hea-
ven ) their names of Brahma and âkra, or whether they ended by transforming themselves, in the eyes of the
faithful, into Bodhisattvas,
and, in that case,

place.
at
what mo-
ment the transformation took

their testimony
Fa-hien and Hiuan-
tsang tell us nothing concerning this.
One feels how valuable

by reason of
its
would have been
to us,
mean
date as also of the central situation of the country

its
from which they would have borrowed

west and the
India. If
it,
elements, form-
ing a bridge between the ancient works of the northlater,
but identified, productions of eastern

able ultimately to dispense with
we have been
this is
because the stele recently discovered atSarnathand
immediately published by Mr. Marshall put into our hands

precisely the missing middle of the conducting wire, and
thenceforward
its
all
that
we have had
art.
to
do has been to follow
direction,
downwards
to the disappearance,
upwards to
thank the
the
sources of Buddhist
For
this let us
Archaeological Survey
above, p. 149, n. 2)
the
it
seems that
stiipa
it is
expedient to set aside in
its
favour
in the
preaching
hall
built
by Prasenajit, which was to be found

next to that of Qariputra, which
is
centre of the town, and the
men-
tioned by Hiuan-tsang only. As regards the latter, Watters states that he did
not
know where
to place the tope
of the
great miracle
all
sli'ipas;
he forgets
for
that the
eight great caityas are
not necessarily
at
we know,
example, that that of the Sambodhi

is
Bodh-Gayais
a temple, and the
same
explicity told us
by Fa-hicn and Hiuan-tsang concerning the Devavat&ra
>o
ON
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Cf. pp.
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Cf. pp. 167-8.
PL. XXIII
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THE KONKAN
2.
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PLATE XXIV
Cf. pp.
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XXIV
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PLATE XXV
Cf. pp.
171,
173-4, 177-
is
The
it
stele
of plate
XXV,
which comes from Loriy;\n-Tan âi
and
preserved in the Calcutta

has been reproduced
fig.
museum, measures
in
height one
(/.
fig.
metre;
already by Dr. Burgess
Ind. Art
andlnd.. no. 69, 1900,

in .Art a.-b.
25 =z Biiddh. .Art in India,

76.
152) and
da Gandhdra,
a
fig.
Here we
restrict ourselves to
noting the general disposition of the

ibid., pp.
stele in the form of
vihdra
(cf.
129 and 138), the

{ibid.,
fitting
little
of the tenon into the
mortise at the base
p.
191), the
columns
the
in the Persepolitan or
Corinthian style
(ibid., pp.
227 and 234),
the dog-tooth ornaments,

different
the balconies with figures of

{ibid.,
women
in
compartments
pp. 223 -224^ the Cupid garland-
bearers of the lower framework {ibid., pp. 239-240), the lion-headed

brackets similar to those of plate
XXV,
:
2, etc.
is
teaching Buddha, seated on a raised lotus,

a
outlined against an
a twisted garis
oblong aureole and

upwards,
round nimbus
;
above his head,
land hangs under a double streamer

sole
a
under his right foot, which

is
is
knot of
stuft
forms
round protuberance, which

in the top corners, seated in
little
also
to be seen
a putfed
on
plate
XXV,
2,
but which on the following plates
only
out
plait.
The two Buddhas
tation
on inverted lotuses and under
vihdras,
is
integral part of the composition; perhaps the case
the
seem to same with the
mediform an
three others lodged under the two-storied arch of the gable; in any
case, the
group
at
the top recalls by
its
arrangement the other great
aerial miracle, that of the
Descent from Heaven.
This time the two divine attendants are seated on rattan seats. The one on the (Buddha's) right has, unfortunately, his face and left hand
broken; his
feet are crossed in
an attitude often reproduced
later
in
China and Japan. The turbaned attendant on the left, leaving his sandal on the ground (cf. .Arch. Surv. Rep., 190^-1^04, pi. LXVIII, b and c), has bent up his right leg and must, as on plate XXV, 2, have rested his
forehead on his hand, while
at
the
same time he holds
in his left the
same
looped object as does the right-hand attendant on plate
from the analogy of some newly discovered statues
XXIV, 2, we should
guess a bending purse.
In the bottom corners
female devotee
strangers,
two kneeling worshippers,

it
monk and
a lay
seems, to the scene and only inserted
for a purely decorative purpose
are, perhaps, the
donors, perhaps
i,
two of
II.
the usual attendants. (Cf. above, pp. 173, note
and 173-4).
The
original of plate
XXV,
2,
measuring
in height
m. 0,45,
comes likewise from Loriyan-Tangai and is preserved in the Calcutta museum. It has already been published by Dr. Burgess ij. bid. Ârl Biuidh. ,yirt in India, fig. 147). and Ind., no. 69, 1900, fig. 22 Here the lotus which serves as a seat for the teaching Buddha is supported by the two Ndga-rdjas, Nanda and Upananda, who are visible only as far as the waist. The one on the right (in relation to Buddha) is of a curious type of Brahmanic ascetic, with his beard and voluminous chignon he holds in his right hand an object which reminds
us very
ers
(cf.
much
of the dolphin similarly carried by certain of his congenfig.
uirt g.-b. da Gandhdra,
126), but which, in fict, seems to
be nothing but the head of a serpent

the one on the
hair,
a
left,
coming out of
in his left
his
neck. As for
no less strange wich his moustache and his striped hand

pi.
we
cannot say whether he holds

.serpent (cf. Ârch. Surv. Rep.,
a bent
paddle or
b).
hooded
iôj-1^04,
a
LXVIII,
On
either side of the
Nagas kneel
(cf.
monk and
p.
nun, perh.ips Maudgal
yayana and Utpalavarna
above,
174).
seats
;
The two
rest their
divine attendants are again seated on rattan
both
elbows symmetrically on their raised knees, while their
foreheads,
marked with the
I'lnid,
recline
upon the
tip
of one finger
we
know
that this pensive pose has been ascribed
by Sino-Japane.se
like
art to
Avalokite^vara.
The
attendant on the right,
who,
Brahma, has no
head-dress other than his hair, holds in his right hand the book (in the
form of
palm-leaf manuscript) which will be one of the attributes ot

left
Manju^ri; the turbaned one on the
holds in his
left
hand an object
it
which, from
the bottom,
in the
its
granular appearance and the fold which
makes
at
we
a
believe to be again a purse, fastened by a kind of clasp
form of
medallion and analogous to those in the hands of the

let't
attendants on the
of
pi.
XXIV,
2 and right of
pi.
XXV,
but
is
which on
plate
LXVIII,
c,
of the t^rch. Surv.
Rep.,
i^0)-i')04
plainly a lotus.
To
conclude,
let
us note the curious
porch which
shelters the
at the
three persons, and which, trapezoidal in the centre and arched

sides, rests
on brackets decorated with
lions' heads.
As
usual, birds are
represented on the loofs. (Cf. above,
p.
iji.)

Si
PL XXV
4 ,^^^>^' V^-^>
IN
GANDHARA
ti
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to
w a
M r
.E^d:
e^B=_^| ,^-^^-C~^ 2i5f2-2^?gE ^^ sj g-s l^2î B^-^-^^g-r^tti^" 1-^

s
fe'
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PL.
XXVI
(M
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PLATE XXVII
Cf. pp.
171-4.
The
it; it
original of this phite, the exact origin of
preserved in the
museum
at
Lahore (no.
which is unicnown, is where we photographed 572),

it
measures m.
085
in height.
,
As yet
has been published only by

pi. 8,
Dr. Burgess (/.
Ind.^rt and Ind
no. 62. 1898,
i).
Only the middle part of the stele is devoted to the Mahd-prdtihdrya. Under the large lotus two persons, whose bodies are only half seen, but
who
look
are not otherwise characterized, and

at
who
are leaning back to
the M.i-ter,
must be the two
traditional Ndga-rdjas.
is
Above
the
head of the great central Buddha, which
of disproportionate size,
two
little
genii, flying
without wings, hold up a crown of jewellery
under ornamental foliage.
On
each side appear two other small figures
of Buddha, analogous to those on plate
XXV,
i,
and placed respec(cf. pi.
tively beneath a Bodhisattva in the costume of a Buddha
XXVI,
2) surrounded
by
radiating halo, and beneath a
group consisting of
Buddha in conversation with a monk. The two usual attendants, standing on lotuses with bent stems, hold up their garlands (cf. pU. XXVI and XXVIII, i). Above them, on the right of Buddha, is Vajr,-ipani, bearing his thunderbolt, and having on his head a tiara
often
to
worn by
Indra
a
(cf.
^4>t g.-b.
dii
Gandh., Hg. 246); and opposite

{j:.i.
him, wearing
turreted crown, the nagara- devatd oi Qckvisxi
above, pp. 174-5). .^bout ten other gods are seated in various atiitudes, all resting on lotuses, except those (who also have haloes) on the first
row
are
at the
bottom (the four LokapMas, two of which on the

cf.
right
damaged;
pi.
XXVI,
2)
In the top panel a sort of apotheosis of the Bodhisattva corresponds

to the
transfiguration of the
is
Buddha
a
the former, accompanied by
ten persons with hiloes,

his hand,
seated, with feet crossed and a water-flask in
under
a parasol,
on
low
rattan seat covered with a cushion.
From numerous
{x^rt g.-b. du
analogies,
and notably that
of a
bas-relief in the
Louvre, where this scene immediately follows that of the Nativity
Gandh
fig.
164),
we seem
chap.
to recognize the
samcodana
of the BjdhisattvaSiddh;\rtha(L/(/i7fl vistara, chap. XIII), a pendant to

ihi adhyeshana of
Buddha
{ibid.,
X.W). The
point to be noted
attitudes of the
are
here
is
the close connection between the types and
gods
thi
in the upper and lowjr scenes. On each side of the Bodhisattva same garland-bearers on lotuses at the two bottom corners
;
are
the attendants in the
dant on the
bour his
same attitude as on plate XXV, 2 the first attensame level is turning round 10 express to his neighadmiration, as on plate XXVI, 2, etc.
;
left at
the
At the bottom
is
depicted the adoration of ihe pdira, or alms-vase of

a
Buddha, placed on
throne
(cf.
Art g.-b.
dii
Gandh.,
p.
_|I9)
and
surrounded probably by donors.
PL XXVII
IN
GANDHARA
00
>
w o
a
^*-'
ij
-a
rt
u V "
O U
'-'
V5
c r] " - J= T3 ^ U~ .;2 T) S T3 be P ii c ,.- = -i; a S - J 60J -" "J o -c a C O ^ ^ S C 6J3 C 1) >- =

C
'S
O
00
oo
>
a. a.
x X X u H <
[I.
> o
_: -a
u
PQ <;
o
"1
o
r-
1.
c
rt
M
-a
^
O
4-'
o 5
(U C " "u -a 3 O rt H "" n ^ bo S
3
o ^
-a
v-
'"
J ; u 5 o -) o z
^
"J
C 3
.S
'-
PL. XXVIll
ID
X <
(M
<
<
PS
X Q
<
The Six-Tusked Elephant
An attempt
at a chronological classification
of the
various versions of the Shaddanta-]alalia C).
The
close relation
which
exists
between the written and
the figured forms of the Buddhist tradition has

to be proved.
It is
no longer
known by
;
experience. Rare indeed are
those narratives of Buddha's miracles whereof no illustra-
more rare are the images which do not at once find their commentary in the texts already published. And thus we have naturally come to speak of the help which, on numerous details of exegesis, the texts and monuments reciprocally lend ("^). All the same,
tion has yet been discovered
still
it
is
to be observed that until
now we
have principally
made use of the first to explain the second. In fact the two sorts of documents seem to be unequally matched
and the muteness of the stones will never, in the estimation of philologists, be able to equal (as regards the extent
and variety of the information which can be derived trom
them) the verbosity of the writings. However, there

point in
is
one
which the sculptures have an advantage over the

as they
manuscripts, namely the permanent fixity of their testi-
mony. Such
were when they
left
the hands of the
(i) Extract from Melanges Sylvain Levi, Paris, 191 1. Annuaire de I'Ecolc pra(2) Cf. Unc Ustc indienne des Actes du Buddha in the
tique des
Hauks
Etudes,
Section des Sciences rcligieuses, 1908, a paper of too
technical a character to be translated here.

15
86
THE SIX-TUSKED ELEPHANT

are they
still
workman, such
to-day
or at
least, if
they are
strictly
likewise subject to
mutilations and susceptible,
speaking, of being counterfeited, no attempt at rifacimento

or interpolation, that scourge of Indian literatures, could
in
their
case pass
unperceived. Guaranteed against the
insidious address of the diasceuasts, they are equally so

against the individual fancy of their
own
authors,
who
are forcibly restrained by the material conditions of their
technique.
It results
from
this that they can be arranged
with perfect assurance in chronological order and dated

with a sufficient approximation.
It is
in this sense
that
we
are able to say with Fergusson, that in such a
coun-
try as India, the chisels of her sculptors are
...immeasu-
rably
It is
more
to be trusted than the pens of her authors(') .
in virtue of this
advantage that the figured versions
seem
to us able in their turn to render
some
service to
short, after
the written accounts of the
same legend. In
on
this
having so often applied the texts to the interpretation of the
monuments, we should
application of the
texts.
like
occasion to essay the
monuments
to the
chronology of the
For
this
purpose
we
will direct
it
our attention to a
cele-
brated legend, which, however,
may
not be useless brief-
ly to recall to the reader, that of the elephant
with six tusks
(Skt.
Shaddanta, Pali Cbaddanta,
Chinese Lien ya siang).
Of
course, this marvellous animal
was none other than one
of the innumerable past incarnations of our Buddha; and
(i) Fergdsson, History of Indian and Eastern Archiliclurey Preface to ihc

first
edilion, 1876, p. viu
(2'' edit.,
1910, p. x).
THE
SIX -TUSKED
ELEPHANT
1S7
he lived, happy and wise, in the company of his two wives
and of his troop of subjects in a hidden valley of the

Himalayas. However, the second wife, wrongly believing
herself slighted for love of the
first,
gives herself
up
to
death in an access of jealous fury, making a

to avenge herself
vow one day
upon her husband
for his
supposed want
of
of affection. In the course of her succeeding existence she
becomes, thanks to some remnant of merit, queen

Benares, and possesses the
gift
of remembering her pre-
vious birth. She astutely obtains from the king permission

to despatch against her former
husband the most

kill
skilful
hunter in the country, with orders to

back his tusks as a proof of the success
him and bring of his mission. The

life
man
does, in
fact,
succeed
at
great risk of his
in strik-
ing the noble elephant with a deadly arrow. But the soul
of the Bodhisattva
is
inaccessible to
any
evil
passion
not
content with sparing his murderer, he voluntarily makes a

present of the tusks whereof the
man had come

at
to rob him.
When thehunter finally brings back to the queen this mournful trophy, she feels
her heart break
the sight of
its
is
it.
Such
is
this
touching story, reduced to

features
:
essential
and
most generally reported

multiple forms.
the
Pali
L.
for
it
known under
it
We
know,
in particular, that
appears in
collection
of the Jdtaka {n 314). Since
1895
M.
Peer has compared with this text, point for point,
the Sanskrit account in the Kalpadrumdvaddna and
two Chitsi
nese editions, taken, the one from the Lieu
tu
king
(Nanjio, n 143) and the other from the Jsapaotsang king (Nanjio, n 1329); but, with perhaps excessive prudence,
he was careful not to draw any conclusions from

detailed
this
comparison
(').
More
recently the translation of
(i) Journal Asialique, Jan. -Feb. 1895. For the version olthe Kalpadrutml-
i88
the Si'itnUankdra of Acvaghosha, so excellently rendered by
M. Ed. Huber from the Chinese of Kumarajiva, has made accessible to us a new and most important version (').
Finally, a publication
by M. Ed. Chavannes has placed
at the
disposal of Indianists generally both a complete translation of the
two
texts
quoted by M. L. Peer, and also a
translation of the corresponding passage of the
Ta
che tu
hen (Nanjio, n 1169), ascribed to Nagarjuna ('). So much for the literary sources of our study ('). If we now
turn to the works of
less fortunate in
art,
we
(*),
observe that
we
have been no
having preserved to us
at the
same time
a a
medallion from Barhut

lintel
another from Amaravati
Q,
from Sanchi Q), a fragment of a frieze from Gandhara('), and finally two frescoes from Ajanta, the one
vaddna, cL
the Sanskrit Ms. 27, fol. 232 v-240 of the Bibliothûe Nationaleand Raj. Mitra, The Sanskrit Buddhist Literature of Nepal, pp. 301303.
We refuse to
take into account the

as
commentary of
vv. 26-27 of the
Dhammapada, which,
Mr. Peer also remarks, has scarcely any feature in
common
(i) Ed.
(2) Ed.
nois,
with the Shaddanta legend,
Huber, Sutralaiikara, Paris, 1908, ch. XIV, n 69, pp. 403 sqq. Chavannes, Cinq cents contes et apologues extrails du Tripiiaka chithree volumes (1911). The story n 28 (I, p. loi) represents the pasisi
sage in question from the Lieu tu

in vol. IV. Strictly
king; the
it
two other
extracts will appear
one might connect with

trait
presents the characteristic
of the
gift
the story n" 344, which also of the tusks, but in quite differthis
ent
surroundings.
We
are
happy
to take
opportunity
of thanking
Chavannes, whose great kindness permitted us to make use of the relevant
pages of his work prior to publication.

(3) As to n" 49 (not yet published in the Bibl. Indicd) of the Bodhisatlvdvaddnakalpalata, we cite it merely for record for this narrative is missing
:
from the only ms. (Sanscrit 8) of the Bibliothique Nationale (see below,
p. 204, n. i).
(4) A. Cunningham, Stupa of Barhut, 1879, pi. XXVI, 6. (5) J. BoRGiiss, Buddhist Sti'tpas of Amaravati and Jaggayyapeta,
pi.
1887,
XIX,
I.
(6) Rear face of the middle lintel of the southern gate;

Tree and Serpent Worship,
(7)
2'*
cf. J.
Fergusson,
cd., 1875, pi. VIII.

fig.
Art greco-houddlnque du Gandtuira,
138 (fragment of the counter-

in
189
Cave X, and the other
in
Cave XVII
for
(').
The
identifiis
cation of these bas-reliefs and of these paintings
fortuexcept,
nately
no longer matter
reconsideration,
perhaps, in detail (").
From
the very fact that the meaning

all
of these images has once for
been recognized, they have
taken their place side by side with the texts in the capacity
of independent and trustworthy witnesses to the divers
forms which the legend has successively assumed. Altogether
we
find
ourselves in possession of no less

art
than
six
twelve versions, of which six are provided by

literature. These twelve versions
are, if
and
by
we may
:
say so, so
many
successive stages of the

is
tradition
the precise
problem
to classify these various stages in their chrono-
logical order.
We must admitthat,if we were reduced solely

torical data relative to the texts, the enterprise
to the his-
almost desperate.
It is
easy to
would be contest the orthodox belief,

all fell
according to which the stanzas of the Jdtaka

lips
from the
it
of
Buddha himself;
it is
much
less
easy to replace
by
more
satisfactory assertions concerning the exact
time of
the composition of these gdthds, which are certainly very

ancient,
more ancient
at
times than Buddhism. Their com-
mentary
the
(atthakathd), according to the confession even of
monks
of Ceylon, has existed under
its
present form
march of a
n 1156).
staircase,
derived from the
hill
of
Karamar; Lahore Museum,

in ihe Buddhist
(i) Ajanta,
Cave
J.
Griffiths,
41 and
The Paintings
21
;
Cavethe
temples of Ajanta^ 1896,
I,
pi.
fig.
cf.
J.
Burgess, Notes on
Buddha Rock-temples of Ajanta, 1879, pi. VII, 2. and Arch. Survey of Western Cave XVII, Griffiths, ihid. fig. 73 and pi. 65. India, IV, pi. XVI.
(2) Cf. for
example, infra, p. 194, n.
and
p.
195.
The
majority of the
:
published descriptions are in error in speaking of more than one hunter

it is,
of course, question of the same individual, represented in various atti-
tudes and at diflerent moments.
190

;
only since the V"' century A. D.
but in their view this
could only be the translation into Pali of a prose which
was quasi-contemporaneous with the verses

Kalpadrumavaddna
dence
is
('),
Of
the
all
that
we
can say without
impru-
that this versified amplification does not bear the

at
marks of high antiquity. As to the dates

nese translations were
which the Chi-
made and which, according to the information kindly communicated by M. Chavannes, extend
from the end of the
era,
Iir"*
century to that of the V"" of our
they naturally can furnish us only with a terminus ad
quern.
Thus,
as far
as the texts are concerned, practically

is
every extrinsic element of chronological classification

lacking. Happily
we
are a
little
better served, as regards the
images. Each of these
forms part of a whole to which
either votive inscriptions or technical considerations permit
us to assign a determinate epoch.

bas-reliefs of Barhut
It is
established that the

11'"'
and of Sanchi go back to the
or ?'
century B. C.
Q. Those
to the
of Gandhara and of Amaravati are

the P' or
11"'^
by
common
is
accord attributed to
of our
era ('). It
same epoch
at the latest that,
on the
strength of the inscriptions and the style, Messrs. Burgess
and
Griffiths ascribe the archaic paintings of

:
Cave
at
Ajanta
on the other hand, the same
authorities bring the
decoration of Cave
XVII down
to the beginning of the
VI* century
dates
:
('*).
Certainly these are
only approximate
but
it
is
good thing to have even so much, and we

fortunate,
if
must consider ourselves
we
succeed, by using
(i) Cf.
Rhys Davids, Bnddhhl
Birlh-Shrics, 1880, Introduction, pp.
i-ii.
(2) See above, pp. 4. 34, 67.
(3) Cf. Art greco-bouddhique du Gandhara. p. 42. (4) For the Cave X see Griffiths, loc. cit., pp.
Notes, p. 50; for the
p.
and 32; Burgess,

;
Cave X\'II
Griffiths,
ibid., p. 5
Burgess,
ibid.,
61
(cf. p.
57).
THE
these figured
SIX- TUSKED
ELEPHANT
191
monuments
as so
many
to
land-marks, in dating
some
of our texts with a similar degree of approximation.

call
Nay, were we not able to

unutilized auxiliaries,
it
our
aid these hitherto
would be wiser
to surrender in
advance every attempt
at historical classification.
II
Certainly
we should
not for that reason remain com-
pletely disarmed before the confused
mass of these often

part to introduce
divergent versions; and
it
would be our
by recourse, for want of anything better, to nal principle of coordination an order

It is
some
inter-
at least theoretical.
indeed the favourite occupation of folklorists thus to

trees of
.
draw up genealogical
call
what they have decided

if
to
families of tales
But,
the enterprise
is
possible,
and the pastime permissible,
it
goes without saying that
the result can be of value only
upon
double condition,
to
namely
that
we
shall
have
known how
shall
choose
the
topical detail
which must
series,
act as
main-spring for the estab-
lishment of the
and that we
have well observed

this
series,
and followed out,

natural course of
in the
arrangement of
the
human affairs. Now, in the case of the Shaddanta-jdtaka we are in no wise puzzled to discover at once the characteristic trait and the way in which to use it.
It is a
well recognized law that successive versions of narra-
tives of this
kind have a tendency continually to outdo
each other in the direction of increasing edification.

usual effect of this pious inclination
to destroy
is, let
The
us say in passing,
by degrees the whole

its
salt
of the story together
with
its
probability and
it
ingenuousness, while substituis
ting for
compositions whose insipidity
sweetened to
192
THE SIXTUSKED ELEPHANT

is
|
Hter-
the point of nausea. Nevertheless there

ature,
no rehgious
and the Buddhist
less
than any other, which,
its ori-
ginal raciness once evaporated, escapes this deplorable and

fatal
invasion of convention and
artificiality.
Now
what, in
the theme with which

essential
we
are at present concerned, is the

its
point,
wherein exactly
edification lies? In
order that
we may
not be accused of choosing arbitrarily
and to
suit the necessities of the case, let us appeal to the
Lalitavistara,
which happens
to
sum
it
up
in a verse (')
at
(it
the time of his previous birth as the elephant Shaddanta

is
Gods themselves who subsequently remind the Bodhisattva, in order to encourage him to follow his vocation)
the
thou didst
sacrifice
thy teeth of dazzling beauty, but moralis
ity
was saved.
This
it
indeed the point of the story,
which has caused
to be ranged
,
under the category of the
perfection of morality
or better,
of goodness
(")
it is
the surrender by the elephant of his beautiful ivory

as sanction
tusks,
ter
to
the pardon granted to the
hunis
who
has just
mortally
wounded him. But
there
more than one way of returning good for evil, and it can be done with more or less good grace. In this particular
case the virtuous elephant
might have limited himself to

his will; or, better, he
allowing his have
enemy
to
work
might
facilitated the
operation for
him or
;
finally,
which
quite attains to the sublime, he
might have done the deed

It is
himself for the advantage of his murderer.
evidently
(i) Lalitavistara, ch. XIII, 40

rafuhhadanta. na ca tyaji (Ham.
ed.
Lefmann,
Naturally
to
p. 168,
it
1.
Parityaji
te
ruciis
is
this
same point
that
emphasized
in the
r^sumd of Hiuan-tsang
this
I,
which reference
will be
made
below, p. 199. (2) Qila-paramita

]&taka (ed. Fausblill,
tu
isi
is
the classification of the introduction to the
45 ; trans. Rhys Davids, p. 55) and of the Lieu king (Chavannes, Cinq cents contes, I, pp. 97 sqq).
p.

in
I93
the order of this increasing generosity that, in theory,
the various versions will have to be classified.

In
fact, if
we
recur to the written accounts which have
been preserved to us,

in turns
we remark that the protagonist

:
adopts
one or other of these

the narrative
attitudes at the culminating
moment of
I die , is
Rise, hunter, take thy knife
{khura, Skt. kshurd),
and cut from
me
these teeth before

3
the extent of what the elephant says in stanza

;
of the Jdtaka
and
his interlocutor does not let
him
repeat
the invitation.
to add a
little
The
Lieu tu
tsi
king considers
it
only right
moral homily. But with the prose commen-
tary of the Jdtaka things
become more complicated. The

it
animal has attained a size so monstrous, that

with great
difficulty that the
its
is
only
man succeeds in raising himself

and even there, though instead
fact,
up to the root of
have
tusks,
of the hatchet of a savage (the use of which would, in
been
disastrous
to
the
ivory) he
now
uses
more
self
perfect instrument, the
saw
(Jiakaca, Skt. krakaca'),

:
he
vainly exhausts himself with cruel efforts
his victim
him-
must come
to his aid. In order to
make
things
more
pathetic, the
monastic editor does not
recoil
is
before the
most
flagrant contradictions.
The
elephant
already so
weak
the
that he cannot raise his silver trunk to take hold of

;
saw
as
and he has to
call all his
senses together, in order

it; after
to beg the hunter to give
him
the handle of
which
by
his
in-
it is
generally agreed that the Bodhisattva
is
very nature endowed with supernatural strength

stantly saws
he
through his two tusks (for here(') they are
no more
in
number than two),
like the
tender stems of a
(i)
M.
L.
Peer
(/oc. cit. p.
50 and
p. 77,
note i) has observed the same

title
thing in the fCalpadrumdvaddna, in spite of the persistence in the

traditional
of the
name
of six-toothed ; but
it
is
to be noticed that
the
word
194

!
plantain
In the Kalpadrumdvaddna, the

is
Ta
che
tu
hen
(which besides
simply a very
summary resume) and
the Jsa pao tsangking, the hero does not even trouble himself to
borrow from
his
murderer any instrument whatever

first
he himself breaks off his tusks, according to the
two
accounts against a rock, according to the third against a

big tree. But to the 5?/ira/fl??Mra belongs the palm for spontaneity in the action of the martyr
:
it is
simply
by
slip-
ping his trunk round his teeth

pulls
that this time the elephant
them
out, not without pain or grief, while the hunter
respectfully waits for
him
it is
to present
them expressly
our
to
him. Further than this
impossible to go.
texts.
Thus, then, we obtain

Theoretically
it is
a first classification of all
unassailable; practically
we must
not
form any illusions

ing
as to its historical value. If notwithstand-
we
proceed to arrange the figured
monuments
accord-
ing to the same criterion, the chances of arriving by their

intervention at a less conjectural result assume immediately
a better aspect. In fact
we
are not long in perceiving that the
order thus obtained coincides exactly with

forced
that already
upon us by the purely archaeological data. At the head of them there always comes, in its simplicity, the medallion of Barhut:
his
on the
left
the hunter, having put
down
bow and
arrows, sets about cutting off the elephant's
tusks with a rude
saw
(').
The
latter
has kindly crouched
danta occurs in the text very frequently in the plural and not in the dual.
On
the other hand,
it is
unfortunately impossible to
texts of
this particular point
by
know what was said on which we no longer possess more than the
it
Chinese translation.
(i) See above, p. 39. Perhaps
is
worth while to remark

is
that, in
the
Barhut version, the cause of the drama

tu
tsi kinir,
evidently the same as in the Lieu

first
that
is,
the
gift
of a lotus to the
wife,
if at least,
as is said in
the Kalpadrum&vadana, she did not receive two, one to decorate each of
her temples. This reason
is
cited
by the prose commentary
of
thejitaka
195
down
enemy and to render his task less difficuU(pl.XXlX, i). The case is the same in Gandhara and at Amaravati, where in addition we see represento further the wishes of his
ted the episode of the hunter hiding in a ditch, in order to
wound the (pll. XXIX,

cit.,
elephant
2
in
the
i).
stomach with an
arrow
and
XXX,
The fresco of Cave
of
Ajanta shows us likewise, in the words of Mr. Griffiths

p.
(Joe.
32), the
huge six-tusked elephant lying down

in cutting off the six tusks
less
.
and
as
a hunter
engaged
fact, six
It is,
rated,
all
distinctly sepatusks more or a matter of but always carefully noted that the elephant has
in
these representations, except that from Gandhara. But,

pass
:
when we
is
on
to the painting of
Cave XVII, the picture
changed
the huge white Elephant King

standing,
says Mr. Grif-
fiths (ibid., p. 37), is
with only one tusk, upon
which he
rests his trunk,
while a
.
man
kneels and makes

pi.
profound obeissance before him

2), the elephant, to
In reality {d.
XXX,
more
is
whom
the artist no longer lends
than his two normal teeth, has already torn out one, and
about, as
it is
written in the Sutrdlankdra, to twist his trunk

in order to pull that out in
its
round the second,
turn.
And
during this time the hunter, in adoration before him,

awaits the accomplishment of the
magnanimous
and
it is
sacrifice.
There
is,
as
we
see, a striking parallelism

;
of development
between our two kinds of documents
continued
from one end

If
to the other of the

lists
two
series.
now we
bring the two
together,
we
obtain always
,
and
only as a subsidiary one
of the first, a very ingenious one. that he advances, according to which the great elephant one day, unintentionally, by
:
shaking a f&la tree in
full
blossom, caused to
fall
on
his
second wife,
who was
standing to windward, only twigs of wood, dry leaves, and red

first,
ants, while the
who was
is
to the leeward, received flowers, pollen

at
and
green shoots
there
no more question
Barhut than
in the texts,
except
this particular
commentary.
196
by virtue of the same principle and by the simple intercalation of the various versions (') in the position respectively
belonging to them, the following combination

I.
Stanzas
of the Pali of
Jataka
off
The hiinlcr cuts

II.
Ihc tcclh
with a
knife.
Medallion
Barhut
(II'*
century B.
j
C.)
The hunter
III.
cuts off the elephant's teeth with a
saw.
Medallion of Amaravati IV. FrcECO of Ajanta, CaveX V. Counter-step of Gandhara
ist.uud
century A. D.
The same version as at Barhut.
VI. Lieu tu tsi king (trans,
by Seng-houei,
is
d. 280):
The same version (the instrument
not specified).
VII. Prose
Commentary
of the
Jataka (rendered intoPSli

:
in the
V" Century)
The elephant himself saws
ojf his teeth.
VIII.
Kalpadrumavadana
(trans,
The elephant himself breaks
off his teeth
against a rock.
IX.
Ta che tu luen
by Kumarajiva between 402

:
and 405)
The sanw version as
in the
Kalpadrumavadana.
X. Tsa pao tsang king (trans, by Ki-kia-ye and in 472)

:
Tan yao
The elephant himself breaks
off his teeth
against a tree.
XI. Stltralaukara (trans, into Chinese towards 410)

:
by Kumarajiva
The elephant himself pulls out
his
teeth tvith his trunk.

:
XII. Fresco of Cave
XVII
of
Ajanta (Vl^h century)
The same version as
in the Sutralankara.
(i)
It
will be noticed that the final list differs slightly

at the
we drew up
beginning of this study.
On
the one hand,
from that which we have had to
leave aside the lintel at Sanchi, which, treated too decoratively, did not
supply us with any information upon the precise point which

considering; on the other hand, the tenor of the
we
are
now
to
commentary
of the Jataka
has
shown
itself so
divergent from that of the text that
we have had
divide this source into two.
On
the whole, then,
we
always reckon twelve
versions, five artistic and seven literary.

III
197
Such
least
as
it is,
the chronological table thus obtained

;
is
at
worthy of being taken into consideration
and the
hope occurs to us that we may have restored, in accordance

with the natural play of the religious conscience, the different phases of the evolution of the story. In
that
fact, it is
not
we
have thus arbitrarily arranged

:
all
the accessible
documents
it is
they, which,
when
interrogated
on
a defi-
nite, capital point,
have spontaneously and without any
violence or solicitation on our part, arranged themselves

in the order
indicated above.
is
As
far
as the
images are
concerned, this series

historic succession
not only in conformity with their

:
on the whole
it
takes into account,
in a surprising
manner, their proximity as well as their
aloofness in time, grouping together at the beginning the
four which resemble each other, and reserving the sole

variant to quite at the end.
Then,
as regards the texts, the
impression of confidence and security, which arises from

this
spontaneous
if
classification,
would
be
still
further
increased,
we made our
inquiry apply equally to such or

It is not, init
such other accessory episodes of the legend.

deed, the
manner of giving
details,
the tusks only,
is
whole
group of concomitant
theoretically, for
which concur
in
determining
one
who knows how

head of the
list,
to read them, the
order of priority of the various narratives. Take the one
which comes
at the
that
is,
the
rhymed
account o( the Jdtaka; you will observe that there everything takes place in accordance with the customary rules
of elephant-hunting.
cry of the
The hunter
all
hides in a ditch
at the
wounded animal
kill
his
companions
stops
flee
remain-
ing alone in the presence of the man, the elephant ad-
vances to
him
the fact that
it
on recognizing on
198
THE SJX-TUSKED ELEPHANT

the colour of the monastic coat
is
him
the sole sign of the
Buddhist adaptation of the ballad. Beginning with the

Lieu iu
tsi
king (n
6),
it
is
no longer
sufficient that the
clothes of the hunter should be naturally of a reddish-
brown,
the
like
those of that hunter

first
Q from whom Buddha

:
formerly borrowed his
monk's coat
henceforward
man
will deliberately disguise himself as a
monk,
in
order to inspire confidence in his prey. But, since he
now
:
employs
and in
this infallible
is
reach, there
fact,
means of approaching within easy no longer need for him to hide in ambush
8),
beginning with the Kalpadrumavaddna (n
he ceases to have recourse to this obsolete proceeding. At

the
same time,
as
he has approached openly,
it
will be
necessary that by a refinement of pity his victim should
defend
him
against the vengeance of his
first
wife,
if
not
from the
fails
rest
of the herd
this is
1).
what the Bodhisattva
not henceforth to do (n" 9-1
Soon
with n 10
it
scruples are aroused in the

tected
:
mind of
,
the hunter, thus pro-
he no longer dares to lay his sacrilegious hand on

for fear that
the tusks of the Great Being
may
fall
from
his
body. Finally, in the Sutrdlahkdra (n

is
1 1),
to these
interested fears
tance.
added
a real
and too legitimate repen-
Thus
is
seen
how
a striving after increased edifi-
cation has by degrees modified a
whole concordant assem-
blage of details
for
if
and so
it is
not, as might be imagined,
an isolated reason, but by a whole sheaf of proofs,

to consider
we had time
them more
closely, that the
order of the preceding table

(i)
would be
:
justified.
for the
And
doubtless, of
all
people of low caste
costume of his order
of mendicant brothers Buddha would quite naturally have chosen the coarsest material
of the cheapest colour. At least

if it
we do
not see that the tradition

at
relative to the kdshaya,
had any meaning, can

cf.
the bottom signify
anything
else.
For
its
variations in form
also Art greco-bouddhique
du Gan-
dhdra, p. 369.

Does
this
199
mean
fix
that
all
we must bhmdly
features,
accept for the
known documents
hand, in order to
be sufficient to refer
its
and
that,
on the other
it
the date of every

it
new
version,
will
this
to the corresponding degree
on
chronological scale? In the case of a figured
monument we
it is
should be rather inclined to believe
so,
provided that
upon inquiry verified whether by chance it were not a case of some more or less archaizing imitation. As soon as it is a text that is concerned, the question becomes much more
delicate,
and from the very beginning we
fall
again into
our
difficulties.
For the most
part the table furnishes us
with nothing more than simple presumptions, and these need

still
to be correctly interpreted.
It
affirms, for
exam-
ple, that
the Sutnilaiikdm represents the state of the legend

;
current from the V"' century of our era
and of
this fact
we
have, in truth,
two indisputable
proofs.
The one,
of an
artistic order, is
the fresco of
Cave XVII of Ajanta
(VI"' cen-
tury).
The
is
other, literary, but by a
happy chance dated
exactly as belonging to the second quarter of the VII"" century,
nothing
less
than a passage from Hiuan-tsang
the story of the Shaddanta, gathered by the great pilgrim at
Benares,
is,
as
M.
S.
L^vi has already pointed out in his
admirable
article
exact and faithful
What name
lower
are
we
to
on the Sutrdlahkdra et ses sources, an resume of the story of A^vaghosha ('). deduce from these statements ? As the
of the author scarcely allows us to bring the
work
down
than the
II"''
century of our
era,
must we has-
(i) Cf.
M.
S. Levi, Afvaghosha,
le
Suiralankara
et ses
Sources, in the Journal
Asiatique, July-August 1908, p. 175. Stanislas Julien (I, p. 360) translates

in fact
:
The elephant
tore out his tusks
and Watters
(II,
p. 33) says
.
exactly the same. According to Beal (II, p. 49) he
broke off his tusks
M. Chavannes admits that this second translation might literally be posbut, not to mention that the sense of breaking is given in the diesible
:
200
ten to conclude, as
we might
be tempted to do, that the

is
account of the white elephant with six tusks

late addition
?
only a
This story forms a part of the XIV"' chapter.
Now M.
the
first
hi,
Ed. Huber warns us in his preface that one of catalogues of the Chinese Tripifaka, the Li
tai
san
pao
drawn up
in A. D. 597, gives only ten chapters)) to
the Sulnilahkara. Besides,
we
feel to
what
a degree this col-
lection of tales (which, like that of the Jdtakamdld,
must
at a
very early date have been used by Buddhist sermon-writers

for the needs
of their daily preachings) was ill-defended
again
it
interpolations...
This
is all
:
very well and good
and
after all the
thing
is
possible
but surely the place assiglist
ned to the
Siitrdlaiikdra in
our
by
its
conception of
the Shaddanta-jdtaka does not authorise us to conclude from

it
anything of the kind. What, in
fact,
does
it
prove
That
this text already contains the
form which the legend had
assumed
VI"',
in the imagination of the artist painters of the

in the
and
in
And
memory of the guides of the VII"', century^ what way does it prevent the poetic talent of A^vacirculation the
ghoshafrom having been the first to put into

elaborate version which, as
in all its parts
we have
just seen,
was coherent
defi-
and destined to have great success and
nitely to supplant the far too primitive account of the stan-
zas of the
/(//fl^'d ?
Two
or three centuries
may
not have been
too
its
much
;
for this literary
production to become popular in
turn
and here we find positively no peremptory reason

its
invalidating
authenticity.
The
to the solution of this question

far
best course, with a

as of the question
view
how
the Chinese translation
is
adequate to the Sanskrit origi-
tionary of Couvreur as a secondary meaning, it is that of tearing out which corresponds to the description of the attitude in the Sutralahkdra, and its representation in the fresco of cave XVII of Ajanta.
PLATE XXIX
Cf. pp. 39- 194-6-
T.
From Cunningham,
cf.
Sti^pa of
Bbarhut,
pi.
XXVI,
for the
description
above, pp. 39 and I94-5.

a
II.
From
it,
photograph taken by the author
at
the Madras
museum
as
in
December 1896. The number and
variety of the episodes collected

trees
together on this single medallion,
among
and rocks used
frames, give
in contrast to the simplicity of that at
Baihut, an espeto the
cially entangled
and confused appearance.
I.
On the lower part,
right,
we
see the miraculous elephant with six tusks, standing between
two queens, of who.-n the first, on his left, holds over his head a 2 He on the right the second flourishes a fly-flapper. moves in the direction of the lotus pond, which occupies the bottom of the picture, and where we see him sporting with a numerous company
his
parasol, whilst
pachyderm who is coming precipitately out of the pond on the left and who then seems to crouch in order to throw herself down some precipice, would perhaps be intended to awake the remembrance of the jealous wife and her suicide? 3. Whatever may be the fact concerning this detail, the story is now continued on
the apparently female
the right, in the upper portion of the medallion.
The
great elephant
is
depicted standing at the
moment when he
crosses the fatal ditch in
which
lurks
the hunter,
animal's legs.
part only
is
4.
A
is
little
whose bust only is to be seen between the more to the left the elephant, whose fore,
a
shown,
kneeling, in order that the hunter
tusks by the aid of a
saw furnished with

^
may cut oft his curved spring, much more

right
elaborate than the tool used at Barhut.

latter carries
5. Finally, right at the top, the a
away, on the two ends of
pole balanced on his

It is
shoulder, the spoUa opima of the Bodhisattva.

that the tusks are twelve in
curious to observe
!
number,
six
(2X3)
at
each end of the pole
Here and there indications of antelopes and deer, while lending animation to the scene, only add to the crowding.
THE SIX TUSKED ELEPHANT
PL,
XXIX
1.
AT BARHUT
AT AMARAVATI
PLATE XXX
Cf. pp. 195-6.
I.
frieze
from the Lahore museum(no. 1156. heightm. 0,16),
which formerly decorated one of the counter-steps of a staircase on Karamar Hill; from a photograph taken by the author (cf. .Art g.-b. du
i. On Gandh.,l,^g. 158). The elephant has only one pair of rusks. the left he is wounded in the stomach by the arrow of the hunter
hidden in a ditch.
sawn
off.
2.
He
then kneels down, to allow his teeth to be

right,
3. Finally,
on the
the hunter, twice represented,
brings back
on
his shoulder his bundle of ivory,
and then
offers
it
to the
royal pair of Benares.

distributive
We
shall note the striking contrast
between the
order
of the episodes
according to the
ancient Indian
school and according to the Indo-Greek school
of Gandh^ra, there
crowded together
along a
II.
inside the
same pannel, here deployed one by one
frieze.
From Griffiths,
pi.
first
The Paintings in
the
Buddhist Cave Temples
of
<Ajantd,
63 (fragment). For the description and interpretation of

cf. p.
the attitude of the great white elephant
195.
The
hunter
is
repret
sented twice,
prostrate at
still
the
elephant's feet, \/ith his head on
the ground, then
squatting, but already balancing
on
his shoulder jus-
the double burden of tusks, which the

delivered to him.
magnanimous animal has
THE SIX TUSKED ELEPHANT
PL XXX
1.
IN
GANDHARA
AT AJANTA
THE SIX-TUSKfiD ELEPHANT

nal
261
is
to leave
it
to the future, especially
now
that
may hope
for everything
from the discoveries of

a point
ê manu-
scripts in Central
Asia
('),
is
On
the other hand, there
on which we believe
:
we may
already risk a categorical affirmation

is
we mean
the
manifest divergence which
seen between the version of
the verse text oi the Jdtaka (n i)and that of the prose
com-
mentary (n
7).
This divergence
is
not to-day remarked

is
for the first time(*):
what we have here
only one more
striking experimental demonstration of
it.
Read afresh
with reference to our
list
the text of Fausboll's edition
(V> PP- 37 sqq.), and you will quickly perceive that the editor of the commentary in its present form knew a state of
the
legend
analogous
to
that
reflected
in
the
works
at
numbered 8
to 11; that, if he did not follow these latter

it
right to the end,
was because he was hindered
each
moment by
back,
7iolens
his text,
voJenSj
whose ancient
on
the
particulars held
him
he
incline
down which
and
that
asked nothing
better
than
to
glide;
finally
he appUed himself as well as he could to inserting be-
tween the
from the
lines of the ancient story
ornaments borrowed
later legend.
Henceforth you will hold the secret
of the strange liberties which he takes with the letter of the

stanzas; and
you
will have only to note point
by point,
as
they occur, the most flagrant of his offences.
You
will
first
smile at the palpable cunning with which, from the

line(p. 57,
1.
i),
he transfers the
name of
the elephant,
Chaddanta, to the lake near which the
latter dwells,
and a
(i)
It is
known
(still
that Prof. LviDERs has already
announced the discovery
of fragments
unedited) of the Sanskrit text of the Si'iiralankdra.

refer here to
(2)
It is
sufficient to
Prof.
Nachrichten, 1897, p. 119, and
M.
E. Senart's
Luders in Gottingische Gekhrte article on Les Abhisambud-
dhagathds in the Journal Asiatique,
May-June 1901, pp. 385 sqq.
202
little

further (p. 41,
1.
23) glosses his

;
six
tusks by
two
tusks of six colours
for
you know
that the latest
mode
was
will
to ascribe to
him only one pair. Where the good monk perhaps seem to go rather far, is when he translates
1.
khura by kakaca (p. 52,
9),
and unblushingly essays to
make you
chalk
is
believe that knives are saws, in other words, that
cheese.
But soon you will content yourself with

this strange
shrugging your shoulders before

atic
and systemadvance and
perversion of the text which

;
he was supposed to
interpret
the fact
is
that
you read
his
hand
in
see
why, before allowing the hunter
to descend into the

it
ditch specified by stanza 23, he believes
necessary to
clothe
him
in the kishdya of a
monk
(p. 49,1. 8);

is
why,
when
according to stanza 24 the whole troop

it
scattered
to the eight cardinal points , he considers
more
suitable
to detain
by the side of the wounded one

1.
at least his faith-
ful wife (p. 30,
9)
why,
few
lines further
down, he
has her brutally driven away, for fear she should punish the
assassin (p. 50,
1.
which
19), etc.
And when
finally to stanza 32
knife, cut
states
merely that the hunter took his and departed
off the elephant's tusks,

(p.
he openly opposes
the characteristics ot
52) the absurd

('),
and pathetic account which we have

the measure
is
already analysed
heaped up and the cause

all
decisively heard. If the gdthds have
an ancient popular plaint, which the barbarity of the pro-
ceeding employed by the hunter to get possession of the

ivory forces us to declare anterior to the Barhut medallion,
(i) See above, p. 195.
It
on
all
these points
we have not
referred to vol.
of the English translation carried out under the direction of Professor

it is
Cowell,
rhyme)
because the metric version of Mr.
W.
Francis (either through blind connecessities of the
fidence in the
commentary or on account of the

it
seems to regard
page
I')
as a
duty
to palliate all
the divergencies between the
prose and the verse.

:
Thus
it is
that the beginning of stanza 50
becomes on
The hunter then
the tusks did idiu etc.

that
that
also
is
2oj
to say, to the
II""^
century B.
C,
it is
no
less evident
Pali,
then althakathd was not merely translated into
but
accommodated
to the taste of the times

era. It is a
by
a cleric
of the V"" century of our

centuries that
at
chasm of at
least
seven
opens before our eyes between texts which

desired to believe
times
some persons have
contempo-
raneous.
Thus, whether we arrive

while to take note of these
at
simple points of interrogait is
tion or at real certainties, according to the case,

first
worth
results. It is well
is
known
that in matters of chronology the Indianist to be

satisfied
accustomed
with very
little.
He
can no longer neglect
the data afforded by a comparison of the texts and the
mohave
numents, wherever they lend themselves to

certainly chosen a
relatively favourable
it.
We
specimen for our
attempt
but as regards more than one jdtaka, and even
more than one miracle of Buddha, it would already be possible to draw up a table analogous to that whose spontaneous generation
we have
just encouraged.
We may
au-
gure that these studies in detail, in proportion as excavations and

will
new
editions supply their constituent elements,
come
to each other's aid,
and that by
a series of tests
chronological data will in the end
become more and more

whole Buddhist legend
to
precise.From that time
it
would no longer be of such or such
a particular episode, but of the

that
we should
If
it
succeed in distinguishing the successive

permissible even
still
states.
is
print prognostica-
tions
which
if
are
so vague,
we should
list
be very
much
surprised
we
did not see reproduced, in a general way,
the fact dominating the present

Shaddanta-jdtaka.ln
fact, it is
of the versions of the
self-evident that these latter di-
two large groups, profoundly divergent from one another, between which the Singhalese comvide nearly equally into
204
THE SIXTUSKED ELEPHANT
mentator of the Jdtaka vainly endeavoured to construct a

bridge.
The
six first are closely

:
connected with the old na-
tive tradition
the five last proceed
no
less
unanimously
from
its
new spirit, which probably filtered

this table
crisis
into India through
north-west frontier, as a result of foreign invasions.
Thus,
would be
before
a
all
an excellent illustration
political
of the
which
succession of great
upheavals
at last, a
short time after the beginning of our era,
provoked
in the
Indian conscience, and which has already
been described
in a masterly fashion,
(').
by M. Sylvain Levi,
writing of A^vaghosha
(i) Lpc. cii., pp. 73-74. Since the above article -was -written Prof. Rapson has been so good as to have copied by one of his pupils. Mr. W. H B. Thompson, under his direction and for our use, the version of the Shaddantavadana from the Bodhisaitvdvaddna-kalpalatd, which is lacking in
the Paris ms. (cf. above, p. 188, n. 3), according to the mss. Add. 1^06 and 9/j in the University Library at Cambridge. The kind communicatioB of this copy has enabled us to prove the identity of this version with the with that of the K alpadrumdvadana. It exception of three interpolations
appears that the author of the latter collection restricted himself to reproducing, without however (in any way) informing the reader of the
the
fact,
work
This
of Kshemendra, except that on
narrative of his predecessor,

ted.
fact,
which in however unexpected it may

far as
:
two points he has lengthened the his opinion was too much abbreviabe, naturally does not change
anything
in
our conclusions, as
concerns the general chronology ot
the successive forms of the legend
it
only causes us to think that the Kal-
padrumdvaddna and Bodhisattvdvaddna-kaJpalatd agree in preserving for us the ersion of the canon of the Mula-Sarvastivadins, which, as we know (cf.
above, p. 151, n. 2), usually serves as a basis for the poetic lucubrations of
Kshemendra.
the texts
at the
On
tbe other hand,
it
supplies us with an excellent illustration
justifying the reservations expressed

:
above concerning the chronology of
here, in
fact,
we
are dealing with a
beginning of the XI"" century, and
who
it
older than that of the Sutrdlahkdra.
Thus
well-known author, who wrrote yet makes use of a version was wise on our part to consi-
der as an acquired result only the demonstration of the difference of time
between the stanzas of the

to be able
PSli Jdtaka
and their commentary.
We
are
happy
der
1,
on
this last point to connect
with the already cited evidence of
M. Senart and
k.
Professor LiiDERS that of Prof.
Oldexberg (NachrichUn
Alasse,
Gesdhchajt der
WissenschajUn \u
Gotlingen, Phil. -hist.
191
pp. 441 sqq.).
Buddhist Art
in
Java
(').
The Stupa of Boro-Budur.

The
ruins of
Boro-Budur
that
(') constitute
indisputably the
island of Java.
most important Buddhist monument of the
We
know
also
they alone
can
compete, in
the
amplitude of their dimensions and the profusion of the

bas-reliefs
with which their walls are covered, with the

of Far-Eastern archaeology,
I
other
gem
In beauty of site they even far surpass
mean Angkor- Vat. the rival wonder of
Cambodia. Occupying
a small chain of
detached position in advance of
mountains, which forms a screen on the
south, the eminence on which stands

nates the vast valley of Progo,
all
Boro-Budur domicovered with
shim-
mering palm-groves and framed on both

majestic
sides by the summits of great volcanoes. To the west stretch the deep recesses of the Menoreh, flanked by the imposing
sugar-loaf of the
Sumbing,
in height
exceeding 10,000
feet;
to the east extend the wonderfully pure curves of the twin
peaks of the Mer-Babu, the
Mount
of Ashes, and of the

latter
still
Mer-Api, the
in
Mount
be
of Fire, the
active
sea,
and
the northern
distance,
faintly
half-way
descried,
to
the
whose
hill
vapours
may
the
nail
rounded
of
Magelang represents the head of the
which, according
(i) Extract from the Bulletin de l Bcole fraitfaise
d' Extreme-Orient,
vol. IX,
1909, pp. author was able to make in Java during the

I
sqq.
These notes
are a result of a too brief stay
which the
month of May 1907.

i7
2o6
BUDDHIST ART
IN
JAVA
to the native tradition, fixed Java to the
bottom of the ocean.
The
yet
flat
and marshy borders of the Cambodian Great-Lake

a fact of
have nothing to compare with this subhme scenery; and

it is
common
experience that Boro-Budur pro-
duces
at first sight a
general impression
much
less
profound
than does Angkor- Vat.
No
doubt,
we must
in the first place
take account of
the difference in dimensions.
The
rectangular base of the
Khmer monument
forms a square of
has an exterior measurement of 187 by
215 metres; the lower terrace of the Javanese building

1 1 1
metres on each
side.
attains an elevation of
7 metres, whilst the

3 5
The former present summit

first steps.
of the second does not reach

It is
metres above the

latter,
well Hkewise to note that the
older by three
centuries or so and exposed to the

torrential rains
same
destructive agents
Tropics
after all,
and the luxuriant vegetation of the worse

state
is
in a
of preservation
(').
But,
that the two monuments, even at the time f their unimpaired splendour, had from an architectural point of view nothing in common. Angkor-Vat deploys on tiers rising above the plain its three enclosing galleries, intersected by portals, flanked by eight
we must acknowledge
towers and crowned by a ninth

passes the
Boro-Budur encomits
summit of
a hill
at
with the sacred number of
nine terraces, connected

cases
the four cardinal points by staira
and surmounted by
dome. At Angkor-Vat the eye
ranges through the colonnades or follows in the distance

(i) Boro-Budur
.
is
commonly
ascribed to the IX"' Century, and Angkor-
Vat to the XII"' The leaning walls of the Javanese Stupa threaten ruin to
such a degree that the Government-General of the Dutch East Indies has
been moved thereby. The friends of archeology will learn with pleasure that
a
first
grant of 60 ooo florins (about

prescrv.ation
'
5.000)
is
at
present being devoted to
works of
under the expert direction of Major Vak Erp, of the
Engineers.
BUDDHIST ART
IN JAVA
207
the ever narrowing flight of the porticoes;
atBoro-Budur
the lower galleries, interrupted
by twenty right angles

a
and confined on the exterior by

ly enclose
high parapet, narrow-
the
visitor in their successive recesses ('). In
Cambodia, whether from the end of the paved approaches

he contemplates the clearly defined silhouette of the towers,
or whether from the top of the central group he dominates
the widely spaced plan of the enclosures, the spectator al-
ways embraces
sign. In Java,
in his
view the grandiose scheme of the deas
from the foot
from the top, nothing
is
ever
perceived but a compact mass confusedly bristhng with
432 niches and 72

nacles.
little
cupolas forming so
many
pin-
The
fact is that
Angkor- Vat
led the devotee
by the
perspective of long avenues straight to the dwelling of a
god
its
Boro-Budur, on the contrary, opened no access

sides,
in
massive
which were destined solely

first is
as a shrine
for relics. In
one word, the
Brahmanic temple; the

infinitely
second
is
a stupa, or Buddhist tumulus. architectural
That the
form of the temple
is
more favourable to the effect of the whole than mausoleum, no one will deny. Still this reason
tirely
first
that of the
is
not en-
satisfying;
nor does
it
suffice to explain
what
at
sight
is
wrong
not
with the aspect of Boro-Budur
(pi.
XXXI,
at
i). It is
dome with
which
simple
lines, like the
most ancient Indian

example
pyramid
the
or
siupas
at
are preserved to us, for

is
it
Sanchi and
Manikyala. Neither
a super-
position of quadrangular diminishing terraces, a kind of

in steps,
such as the Chinese pilgrims describe

north-western India.
its
pagodas
of
Nor
has
it
the
lengthy slenderness of
Burmese or Siamese congeners,

air as
it
which point very high into the

XXXI,
2 and
were the handle of
(i) Cf.
pll.
XXXII,
2.
208
BUDDHIST AUT
bell.
IN
JAVA
it
an enormous
To
speak candidly,
seems to have been

walls
unable to decide clearly whether to be conical, pyramidal,

or
first
hemispherical.
six
is
The
give
vertical
indented
of the
galleries
the impression
straight
that the
monu:
ment
is
about to
the
mount up
towards the sky

galleries
this
but with
three
upper circular
start
suddenly
frustrated,
and the whole structure assumes

Doubtless
a crushed
and heavy appearance.

for
we must
make allowance
rains.
the disappearance of the crown and
the depression of the
summit under
the influence of the the wide
Neither must
we
forget
that
band of
masonry which now forms

ed round the edifice
in
all
the
first
terrace
was constructand contributes

of
the
as an afterthought
no
slight degree to the appearance of heaviness ('). But,
taken
into
account,
the
disappointment
less.
impartial observer exists

lus can never be
is
none the
a
That
a great
tumu-
anything but
:
kind of huge pudding, he
quite ready to admit
but there arc puddings which
are
more or
less succesfully constructed.
Without
irrever-
ence
we may
its
say that the

its
stiipa
of Boro-Budur, with the
endless zig-zags of
tion of
passages and the profuse ornamenta-
pinnacles, gives at first the impression of a pasty,

raised
as badly
on the whole
as
it is
minutely carved
in detail (").
(i)
We know
J.
that the discovery of this peculiarity
is
due to an engineer,
Heer
W.
Yzerman. The primitive plinth must have very early been
buried in the
new masonry along with
the bas-reliefs wherewith there had

it
been a commencement of decoration. Doubtless

of the upper stories
addition
was found necessary
to
strengthen the foundations, which threatened to give

:
way under
the thrust
at
the same time perhaps orthodox tradition found the
of a terrace advantageous, thus completing in the most patent

is
manner the sacred number of nine. This addition

by the divergent hatchings.
indicated on pi.
XXXH,
(2) In case the reader should be tempted to think that these criticisms
are
made by
a prejudiced
and particularly surly
visitor,
he
is
begged
to refer
BUDDHIST ART
It is
it.
IN
JAVA
209
not enough to state the
fact;
we must
skill
also explain
Certainly
we cannot
question the
of the architect
who who
ral
conceived the complicated plan of these nine stories,

designed the mouldings and provided for the sculptu-
decoration,
who,
finally,
by an ingenious arrangement
of gargoyles carrying away the rain-water,
made
sure of
an indefinite preservation
If,
at a slight cost
of maintenance.
his
therefore, he pitched so
low the summit of

for
it.
con-
struction, he
must have had some reason
We confess
that this reason revealed itself to us
only
in the evening,
when
grahan
seeing from the verandah of the neighbouring pasan(') the
obscure silhouette of the
monument
stand
out against the starry sky.

in
The contours
XXXIII,
of this dark mass,
which
all details
were obscured, presented themselves

i)
:
to us as distinctly curved (pi.
where we were
seeking a pyramid, the builder had intended only a dome.
Thus we
learned our error.
It
had, in
fact,
archaeologists to regard
Boro-Budur
as
become usual with a stfipa erected on

form of
superposed terraces
western India (^). In
a
after the
reality,
manner of those of northonly

a sinpa in the
it is
dome, according
to the old Indian
mode, but much more

a series of
elaborate, being cut horizontally
by
promenades
and
itself
it
crowned with
second cupola. The influence

its
which
has undergone, both in
general conception as
it
in the detail of its
mural decoration, comes to

is
not from
Gandhara, but, as
natural,
from southern
India,
where
to the
opinion of
Brumund
name
in
Leemans, Boro-Boudour dans
File de
Java,
Leiden, 1874, p. 579.

(i) This
is
the Malay
for
the traveller's house, corresponding to
the Indian bungalow and the Cambodian sala. (2) Such, for example, is the idea expressed in the passage of our Art grko-bouddhique du Gandhara, I, p. 80, to which the present note may
serve as erratum.
210
its direct
BUDDHIST ART
ancestor
is
IN
JAVA
(').
called
Amaravati
And
this theory,
imposed on the most uninitiated by observation of the
monument, is confirmed beyond all

ination
hesitation
by an exam-
of the
plans and
elevations
which have been
drawn up by
lower
specialists.
The
ruling lines of Boro-Budur,

its
notwithstanding the right angles and vertical walls of

galleries, are all curves.
Have
designs
the goodness
to the
cast
glance
either
at
the
contained
in
at
grand album
accompanying
Leemans' book, or
our plate XXXII. The elements of
the latter were borrowed from drawings recently execut-
ed under the care of Major
enough
to
Van Erp, who was kind communicate them to us. We have restricted
lines.
ourselves to adding to the second, for the purpose of our
demonstration, the dotted

artifice,
Thanks
to this simple
the principles
which presided over the construction
of Boro-Budur will
strates to us in
lower
galleries,
circle,
become quite clear. The plan demonthe most evident manner that each of the however angular they may be, is inscribed
is itself, at its
within a
and
principal points, tangent
to an inner circle.
initial project
On
the elevation
we
perceive that the
of the architect involved the construction of
an edifice assuming the general form of a segment of a

sphere.
Henceforth
nothing remains but to

to try to
offer
him
his
our
humble apology and
enter into
still
views.
;
Naturally our observations of fact

(i) Cf. ^rt. g.-b.
d:i
hold
good
but
Gandh.,
fig.
58, a
model
oi a stupa
from Amaravati.
the aid
where the procedure in decorating the walls of the

of bas-reliefs and the recourse to a
to the
monument with
promenade intended
to facilitate access
upper row of these
latter are
already clearly indicated. Let us add that
the excavations judiciously conducted by Major

fruit in
Van Erp have
already borne
the discovery of fragments of the balustrade, furnished with doors,
which formerly surrounded the base of Boro-Budur.
BUDDHIST ART
what we took
for defects
IN
JAVA
211
no longer appear
to us anything
initial decision.
but necessities logically imposed by the

It
was
in order to
keep more closely to the horizontal

a sphere that
first
sections of his
segment of
he gave twenty
angles to the parapets of the

to that of the fifth
:
four galleries and twelve
if,
in his desire to furnish his
band of
sculptors with plane surfaces, he had
made
these galleries
far
simply quadrangular, they would have extended too
beyond the primordial inner

cular profile does not
circle. It is
because a semi-cir-
mount
like a
pyramid, that the upper
promenades, themselves
circular, are necessarily lowered.
This explains
the
first
:
at
once the contrast between the steepness of

pi.
steps
and the gentle slopeof the last (cf
XXXIII,
2)
not otherwise does one

(').
mount
is it
if,
the outline of the upper the fault of anyone, but
section of a globe
Neither
rather in the nature of things,
having once reached the
top of the rounded sides, one can no longer see the foot,
just as
from the base
it is
impossible to perceive the
sum-
mit.
If
we
likewise reflect that the architect
of Boro-
Budur was deprived of our
favourite resource of colonnades,
we
shall
understand
why
to the use of
mouldings he has
added that ofantefixes, of niches and cupolas; and we shall
no longer be astonished
The
at the
symmetrical multiplication
(i)
is
difference
between the steps

first
at
the bottom and those at the top
so great that from the
to the second gallery, for example, thirteen

rising
steps only
go back m.
3,56 in
m. 3.84, whilst the seven steps

Leemans,
p.
which
lead to the first circular gallery, the sixth of the whole, have a depth
of m. 3,40 in rising m. 1,80; Wilsen (ap.
576) asks whether
we must
not, in the steepness of the first steps, see a symbol, suggested to
the minds of the faithful by the intermediary of their legs, of the difficulty of attaining to Nirvchial
We
conjecture, at
is
least, that
the impossibility of
imposing upon them

the
air
still
steeper ones
one of the reasons which decided
the architect not to conform in
bubble on water
>>,
all things to the ancient Indian formula of and made him recoil before the idea of assignino'
to his
monument
the form of a complete hemisphere.
212
BUDDHIST ART
IN JAVA
of these decorative elements.
On
the whole, in every point
where we were ready to
criticize
him,
we must now, on
the contrary, recognize the ingenuity with which he has
turned to advantage the ready-made formula which he
had inherited from

India,
as
the
ancient religious
tradition
of
and
to
which from the very beginning he was bound
far as
possible to conform.
We
cannot render him

eflfect
responsible for the mediocre architectural
which
his
monument must always
have had, even
at a
time before the
uneven ruin of the decorations, the subsidence of the summit, and the crumbling of the corners had broken and
distorted the lines. Let us add that his
first
plan,
by
at
once
raising the level of the first gallery almost six metres
above
the pavement, indicated

bly
much
better and in aa
incompara-
more elegant manner,
the form of the edifice. But for
the heavy terrace in which he very soon had to bury the

original foundation of Boro-Budur, and
which
still
to-day
gives the structure an

that
awkward look, we flatter ourselves we should have made fewer mistakes and felt less hesiits
tation concerning the real intentions of
author.
II
The
Bas-Reliefs of Boro-Budur
wall of the
first gallery)
(principal
Whatever from an architectural point of view has been lost to Boro-Budur through the tyranny of religious tradition is abundantly compensated in the decorative aspect-
The 2,000
ed
are
its
bas-reliefs,
more or
less,
which formerly coverstill
walls,
and of which about 1,600
exist to-day,
all
borrowed from the legend, or from the Pantheon,

it
of Indian Buddhism; and
was the testimony of these
that
BUDDHIST ART
from the
first
IN JAVA
213
established
the
sectarian character of the
monument.
Brahmanic
In
art
abundance and variety
of subjects the
for
and epopee of India have provided
the labour of the sculptors of Angkor- Vat nothing
com-
parable hereto. Neither can theselatter vie in skill of execution with their confreres of Boro-Budur.
While
artists
their chisels
could only moderately carve the fine Cambodian sandstone into rather shallow pictures, the
of Java, not
disheartened by the coarse grain of the volcanic stone
furnished by their island, have drawn from
it
veritable
high-reliefs of an astounding depth. Their figures, in spite
of the effeminate softness of their lines, are rightly celebrated for the justness of their proportions, the naturalness of
their
all, is
movements and
the diversity of their postures.
Above
skill,
they exhibit a knowledge of foreshortening, which
totally lacking in the later, but,
owing
to
want of
artists.
apparently
in India,
if
more
archaic
works of the Khmer
Even
still
we
except the few chefs-d'oeuvre that
we
possess of the schools of Gandhara, Amaravati and Benares,
we
find
nothing to surpass this

art.
final Far-Eastern flores-
cence of Buddhist
Among
interest
the hundreds of bas-reliefs the

calls
first
to arouse
were those which Leemans

,
of the
second
proves
is
gallery
but which Heer
}.
W. Yzerman's discovery
first.
to have originally belonged to the

corridor,
This gallery
having an interior width of m. 1,85, which, with
twenty zig-zags, encompasses the whole

pi.
monument
(cf.
XXXI, 2).
It is
enclosed between two stone walls, built,
like the rest of the construction,
without any apparent
mortar and interrupted only by the passage ofthe four staircases,
both walls being ornamented by two superposed series
of bas-reliefs.
(c
Among those
anterior wall
which decorate the parapet (the of Leemans), formerly 568 in number.
214
BUDDHIST ART
S.
IN
JAVA
whereof about 400 remain, Dr.

identified a
d'Oldenburg has already
number of
jdtakas,
or previous lives of Bud
dha
(').
On the
wall itself of the stupa (the back wall
of
Leemans) Wilsen had early recognized in the upper row scenes from the last life of the same Cakya-mûni; and
Dr. C.
tion,
M.
it
Pleyte has recently published a detailed explana-
according to the Laliia-vistara, of the

contains
("').
120 panels
which
As regards those of the bottom row,

await an interpretation.
the greater
at once,
number
still
We remark
made,
by the
light of the identifications already
that these pictures
conform
in the order of their succession

;
to the general rule of the pradahhind (')
that
is
to say,
cirIt
they follow the direction taken by the worshipper
who
cumambulated the
stupa,
keeping
it
on
his right
hand.
results quite naturally
from
this that,
on the walls of the
(i) S. d'Oldenburg, Notes on Buddhist Art, St. Petersburg, 1895 (in Russian, translated into
English
in the
Journal of the American Oriental Society,
January 1897, pp. 196-201). (2) C. M. Pleyte, Die Buddha- Legende in den Skulpturen dcs Tempels von In general we are in agreement Boro-Budur, Amsterdam, 1901, in-4''.
XVIII,
I,
with Dr. Pleyte as to the identification of the 120 figured scenes, which
fact
in
follow religiously the text which they have undertaken to illustrate.
All the
same, his figure 14 seems to us to represent not

,
Qakra and the

particu-
Guardians of the Cardinal Points
which would convey nothing

supposed to be seated
in his
larly edifying, but the Bodhisattva,
mother's
womb
beneath the
to
pavilion of precious stone , at the

in a
moment when
Brahma brings which he has

scene
side
him
just
cup the drop of honey, quintessence of worlds, collected in the magic lotus figured in the preceding
the Conception
(Lalita-vistara,
by side with
ed.
Lefmann,
pp. 63-4).
As to figures 47 and 48, not identified by Dr. Pleyte, we believe,

may seem,
first
paradoxical as the assertion
that they represent twice the epi-
sode ofthe Bodhisattva's wrestling,
with a single competitor, and then

152-3). This
is
with
fig.
all
his
rivals
together (^Lalita-vistara, pp.
why on
47 we see a single individual, and on fig. 48 all the young Qakyas, standing motionless and facing the Bodhisattva, who also is motionless and standso inveterate was the horror of the sculptors of Boro-Budur for all ing
:
violent
movements.
See below the additional note on

,
p.
269.
(3) Cf. Art greco-houddhique du Gandhdra,
p. 268.
BUDDHIST ART
parapet, the scenes follow
IN
JAVA
left
215
one another from

is
to right,
left.
while, on the building, the succession
from
right to
On
both sides they accompany the visitor

in the
who makes
the
round
only direction compatible with the religious
and auspicious character of the monument.

It is all
the
more expedient not
to ignore this law, inasfirst
much
gallery
as the identification
is,
of the bas-reliefs of this

fiir
as
we
have
said, very
from complete. Our
attention
was immediately and
forcibly
magnificent panels on the right wall,

the
last
life
drawn to the 120 below the scenes from

last,
of Buddha. Measuring, like these
from
m. 0,70 to m. 0,80 in height by circa m. 2,40 about three quarters of them have until now
through the
fault of the artists
in length,
partly
and much more through the
imperfections of the only reproductions which have been
published
(')
resisted all attempts at explanation.
At
the time of our visit
we had
at
our disposal nothing but
the text of the Divydvaddna and the excellent Guide of Dr. J. Groneman ("). The latter indicates in the series in question
only two identifications, both again due to Dr.

:
S.
;
d'Olden-
burg one is that of the legend of Sudhanaku mara the other,
which
is
connected with the history of Maitrakanyaka, has
quite recently been corroborated and developed by Prof.
Speyer and Dr. Groneman
at
the cost of an extensive
would speak of the enormous folio album of 393 lithographed which is annexed to the already mentioned work of Leemans and which was so uselessly and so expensively designed at .lava by Wilsen and SchOnberg Mulder from 1849 to 1853, then published in Holland from 1855 to 1871 under the care of the Government-General of the Dutch Indies.
(i)
plates,
We
BurdGronemann, Semarang-Soerabaia, 1907. The venerable archôlogist of Jogyakarta was so kind as to accompany us himself into the galleries and even to the summit of Boro-Budur we cannot thank him too warmly for his trouble.
boedoer,
(2) Boeddhislische TempelhouwuaUen in die Prdgn-Vallei, de Tjandis
Mendoet enPaiuon, by Dr.
J.
2i6
BUDDHIST ART
IN JAVA
correction of one of Wilsen's drawings.
The
reading of the
Divydvaddna gave us
t^YO other stories,
once the key to the illustrations of those of Rudrayana and of Mandhatar.

at
Then two
bear their
1
or three of these rebuses in stone themselves
own
solutions.
On
the whole,
two
thirds of the
20 panels
in the
row
are thus clearly elucidated
by
a
direct
comparison of the
texts
and the
originals.
At
time
when the government of the Dutch Indies is preparing to endow the world of letters whh photographic reproductions
of
all
the sculptures of Boro-Budur,
it
is,
perhaps, worth
first
while to publish, without further delay, these
resuks,
which cannot but open the way to the complete explanation of the whole (').
I.
South-Eastern Corner.
according to rule,
We
shall begin
our prada-
kshimi,
at the gate facing the east,
which
formerly constituted the principal entrance.

is
The proof, if any
needed,
is
given by the
fact that
here begins on the upper
series
of bas-reliefs, the legend of the Buddha (Jakya-muni.

pictures of this series
The 30
which
are
comprised between
the eastern and southern staircases exhibit the very early
events of his last
life,
from the preparations

until,
for his descent

his last re-
from the heaven Tushita

birth
and including,
upoH
earth.
Of
the 30 corresponding panels of the
(i) In order to save the reader
all
confusion and to
facilitate
the refer-
ences to the already published documents,
we
should explain that
we
here
treat in detail only the 120 bas-reliefs called
by Leemans
lower row of the

I
back wall of the second gallery

to
which, occupying the base of plates X\
of his album, are described (but not identified) from page 194 will retain provisionally between parentheses to page 217 of his book.
CXXXV
We
the numbers 2-240 assigned to them,

reserved for the 120 bas-reliefs of the
the odd numbers
to
259 being
upper row
on
this
same
wall,
the
row which, reproduced

is
at
the top of the
same
life
plates
and described on
pp. 121-193,
entirely devoted to the last
of
Buddha and has been
studied by Dr. C.
M. Pleyte.
BUDDHIST ART
lower row the
dhana.
first
IN
JAVA
2t7
twenty
are, as Dr. S.
d'Oldenburg has
Su-
briefly recognized, dedicated to the legend of Prince
We propose,
with the aid of the text of the Divydvathe details of this identification,
as definitive
:
dclna ('), to enter into
which may be regarded

time, detect the
weshall, at the same
methods of the
sculptors.
Siidhanakumanlvadilna.
i.
(L., pi.
XVI,
2).
Once upon
a time, says the text, there were in the country of Paucala
two
kings, the
..
king of the north and the king of the

virtuous, and his
south.
The former was
perous; with the second
it
was quite
:
kingdom prosotherwise. Leemans
describes the bas-relief in these terms

wife, seated in a
A prince
and his
pendopo
(^)
not
far
from
their palace, are
receiving the
rank
us in
. Is it
homage the monarch of
of a great
number of persons of
the north
who
is
presented to
Is it
all
his glory in the
midst of his court?
the
sovereign of the south
whom we perceive in
it
the act of delib-
erating with his ministers concerning the
means of restoris
ing prosperity to his kingdom? This
not in the
power of our image-makers

2. (L., 4).
to specify.
probability to the
first
What lends more

as the
suppoin
sition
is
the fact that in the following picture
we must
any case recognize

prince
king of southern Pailcala the
who,
sheltered by his parasol

is
and followed by a nua
merous cortege,
text tells us,
riding
on horseback through
conven-
tional rocky landscape.
he
is
Under a pretext of hunting, as the making a tour of inspection through his
kingdom, which he finds completely ruined and deserted. Perhaps he is even now plotting to rob his flourishing
(i) S- d'Oldenburg, he. cit., p. 200; Divydvaddna, XXX, ed. Cowell and Neil. pp. 435-461. (2) Probably a corruption of the Sanscrit word mandapa, which signifies kind of hall or open pavilion. a
2i8
BUDDHIST ART
IN
JAVA
neighbour of the young ndga Janmacitraka,

a
who
resides in
pond near
which
is
the capital of northern Paficala, and
who by
dispensing at an opportune
necessary
rely
moment the
exact
amount of
rain
assures abundance to the country.
But we can hardly
upon the resemblance between the
Brahman
hand
a
ascetic
who
goes before him, bearing in his right
kind of bent pruning-bill, and the snake-charmer

witchcraft
we are soon to witness. 3. (L., 6). The following panel represents no less than recognizable, three episodes. On the right the young ndga
whose
as
on the sculptures of
India,
by
his coiffure of serpents'
heads
asks upon his knees,
and obtains, the protection of

(cf. pi
the hunter Halaka. In the middle
XXXIV,
i) the
same Janmacitraka, grieving and under compulsion, is driven from the midst of the waters and lotuses of his pond by the influence of incantations pronounced (at his right side)
by
a
Brahmanic
ascetic before a sacrificial altar; fortunately
the hunter, standing (on the other side) with his

in his hands, is
weapons
text,
first
watching over him. According to the
he
is
about to put the charmer to death, not without

effect
having made him annul the

third
of his charm. In the

therefore,
it
group (on the
left)
we must
seems,
recognize the same Brahman, not reporting to the king,
whose agent he
but at the
secret mission.
is,
mischance which he has not survived,

he receives from this king his
moment when
It
follows, therefore, that, by an exceptional,
but
left,
not impossible,
like that
arrangement, the
episode on the
in
on the
right,
must have preceded
time the
one which they both enclose.

4. (L., 8).
at the
Next, in the text, comes a brilliant reception
house of the father and mother of the young ndga in honour of the saviour of their son. This is indeed what
the bas-relief represents; but then
we
are forced to
admit
BUDDHIST ART
IN JAVA
219
that for this occasion the hunter has
donned
a princely cos-
tume, much superior to his

supply the
fact that in the
caste. It is also
necessary to
meantime he has received from

picture transports us to the
his hosts a lasso

5.
which never misses.
(L., 10).
The following
Himalaya mountains.
On
the right
we
perceive the lean
ascetic figure of the old anchorite

ter
is
whose thoughtless chat-
has guided the arm of the hunter Halaka.
The
latter,
who
in a squatting posture, holds the Kimiarl

infallible lasso,
Manohara impriform, rush

lotuses.
soned at the end of his

of the
latter,
while the companions
likewise represented in
human
towards the
6. (L,,
left
in their aerial flight over a

this
pond of
12).
At
moment, we
is
are told, Sudhana, the
Royal Prince of northern Paiicala,

party
:
passing with a hunting
Halaka perceives him, and, in order that his captive
may
not be forcibly taken away, presents her to him.

believe
We
we must
twice recognize the hunter in the two
persons respectfully stooping

the fairy,
down between
in the first
the prince and

is
who are
standing
row he
offering
it.
his captive; in the
second he receives the reward for
Leemans was wrong in speaking of a few women of rank Manohara is the only person of her sex. It goes
:
without saying
that, as in
our
stories,
love springs up
immediately between the young people.

7.
(L., 14).
is
king, seated in his palace, in the midst of
his court,
in conversation
with
Brahman. Without the

is
text
we should
never be able to guess that this king
the
father of Sudhana,
and that the interlocutor
is
his purohita,
latter is in
or chaplain, the traitor of the melodrama.
The
the act of perfidiously counselling his master to confide
forthwith to the royal prince the perilous task of subduing

a
rebelUous vassal, against
whom
seven expeditions have
already failed.
220
8. (L.,
1
BUDDHIST ART IN JAVA

6).
The unhappy
prince, in despair at having to
leave his beloved

farewell to his
Manohara, obtains permission to say mother before beginning the campaign, and
begs her to watch over his young wife. That the bas-relief
does, in
a son
is
fact,
represent an interview between a mother and
clearly
proved by the higher
seat of the
queen and
the respectful attitude of the prince.

9. (L., 18).
Sudhana, as
it is
written, stopped at the
foot of a tree near to the rebellious town. Fortunately,
Vai^ravana, one of the four gods
who
reign in the
air,
foreseeing his defeat, sends to his aid his general Paucika
with a troup of Yakshas, or genii. These are the

or evil
tinues
:
five giants,
latter
spirits ,
mentioned by Leemans. The
con-
10. (L., 20).
prince, seated in his house with his

is
wife and
two
servants,
giving audience to six men, per-
haps wise Brahmans, with
whom
he
is
engaged in a very
it is
animated conversation..text that
Here, again,
only from the

is
we
learn that the locality of the scene
transfer-
red back to Hastinapura, the capital of northern Paiicala,
and that the father of Sudhana
is
asking his Brahman astro-
logers for an explanation of a bad dream.

lain
takes advantage of this to
The wicked chapprescribe, among other

sacrifice of a
remedies forestalling such bad omens, the

Kinnari.
his wife
The king seems

But
to
make
a gesture of protest,
and
shows manifest signs of sorrow.

in the heart
11. (L., 22).
of the king the instinct of
self-preservation at last gains the victory.
Thus, on the
fol-
lowing picture we see the
fairy
Manohara, with the assent,

flee
and even the complicity, of the Queen Mother,

gracefully through the air (pi.
12.
(L., 24).
away
XXXIV,
2).
Meanwhile Sudhana, by the
aid of the
genii, has triumphed,
without any shedding of blood. His
BUDDHIST ART
mission
fullilled,
IN
JAVA
221
he re-enters the capital, and begins by pre-
senting to his father the taxes which he has recovered and

the tribute of submission from the rebels.
fail
We
shall not
to observe
on
pi.
XXXV,
the grace and suitability of
the attitudes of the various persons.

13.
(L., 26),
The
prince has
no sooner remarked the
disappearance of Manohara and learned the unworthiness
and ingratitude
his
of the
king than he again has recourse to
mother
it is
interesting to
compare
this interview, in
respect of variety of attitude, with that at
which we were
present above (no. 8).

14. (L.,28).
Once again
a royal personage is presented to
us, seated in his palace in the
midst of
his court; but this
time he has a halo.

as well as in nos. 17
By
and
this sign
we
shall recognize here,
Druma, king of the Kinnaras. It is, therefore, his daughter, Manohara, who, crouched at his left, is relating to him the story of her romantic adventures on earth. It results, further, from this that the scene is suddenly transported beyond the first chains of the Himalayas
18,
to the distant
fairies.
and inaccessible country of the genii and

all
The
sculptor does
if
that
he
can to vary in
imagination,
in execution
he hardly succeeds, the places
and persons.
15. (L., 30).
However Sudhana
It
has
set
himself to
search for his beloved.

anchorite,
occurs to
him
to enquire of the
whose incautious words formerly led to the capture of the fairy by the hunter. Now it happens that the faithful Manohara, bearing no malice, has left with this same fishi a ring and an itinerary, which he is respectively to deliver and to communicate to the prince. 1 6 (L., 3 2). Without allowing himself to be discouraged
-
by the length and

hero of the story
terrible difficulties of the journey, the
at last
succeeds in reaching the city of king

18
222
BUDDHIST ART
this
IN JAVA
Druma. At
very
moment a crowd
of /{'innam is engag-
ed in drawing water in great quantities for the bath of

the princess
because, they say, of that
human odour
earth,
which she has brought back with her from the
and
Sudhana takes advantage of this to throw the ring of recognition into one of the pitchers, which he recommends to the servant as the first to be
will not disappear.
which
emptied over the head of Manohara. According to the text

the trick
is
played without the knowledge of the Kiwiari

pi.
but according to
it
XXXV, 2, so elegant
is
in its
morbidezza,
cannot be that she
deceived concerning the intention
of the gesture and the motive for the recommendation ot

the
young man. 17. (L., 34). The stratagem succeeds
Druma, warned by
Iris
daughter of the arrival of the prince, after threatening
to
to prove him.
make mincemeat of him , is appeased, and consents The bas-relief represents Sudhana standing at
his
the
left,
bow
;
bent, ready to pierce seven
palms with one
single
arrow
on the right Druma, seated and with a halo,

he resolves, as
written and as
witnesses his prowess.

18. (L., 36). Finally
is
we
of
can
see, to
grant the prince his daughter's hand.
19. (L., 38).
The newlj^-wedded
couple lead a
life
pleasure in the midst of the gynaeceum. According to the
customary Indian and Javanese formula these delights

provided by a dancing
girl,
are
accompanied by an orchestra of
pay great attention to
fact, suffice
musicians of both sexes. As Leemans has shrewdly remarked, the royal couple
do not seem
to
these
amusements
they do not, in
to cure
the prince of homesickness.

20. (L., 40).
picture,
we
see
And this is why, on the following and last him and his wife signalizing by a distributheir return to Hastinapura.
tion of
bounty
BUDDHIST ART
Here,
text, the
JN
JiWA
223
wc
hara, or,
the fairy
monument and in the story of Sudhana-kumara and the Kinnari Manoas we may translate it, of Prince Fortunate and Charming. The ten panels which continue the
believe, ends,
both on the
line as far as the southern staircase
seem
to be devoted to
another story, in which the exchange by sea and land of

portraits, or
models, of the hero or heroine
(') plays a role
sufficiently picturesque to suggest

tification.
sooner or
later
an iden-
For the present we
prefer to abstain
first
from
all
hypothesis.
reliefs
The example
text,
of the
it
twenty of these basidle to attempt,
proves clearly that
would be
Even
without the aid of a
an explanation founded solely on

a text is
the intimations of the sculptors.

sufficient
:
not always
it
must
also be well chosen.
We
have just
remarked that our image-makers have, except for a few insignificant divergences, followed the letter of the Divyd-
vaddna.
We
should arrive
their
at a quite different result,
if
we
compared with
work another version of the same

There we have no more ques-
legend, preserved in the no less ancient and authentic collection of the Mahdvastii (-).
(i)
story, likewise Indian
and Buddhist, translated from the

I'
Chinese
chinois, in
by M. Chavannes
this double
(tables
et
Contes de
hide, extraits
du TripiUika
I,
:
Ades du XIV" Congres
international des Orientalisles,

ideal
and reciprocal exchange of
models
p. 94) begins with but the continuation
of the story does not seem to accord with the scenes of our bas-reliefs.
We
may
also recall, in the legend of
Mahakacyapa, the
detail
of the fabrica-
tion of a type of girl in gold (Beal, Romantic Legend, p.

Textes traduits du Kaiuijour in
317; Schiefner, Melanges Asiat. de St. Peterb., VIII, pp. 296
sqq., or Tibetan tales, p. 191).
(2) Ed. Sen ART,
II,
pp. 94- 11
5.
On the other hand,

tales,
the version of the Tibet-
an
A'flK/Mr, translated
byScHiEF.NER (Tibetan
is,
pp. 44-74), follows exactly
the text of the Divyavaddna, that
as has lately
and Ed. Hober, the canon of the MulaSarvastivadins;

to this point. Let us again cite
been shown by MM. S. Levi we shall have to return
two versions of the SudhanakumardvaJdna,
the one from the Bodhisattvdvaddnakalpalatd (no. 64), the other (pointed out by
224
BUDDHIST ART
IN
JAVA
tion of a preamble, containing the adventures of the luiga
Janmacitraka and of the snake-charmer with an

infallible lasso,
also
it
is
not
,
but thanks to a truthful word
that the hunter gets possession of the Kinnari.
There
is
no
longer any wicked chaplain, any expedition of the prince

against a rebel, any bad
that
dream of the king
:it
simply happens
Sudhana, having
is
in the excess ofhis love neglected his

is
duties,
put into prison by his father, and the fairy
home, but not by way of the air. Then it is with two hunters, and not with an anchorite, that Manohara
sent
leaves her ring and her directions to her lover.
It is a
huge
monkey who
ions to the awaits
transports the prince and his three

Kinnari,
town of the
without
skill.
where the best

undergo any
at
companwelcome
trial
him,
having to
if
of
strength or
In short,
we had
our disposal only
the Mahdvastu, scarcely

reliefs, for
two or three out of twenty baspitcher,
example the capture of the Kinnari by the hunter
and the throwing of the ring into the

susceptible of a
text
:
would be
detailed interpretation
is
by the aid of the
and yet
it
quite
evident to us, thanks to the
constant accord between the Divydvaddna and the sculptures, that the identification
with the legend of Prince Suless just.
dhana would be on the whole none the

remark deserves to be borne
cate enterprise of the
in
This
mind throughout the deliexplanation of these mute stories.
II.
South-western Corner.
it
We should be tempted to
we
enfirst
apply
without further delay to the bas-reliefs which
counter immediately after having passed the point where

the southern staircase crosses the
gallery of the stupa.
Dr. S. d'Oi.DEmvKG, Ugendes bouddhiques, St Petersburg, 1894, p. 43) from

the Bhadrakalpdvaddiia, no. 29.
BUDDHIST ART
IN
JAVA
('),
225
Thanks once again
to the Divydvaddna
we
the
shall there
recognize with absolute certainty
the biography
of the
famous king Mandhatar,

bas-relief,
as
familiar to
it
Brahmanic
legend as to the Buddhist. But
is
only from the eighth
counting from the southern entrance (no. 76 of Leemans), that the text again comes into line with the
monument,
to
march
first
side
by side with
it
thenceforward
as far as the twentieth.
What
does this mean? Are
we
to
suppose that the
seven pictures relate to another story?
The analogy of
reliefs
the south-eastern corner seems to supply

first
stronger reasons for supposing that the
twenty bas-
of the south-western corner were likewise dedicated to

is
a single legend, that
to the
Mdndhdtravaddna
at a
only the
point
far as
sculptor
must have commenced
much
it
earlier
than the compiler.
The
first
goes back,
seems, as
the incidents which preceded the birth of the hero, whilst

the second, in an
up
in
exordium obviously shortened and drawn telegraphic style, gives a rapid resume of his first
at large
youth, and proceeds to expatiate

his reign. Until
on the exploits of
we
have fuller information, everything
leads us to
at the
beheve that the story of Mandhatar commenced
corner of the southern staircase and not right in
the middle of
gallery,
one of the
it
faces of this twenty-cornered
and that
terminated, like that of Sudhana, at the
fourth angle after the staircase.
When we had arrived

it
at this
point in our hypothesis, the
reading of the Bodhisativdvaddnakalpalatd came to confirm

in a
most unexpected manner. The abridged and colour-
(i) XVII. Ed.
CowELL and Neil,

11, p.
pp. 210-22S.
Cf. a Pali
version in the
Jataka, no. 258 (ed.,
310; trans., II, p. 216), another Tibetan version in the Kanjur (Schiefner, Mel. As. de StPet., pp. 440 sqq., or Tihelan tales,
pp. 1-20), and a third Sanskrit version in the Bodhhattviivadanakalpalata,
no. 4 {Bihl. Imlica,
New
Series, no. 730, pp. 125-153).
226
less
BUDDHIST ART
IN JAVA
version of the Pali Jdtaha no. 258 had been of no
assistance whatever. Neither
had we been helped by the
Tibetan text of the Kanjnr in the translation of Schiefner,
which, in
fact,
follows with great fidelity the Divydvaddna,
that is the version of the Mula-Sarvastivadins.
Kshemenone
dra does the same, but for once, in the midst of his insipid concetti, he has, at the beginning, preserved for us
topical detail (st.8-io)
One
day Uposhadha, anxious to assure the protec-
tion of the anchorites
by the destruction of the demons,

to
mounted on horseback, and began

hermitages.
go through the
a vessel
There
certain rishis of royal race
were holding
ready for a sacrifice celebrated with a view to obtaining a
son
very hot with the fatigue of the long journey, the
king drank the contents at one draught.
No
one was there to prevent him and, because he had

;
swallowed the contents of the enchanted vessel,the monarch,
on returning to his capital, found
that he
had conceived...
All the versions agree in telling us that there
came on the
soft to
head of king Uposhadha an enormous tumour, very

touch and in nowise painful.
issued from the 60,000
it
When
it
had matured, there
a fine boy, for the charge of
whose nurture
women
of the royal harem

his birth
disputed.
To
the
wonderful circumstances of
he owes his double
name
to us
link
of Murdhaja and Mandhatar
or even, by confusion
is
of these two, Murdhatar. But what

is
of special importance
that the
Kashmir poet furnishes us with the only

in the interpretation of the bas-
which was missing
reliefs (').
Mdndhdtravadana.
Henceforth nothing,indeed, prevents

in
(i) Cf, nearly the
same story
Mahabhdrata, Dronnparvan, LXII.
BUDDHIST ART
IN
JAVA
227
US from seeing in nos. i(L., pl.XLVI, 62)and 2(L., 64) the

rich
alms which King Uposhadha himself bestows and causes
to be bestowed with a view to obtaining a son.

for the expedition represented in no.
5
The
is
reason
(L., 66)
no longer
in
hidden from us
this
it is
that undertaken
by the king (who
case travelled in a litter) for the protection
of the
anchorites.
xherishis;
No. 4(L., 68)
takes us straight to a hermitage of

that
vessel to
we can see there the magic which Uposhadha owed in such an unusual manner
it is
and we believe
the fulfilment of his desires. In any case,
in the followis
ing picture (no.

at last seen.
L.,
70) that the child so
much desired
Again, nos. 6 and 7 are probably there simply
as padding,
and they represent, the
first
(L., 72) the horo-
scope of the future cakravartin or sovereign monarch of the
world, the second (L., 74) the donation intended to recompense the astrologer. These last incidents, like that of the
alms, are very commonplace;
it is
easily intelligible that the
compiler of the Divydvaddiia should have dispensed with a

further repetition of them.
On
the other hand, the sculptors
of Boro-Budur never ing

tice.
fail
to emphasize, as hints to visit-
pilgrims, these edifying
scenes of
are
virtue in
prac-
But
let
us proceed
we
now on
firm ground,
tra-
supported by both a written and a figured form of the

dition in
8.
mutual accord.
(c
(L., 76)
Having become
a royal prince,
Mandhatar
goes to see the country.
We
do,
indeed, perceive the

starting
young
prince at the
moment when,
on
his jour-
ney, he respectfully takes leave of his father.

9. (L., 78).
During his absence the
latter dies.
Among the
marvels susceptible of representation which are adjuncts

of his coronation the text signalizes the sudden appearance of the
see
why we depicted here among the surroundings of the prince, who
seven jewels of the cakravartin. This
is
228
BUDDHIST ART
IN
JAVA
has become king, a disc, a jewel, a horse, an elephant, a
woman,
a general,
and a minister.
tells us,
is
10. (L., 80).
The Divydvaddna
hundred
rishis.
immediately
after,
that not far
from Vaigali there
charming wood,
in
which
reside five
Now
extraneous noises are
the scourge of pious
meditations.
surly anchorite,
annoyed by the noise of

bv
this
certain cranes, breaks their

in
wings
by
depart
curse.
King Mandhatar, angered
his
turn
hardness
his
of heart, requests the hermits to
from
dominions. The bas-relief also shows us birds
placed on the ground between the king,
who
is
standing in
rishis,
conversation with a stooping courtier, and two
recogare
nizable by their big chignons and their rosaries,

fleeing
who
by the route of the
air.
11. (L., 82).
Mandhatar, continuing his tour, decides

;
not to have the fields of his kingdom any more cultivated

for the corn will rain
in fact, gather
down from
heaven.
The
peasants do,
ears of rice,
up before
his eyes
bunches of
:
which have
fallen
from the clouds
we
expressly
rice is
say
bunches, and not sheaves, because in Java the

but gathered by hand.
12. (L., 84). In the
not cut,
same way Mandhatar decides

fall
that
his subjects will
no longer need to
material,
cultivate cotton, or to
spin, or to weave. Immediately there
from the clouds

to
pieces of
woven
i).
which the people have only
catch in
(pi.
their flight '
and to fold up for subsequent use
XXXVI,
13. (L., 86).
Somewhat vexed, because

for seven days a
his subjects attri-
bute partly to themselves the merit of
all
these miracles,
Mandhatar causes
within his
shower of gold, but only
own
palace.
This explains why, beside the king
and
his ministers,
we
see here only
women, engaged
jars set
in col-
lecting the treasures pouring
from
amid the clouds.
BUDDHIST ART
14. (L., 88). Finally
IN JAVA
229
king Mandhatar, preceded by the
seven jewels of the cakravartin and followed by his army,

sets
out for the conquest of the universe
the feet of
none
of the persons touch the ground.

15. (L., 90).
Here the
text, in
order better to depict the
insatiable greed of the
human
heart, enters
upon
a series
of repetitions impossible to reproduce
on
stone.
King
Mandhatar has
for a herald (purojava) a yaksha, or genius,
who
at
each
fresh
conquest informs him of what
still
remains for him to conquer.

the presence, once for
all,
On
the
monument we
are in
of this periodical council meet-
ing
for the rest, the sculptor has given to the
yahha the
ordinary appearance ofaBrahmanic minister.

16. (L., 92).
tar at
On the following
to the
panel he conducts Mandhahis prodigious fortune.
swoop
summit of
Two
kings, exactly alike and both with haloes, are seated
in a palace side
by side on seats of equal height, in the midst
of their court. Without the slightest doubt the
moment
to to
chosen
is
that
when
âkra, the Indra of the Gods, has,
on the mere mental wish of the king of men, yielded up him the half of his throne and there was no difference
:
be seen between them, except that the eyes of âkra did
not blink.
17. (L., 94). If this interpretation
were
at all
doubtful,
it
would be confirmed by the picture immediately following, which represents a combat between the gods and the Asuras.
Thanks to their human ally, 18-20. But from this moment

itself
the gods triumph.

a certain hesitation begins
bas-reliefs
;
to manifest
between the text and the
and
immediately the uncertainty in our identifications reappears.
According to the Divyavaddna, Mandhatar

:
after the
, is the
battle asks
Who is
conqueror?
The king
reply of his ministers;
whereupon the infatuated king
car-
230
ries his
BUDDHIST ART
presumption so
far as to
IN JAVA
wish to dethrone Indra,
in
order to reign alone in his place. But this time he has gone
too
far.
Scarcely has he conceived this thought than he
is
thrust
from the height of the heavens down

dies, to
to the earth; a
and he has hardly time, before he
pronounce
few
edifying words concerning the excess of his

tion.
bhnd ambiking
Consequently no. i8 (L.,96), whichisquiteanalogous
to no. 15, should represent the last consultation of the
with his minister; no. 19 (L., 98) should be dedicated to the last words which he pronounces after his fall, while on
the
left
âkra, standing and with a halo, should turn

finally no.
away
his
from him; then
20 (L., 100) should show us
funeral and, as befits a cakravartin, the depositing of his
ashes in a stupa. But these explanations, plausible though
they
may
be,
have not the obviousness of the preceding.
Qibi-jdtaka.
We should sav the same of those which

for the ten bas-reliefs
we might propose
series
which continue the

that this latter
is
as far as the western staircase, excepting the sixth
(L., pi.
LXXI,
112).
It
seems indubitable
represents the essential episode of the QiU-jataka, that

say, that
to
previous
life
in
which the future Buddha ranan equal weight
somed
dove from
(').
a falcon at the price of

least,
of his flesh
At
nothing
is
wanting
to
the
scene, neither the Bodhisattva seated in his palace, nor the

bird
of prey perched
on
we
neighbouring
tree,
nor the
(i)
It is
well
known
that
still
have no Indian Buddhist version of this
form of the legend. Except
for the
Brahmanic epopee,
it
is
known
to us
only from the allusions of the Chinese pilgrims Fa-hien (trans. Legge, p. 30), Sung Yun (trans. Chavannes, B. P.. F. E.-O., Ill, p. 427), Hiuanisang (trans. Stan. Jdlien,
that
I,
p. 137),
and from Chinese versions, such as
which was
retranslated
Mra,
Paris, 1908, p.
from Chinese by M. Ed. Hober, Sutralanfrom Tibetan by Schmidt, Der Weiseunider 350, and
Thor, p. 120.
BUDDHIST ART
IN JAVA
231
pigeon, which appears twice, once placed on the back of

the
(pi.
throne
and once
in
one of the
plates of the
scales
sufficient XXXVI, We feel how rare is such a case for its own interpretation. among all these sculptures; and the greater number of those
2). This time thebas-relief
would be
of the upper
row
which in the south-west corner extend

âkya-muni
to the four excursions
from the
birth of
determined
III.
his vocation
which
are not
more
expressive.
North-Western Corner.
represent in the upper
his
The
bas-reliefs of the
third portion of the first gallery
(on the right-hand wall) are
known to
dha from
gious
life,
row
the departure of Budreli-
home,
all
that
is
to say, his entry into the
and
the trials
which preceded the attainment

of the 30 in the lower
of perfect illumination.
Out
row
at
least 22, and perhaps 25,
are, as
we
shall
show
step
by step,
of king
read
consecrated
to the
celebrated historical legend

in the Divydvaddna that
1
Rudrayana. Again
it
it is
we may
(')
In the B. E. F. E.-O. of
906, M. Ed. Huber gave, in
accordance with the Chinese translation and the Sanskrit

text,
an analysis of
it,
from which
it
clearly appears that
this avaddna, like the preceding ones, is
only an extract from
the Vinaya of the Mula-Sarvastivadins. In this connection
M. Huber had seemed

the
to discern
through the drawings

viz. that
at
of Wilsen that one of the episodes of the story,
of
two
cats (cf.
below, no. 17), was represented
Boro-
Budur; but,
by the inexactitudes of the only accessible reproductions, he was obliged to abandon

justly discouraged
this clue. Direct
comparison of the text wnththe

it
monument
has permitted us to follow
up from one end to the other.

It
is
(i) XXX\'Il, ed.
CowELLanJ
it
Neil, pp. 544-586.

li
known
that
Bor-
NOUF
translated a fragment of
in his Introduction
Vhistoirc
du Boiiddhisme
indien, pp. 341-544.
252
BUDDHIST ART
IN
JAVA
The extremely exact and sufficiently detailed resume published by M. Huber, to which we refer the reader, will allow
us this time to insist a
little
little less
upon
the history and a
more upon the
sculptures.
Rudrdyandvaddna.
First of
all,
we must
state that
we do
at
not see any
way
of making
the story
on the stone begin
the corner of the western staircase, but only
at the first reen-
tering angle after the face intersected by that staircase. the three
first bas-reliefs
Do
on the
left
of the entrance, in which
Qakra plays his accustomed role of dens ex machind, form a
whole by themselves, or must they not rather be a continuation of those on the right? Or, on the contrary, may we not
some day come
to think that the story of
Rudrayana also
comprises a prelude omitted in the Divydvaddtia} Only the
chance of reading some Indian text
may some day
tell us,
even
if
we have
not to await
a solution
by a Tibetan or a
Chinese translation.
For the moment we begin with the Divydvaddna at no. 128, pi. LXXIX of Leemans, where Rudrayaria, king of
1.
Roruka, questions merchants,
who
have
come from Rajamerits of
griha, the capital of Bimbisara, concerning the

their master.
2. (L., 130).
king
is
seated in his palace;
on
his right
:
a courtier holds in both
hands a rectangular
which, in the
first
tablet
fire
this
must represent the

his cousin of
letter
of his
enthusiasm, the sovereign of Roruka resolved to write to
Magadha. Further, two suppositions are perking represented

is
missible
if the
if,
the sender, his

is
name
is
Rudrayaria;
as
seems more natural, he
the addressee,
this
he
is
Bimbisara.
We
do not ask our sculptors to decide
by attributing to each of the two monarchs
a characteristic
physiognomy
3.(L.,
would be exacting too much from them. 152). Then follows a grand reception to welcome,
:
that
BUDDHIST ART
IN
JAVA
233
or to say farewell to, the improvised ambassadors, in a

royal court
no
less uncertain.
:
The Divydvaddna says no word

rest,
it is
regarding this function

scene
to
is
but the meaning of the mise en

sufficient
not to be doubted; and, for the

it
compare
with the iia"" bas-relief of the upper row

Pleyte,
fig.
(L.,
pl.CXXVIl, 223, or
112), which represents

as here, the table
a grand dinner offered to

is
Buddha. There,
:
laid in
the Javanese fashion
from twenty to
thirty
bowls, containing divers seasonings or viands, surround an
enormous pot of
rice,
which constitutes the principal dish

of ten centuries ago.
in fact, a regular
rijstaffel
4.(L., 134). This time the attitudes of the
minor persons
disis
and the obvious character of the offering define very

tinctly the hero
and
locality of the scene
Bimbisara
receiving at Rajagriha the casket of jewels which Rudrayana
has sent to him together with his

5.
letter.
(L., 136).
The
case of stuffs sent in return
by the
king of Magadha to his

the scene
:
new
friend occupies the middle of
but the pensive
air
of the king and the respectful

it
immobility of the attendants make
doubtful whether
we
have to do with Bimbisara deciding upon his present, or
Rudrayana receiving
give in exchange
6. (L.,
it
and already wondering what he can
(').
138).
However
that
may
be, the following bas-
relief again represents
Bimbisara, receiving from Rudrayana
his precious cuirass.
This object has been so
terribly
mal-
treated in the representation,
where
it is
absolutely unre-
were somewhat inclined towards this last supposition but, all impossible to establish a regular alternation it seems between the heroes of these first six bas-reliefs. If we must admit any symmetry between them, we should rather be inclined to think that in nos. 1-3
(i)
:
We
taken into account,
the scene
is
at
Roruka, and in the three following
at Rajagriha.
Then we
return to Roruka until no. 13.
234
BUDDHIST ART
IN
JAVA
cognizable, that
we
think
it
advisable to give a photograi).

is
phic reproduction
7. (L., 140).
(pi.
XXXVII,
The
it
total
absence of landscape
sufficiently
it
rare to render
vvôrth
our while to direct attention to
here.
The whole
height and breadth of the panel are occu-
pied by a procession, in
which the place of honour, beperched on an elephant, belongs
tween the arms of

to a kind of rolled
man
is
up kakemono, on which
we know
that the
is
silhouette of
Buddha
to
painted. Doubtless, the scene
taken at the
are
moment when
meet
this
the inhabitants of Roruka,
who
come out
it
supreme
gift
from Bimbisara,
bring
back with great
pomp
is
to their town.
is
8. (L.,
142). This picture

it
quite analogous to no. i,
not to mention that
likewise placed at the turn
of
an angle
only, in the interval the subject of the conversa-
tion has changed in a
most edifying manner.
It is
no longer
the merits of their king which are the boast of the people
of Rajagriha, but those of Buddha himself.

9.
(L., 144). Rudrayana, as
soon
as converted,
begged
to receive instruction
from
monk, and
the master des:
patched
is,
to
him
the
reverend Mahakatyayana
monk
in fact, sitting at the right
of the king, and even on a
higher seat than he. In the most gratuitous
most perplexing
necessary to
pi.
is
manner the designer considered it surmount the shaven head of this monk (cf.
the protuberance of the
//i7;/m7jrt,
and
also the
XXXVII, 2) with
which
special to
Buddhas. Let us add that Mahakatyayana seems,
in the
midst of the edified hearers, to be making a gesture

:
of refusal
what he refuses
is,
doubtless, to preach in the
gynseceum of the king:

10.
that
is
the business of the nuns.
(The drawing is missing in L.). Thus the following panel shows us the nun Qaila preaching from the height of
a throne to the king and four of his wives,
who are
seated
on
BUDDHIST ART
the ground (pi.
IN
JAVA
235
XXXVIII,
i).
Behind her a servant seems to
be ordering three armed guards to forbid anyone to enter the
harem during the sermon.

less
It
from modesty
are seated
the nun and,
will be noticed that
doubtway, the
in a general
women
the
with their legs bent under them, and
not crossed in the same manner as those of the
monks and
men
(').
(The drawing does not appear in L.). The scene is obviously the same, except in two points. Firstly, a second
11.
nun, squatting behind
(^âila,
represents doubtless the quorum
necessary for an ordination. In the second place, there are
now
ing.
only
women
in the audience,
is
and the place formerly
occupied by the king
taken by a third hhikshuni kneel-
Immediately the
text invites us to recognize in this
novice queen Candraprabha, who, conscious of her approaching death, has obtained from Rudrayana authority to enter
into rehgion (pi.
12.
XXXVIII,
is
2).
(The drawing
not to be found in L.). That on the

is
following bas-relief the king

his favourite wife
again in conversation with
would
likewise not be understood, did
we not
learn elsewhere that Candraprabha
was born again
in the nearest heaven,
and that she promised her husband
to return after her death to advise
him
as to the
ways and
is ful-
means of reunion with her

filling her
in another
i).
life.
Here she
promise
(pi.
13.
This explains
XXXIX, also why
the
very next morning

a
Rudrayana decides to go and be ordained dha, and announces to his son îkhandin
monk
by Bud-
that he abdicates
sana, with the legs closely crossed, the soles of the feet turned
padmdupwards and the right foot forward, is reserved by our sculptors for Buddha alone (cf. on the upper corners of our plates XXXVII, 2 and XL, i the image of the
(i) In the same order ot ideas
we may
again notice
tliat tlic real
Bodhisattva, already represented in the form of a Buddha).
236
BUDDHIST ART
IN
JAVA
in his favour (pi.

L., pi.
acters,
XXXIX,
2). In this case the
drawing of
XCI,i52, reproduces only the upper
part of the char-
and commits the very grave
fault
of making the
king's interlocutor a
woman
it is
obviously a man.
14. (L., 154). If the four preceding pictures are either
totally or partially
missing from Wilsen's album, the follow-
ing one
is,
in compensation,
designer began once
more
with the
more than complete. The

aggravation of an
indication of locks of hair covering an imaginary ushnisha
the mistake of which he had already been guilty in

:
no. 9
of a
monk
with a round, shorn head he made a

9 (pi.
Buddha! Furthermore the two scenes nos.

and 14
(pi.
XXXVII,
2)
XXXIX,
3),
which are quite symmetrical, bring
face to face
with one another, in the customary surround-
ings of a royal residence, the type of the
monk and
the type
of the king.
Only
the continuation of the text reveals to us
that this time the
monk Rudrayana himself, who

round
no longer Mahakatyayana, but has just been ordained by Buddha

is
in person at Rajagriha. In a
first
long dialogue he
rejects, for his
in public as a
mendicant monk, the seductive

well imagine that
it
offers of Bimbisara.
You may
was
impossible to pass by so fine an opportunity for reproducing,
both on the
monument and
in the text, the
famous episode
of the temptation of the future (âkya-muni by this
same
parts
Bimbisara.
15. (L., 156).
The
bas-relief
is
divided into
two
by a
tree,
and the
different orientation
of the characters
emphasizes
this separation.
On
the right, at Rajagriha, the
monk Rudrayana (still wrongly

Buddha)
that his son (îkhandin
is
represented by Wilsen as a
learns from merchants, natives of his country,
conducting himself badly on the
throne, and he promises to go and put things in order.

the
left, at
On
Roruka, King îkhandin
is
warned by
his evil
BUDDHIST
ministers that there
is
Airr IN
JAVA
237
rumour of his father's early return, and he forms with them a plot to assassinate him. In the
a
background
a very
is
to be seen already, in her private palace, the

in this portion of the story will play
Queen Mother, who

important
16. (L., 138).
part.
The
panel
is,
is
divided like the preceding one,

case, further reinforced
and the separating

by
a little edicula,
tree
in this
which serves
:
as
porch to a palisaded
interior (pi.
XL,
i)
nevertheless the
Roruka.
On
the right
two scenes take place at king Qikandin learns from several peris
sons (one of whom, being armed,
perhaps his emissary,
the executioner) of his father's death and last words. the

left, filled
On
with remorse for a double crime, the murder
of a father and the murder of a saint, he comes to seek

refuge with his mother
:
doubtless this
is
the
moment
falsely,
cho-
sen by the latter to disburden

parricide
him
at least
of his crime of
that
by
is
revealing
to
him,
truly
or
Rudrayana
merely his reputed father.
17. (L., 160).
There remains the task of exonerating him
from the not
less inexpiable
murder of an
arhat,
or
Bud-
dhist saint. Isit
worth while
evil
to recall
the ingenious stratagem
conceived by the
is
ministers in order to prove that there
no
arhat, or, at least, that those
are
only charlatans?
his sfilpa
On
),
the
left
who pretend to be such we perceive, each hidden

for vases
train-
under
in the
(which Leemans wrongly took

the
form of globes
two
cats
which have been

first saints
ed to answer to the
name
of the two
formerly
converted by Mahakatyayana.
On
the
right the
Queen
Mother and Cikhandin take

18. (L., 162).
part in the demonstration,
which to them appears convincing.
The frame
contains
two
distinct episodes.
On
the right king Cikhandin passes, seated in
a litter;
surely he has just ordered each person in his suite to throw

19
238
BUDDHIST ART
IN
JAVA
a handful of dust
on Mahakatyayana, with
whom
his relafor once,
tions have
correctly
free
never been cordial.
On
the
left
represented
by Wilsen
the
monk, already
from the heap of dust, under which he has miraculously

life,
preserved his
announces
to the
good ministers Hiru
and Bhiru the approaching and inevitable destruction of

the infidel city of Roruka.
19. (L., 164).
Like (Jikhandin in his palace,
we
witness
the rain of jewels which, according to the prophet,
must
ves-
precede the
fatal rain
of sand.
The
eagerness of the inhabi-
tants to gather
sels
(') in
up the precious
objects, cast
is
down from
the height of the clouds,
painted with a
vivaciousness which seemed to us quite deserving of repro-
duction
(pi.
XL,
2).
In the
first
row
a boat
which
is
being loaded with jewels proves that the good ministers

have not forgotten a very practical
recommendation of
Mahakatyayana
(').
20. (L., 166).
The
destinies are accomplished

all its
Roruka
has been buried with almost

curtain rises again,
inhabitants.
"When the
his return
we
are in the village of Khara, the first
halting-place of Mahakatyayana
to India.
on the route of
The tutelary goddess of Roruka,

through the
:
who has followed

by
him
in his flight
air, is
detained at Khara
her, the
an imprudent promise
but,
on leaving
monk
pre-
sents her with a souvenir in the shape of his goblet, over
(i) Tlicse vessels, which no. 13

;
we have
already encountered above (Mandhatar,
seem to be a current accessory of Indian imagination. Compare the passage from the Jatakanmla, XV, 15 (ed. Kerk, p. 97; trans. Spever, p. 138), where the clouds pour down like overturned vesL., pi. LVIII, 86),
sels .
(2) Let us remark in passing that the departure of the

ters in ships scarcely fits in
two good minis-
with the localization (which was surely already
known
to the author of the text,
and which M. Huher recently treated again
in the B.
. F. .-0.,VI, 1906, pp. 335-340) of Roruka in Central Asia.
BUDDHIST ART
which
a
sti'ipa is
IN
JAVA
239
raised.
It is
the inauguration of this

:
monuright
is
rnent which
is
represented on the bas-relief

left,
on the
the chief of the village; on the
with a lamp in one
hand and
21. (L.,
a fan in the other, is the
goddess herself; behind
them crowd
1
the laity of both sexes and the musicians.
68).
We
are carried to the next halting-place,
Lambaka. Qydmaka,the young layman, the sole companion who remained with Mahakatyayana, receives from the people
of the country an offer of the throne.
A miracle,
which
is
frequent in the texts, but unsuitable for representation on
stone (the shade of the tree under which he stands remains

stationary, in order to shelter him), has revealed to
them
Vok-
the excellence of his merit.

22. (L.,170).
We
pass
on
to the third halting-place,
kana. Here Mahakatyayana leaves to her

existence
who
in a
former
was
his
mother
his beggar's staff, a fresh pretext
for building a stupa.
inauguration of the
As in no. 20, we are present at the monument. At least, the continuation
of the narrative accords with the introduction of this subject
on the
bas-reliefs in too striking a

itself.
manner
for the identifi-
cation not to impose
Better still: just as Leemans' nos. 166, 168 and 170 set before us religious feasts interrupted, thanks to a not excessive desire for variety,
by
a profane subject, so nos. 172,
174
and 176 intercalate

episodes.
a land scene
between two maritime

174) represents
Now
who
this intervening scene (L.,
the entrance of a
monk
notwithstanding the drawing of

hair
Wilsen,
monk
lends
him
and jewels,
it
is
indeed a
into the palisaded enclosure of a town, whilst a
group of inhabitants approaches to give him welcome. Here

again, with the text in our hands,
it
seems
difficult
not to
recognize the return of Mahakatyayana to ^ravasti. Then,

the
two
pictures in
which we
see a boat just
drawing near
240
BUDDHIST ART
bank would represent, no
less
IN
JAVA
to a
scrupulously thari do the

the
texts, the
two foundations of Hiruka and Bhiruka by

after their flight
two ministers Hiru and Bhiru

from Roruka. Thus,
character of the
by water
commonplace two disembarcations, we venture to make

in spite of the terribly
:
the following identifications

23. (L., 172).
Landing of Hiru and foundation of Hiruka.
24. (L., 174)- Return 25. (L., 176).
ofMahakatyayana to^ravasti.
site
Landing of Bhiru on the future

(').
of
Bhiruka or Bhirukaccha
The double
tion of
it,
repetition of the scene of the stupa
and of the
ship will be noticed.
We do
not see any plausible explanathat the sculptor, after having
unless
we suppose
skipped more than one important incident in the history

of Rudrayana, has been obliged, in order to
fill
up the space
for decoration, to lengthen out the epilogue. In fact,
we
in
must not
situ
forget that the bas-reliefs,
which were carved
and
in the
very stones
whose
juxtaposition consti-
tuted the
ced.
monument, could
is
be neither removed nor repla-
There
no absurdity,
that
therefore, in supposing that the

last
artist,
on approaching the
perceived
angle before the northern
staircase,
he
still
had to
fill
five
or six
panels, of
which he could not decently devote more than

:
two
from
to the Kinnara-jAtiiha
his
he will then have

a
rid
himself
embarrassment by
justified
all
double repetition, which

while bringing right
moreover was
from Roruka,
by the
texts,
to their destination
that
is
the few persons
who
had escaped
the goddess,
Cyamaka, Mahakatyayana,
and the two good ministers.
(i) Apparently
it
is
Bharukaccha, the Barygaza of the Greeks and
tiie
pre-
sent Bharoch, or Broach,
which
is
meant.
BUDDHIST ART
Kinnara-jdtcika.
IN
JAVA
241
We
may
say, furthermore, that the

,
two last panels of this portion of the gallery (L.

are likewise duphcates.
78 and
80)
is
The only
appreciable difference
first
that the
same prince
is
standing on the
listen to
is,
to overhear
and seated on the second to
the discourse
of
the same pair of Kinnaras. Such
we do not
hesitate to give to the
name that human phenomena ,

in fact, the
who
and
are related to the Gandharvas
by iheh musical talents (')

with birds' wings and
art of India
who
are
represented
i).
here
feet (pi.
XLI,
The Buddhist
and the Far
East seems to have
taken no account whatever of the
concurrent tradition which claims that the Kinnaras are
human monsters with

(pll.
horses' heads (").
When
it
has not
been considered more suitable to give them, as above
XXXIV,
and
XXXV,
2) in the illustration of the Su-
dhana-kumara legend,
a purely
is
anthropomorphic aspect,
it is
usually a kind of harpy that
represented under this name.

a
This strange combination of the bust of
man
or a
woman,
bird, is
with or without arms, grafted on to the body of a
found almost everywhere.
It fits as
well into the corners
of the pediments of the temple of Martand in Kashmir as

into those of the metopes of the
Java.
It
Parambanan temple
in
has continued to be especially frequent in the decoart
rative
and religious
of Siam. In India proper

;
it
appears
in the paintings of Ajanta

in a sculpture inscribed
and we have remarked elsewhere,
on the
Tower
of Victory
at
(i) GandhahlapuUa they are called by

1
st.
7 o{ Jat. no. 481 (IV, p. 252,
16).
(2)
It is
not that monsters of this kind arc
unknown
pi.
to ancient Indian
sculpture; but the

balustrade of
woman
with a horse's head, who, on a medallion of the
Bodh-Gaya
(Raj.
Mitra, Buddha -Gay a,
XXXIV,
is
2) and of
that of the smaller stupa at Sanchi.is carrying
away a man,
at the
commence-
ment
of idt. no. 432^
which
relates
her history, simply called a yakkhim
assamukln.
242
BUDDHIST ART
IN JAVA
y),
Chitor (XV"' Century), a double pair oi Kinnaras

fectly
^per-
analogous to those of Boro-Budur('). Perhaps, under

of Barhut
the Kinnara-jdtaka rubric, they were not otherwise treated
even
on the old
railing
unfortunately
we
half-
can only judge of this by a wretched sketch from a
broken stone, and there

as
is at
present nothing to prove that,
Cunningham
suggests, the leaves, or the feathers,
which
terminate the busts of the two monsters,

ated their
must have separ(").
human
trunks from their bird legs
We
consider ourselves none the less authorized by this
inscription to consider the

replica of this
same jdtaka
two numbers 178 and 180 as a what other justification can be

is
given for the edifying character of these scenes and for

their introduction into the series? Certainly the subject
once again borrowed from one of the previous

Master
:
lives of the
the only question
is
exactly
which
re-birth
is
concerned. Here the two prolix pictures of Boro-Budur

will be of assistance in determining retroactively the real
identification of the bas-relief of Barhut, so poor in details.
It is
here quite clear, for example, that the scene of the

is
adventure
a rocky solitude
we must
at
once put aside

it
a certain episode in the Takkdnya-jdlaka (no. 481), since
takes place in a royal court,
where two Kinnaras, put
in to a
cage, refuse to display their talents. Moreover,

fix
we cannot
that
upon the CandaUnnara-jdtaha (no. 485), although
(i) We brought back a photograph of it the inscription is Kinnarayugmayugma. (2) Cunningham, Slu[>a of Barhut, p. 69 and pi. XXVII, 12 (cf. above, p. 53). Grunwedel, Buddhhthche Sludien. p. 92. points outthat the connection between the Kinnara-jataka of Barhut and that of Boro-Budur has already been shown by Heer J.-W. Yzerman in the Bijdragen lot de Taal-, Land-en Volkenkundevan Ned. /(i., Vijfde Volgreeks, d. I, afl. 4, pp. 577-579. Since the above was written representations of Kuiunras have also been
:
found on the paintings of Central Asia.
BUDDHIST ART
IN
JAVA
:
245
too has for scenery a piece of jungle
for
our king
is
evi-
dently not thinking ot killing the male Kinnara, in order to

get possession of the female.
It
therefore remains for us to
adopt the BhaUdtiya-jdtaka (no. 504), in which also we have nothing but conversations in a mountainous district
(').
It
is
most touching love
story.
The king
of
Benares, while out hunting, surprises in the depth of the
wood
the extraordinary behaviour of
two of these mar-
vellous beings, and enquires

alternately
why
they cover each other
and caresses. He learns that 697 years ago they were separated for one single night by the
with
tears
sudden swelling of a
river;
and
in their
life
of a thousand
years the loving couple have never yet been able to forget
this cruel separation, or to
console each other entirely for

It
those few hours irremediably lost to their happiness.
will
be observed on
it
pi.
XLI,
i,
that the sculptor has considered
his
duty to maintain the hierarchical order, and has placed

in front of the female, as if he
the
male
were the interlocutor

the flxmous
ofthe king: but in the
textofthe/VJto/i-rt, just as in
Dantesque episode of Francesca

always the more ready to speak,
di
Rimini,
it is
the
woman,
who
relates their
common
adventure, whilst her lover stands silent by her side.
IV.North-Eastern Corner.
ed certain, or
at least
Altogether we have
much more
S.
offer-
extremely probable, interpretations
of 27 out ofthe 30 panels bordering upon the preceding corner.
The 30
still
to be considered are
refractory
to
all
attempts
at
explanation. After Messrs.
d 'Oldenburg,
(i) In other words, relying on the replica of Boro-Budur,
we
believe
we
may
for the bas-relief of Barhut leave aside the identifications

cit.)
proposed by
Cunningham Qoc.
besides,
is
and advocate that of Mr. S.J.

right in believing
and Prof. Hultzsch (Ind. Ant., XXI, 1892, p. 226) Warren and of Dr. S. d'Oldenborg, who,
it
as not
more demonstrable merely by the

{loc. cit,, p.
aid
of the sole Indian docuaient than the two others
191).
244
BUDDHIST ART
IN JAVA
Speyer and Groneman
we
can quote as certain only the
dentification of the MaitrakanyakdvaddnaQ).

it
For the
rest,
would be
still
useless to launch out into hypotheses,
where
we
lack the elements of proof;
and even more so to
renew the purely descriptive commentary which Leemans has given in full for there is no task more idle than to des:
cribe bas-reliefs
without understanding them. Let us say in
defence of the Dutch archaeologist that access to the sources
was
for
him almost impossible, and
that he had at least the
perspicacity to recognize
series
that the pictures of the
lower
.
do not form
a continuation
ofthoseof the upper

latter
On
the north-eastern
corner these
extend from
preaching.
Buddha's attainment of the Bodhi to his

Below, the legend of Maitrakan5'aka
is
first
related to us
between
two
care,
others, of
whose titles we are still ignorant. Our first therefore, must be to determine as exactly as possible
it
where
commences and where

it
it
ends.
have preserved
for us ("),
and to
The texts which which we are indebted
for the explanation of the

in
meaning of the bas-reliefs, agree rendering the story in two symmetrical parts, separated by
Maitrakanyaka, the orphan son of a shipat first
a turning-point.
owner, follows
various trades, in order to provide
for the needs of his mother, to
whom
he successively offers
gains increasing according to a geometrical progression
(i) Cf.
the already-quoted paper of Dr. S. d'Oldenburg, the Guide of

pp. 66-67, Speyer, Bijdragen
v'*'-'
Dr.
J,
Groneman,
tot
de
hinde van Ned.-Indtc, 1906,
Deel., and for the comparison with
Tad- Land- en VolkenBurmese

,
and Siamese images, GRiiNWEDEL, Buddh. Stud., p. 97. (2) The Avadana-Qataha (ed. Speyer in Bibl. Buddbica,
p. 193,
and trans.
Peer
it
seems, a canonical version of No. XXXVIII oi iht Divyiivadd7ia (ed. Cowell and Neil, p. 586) isah-eady
in the
dii
Ann.
Musee Guimet) gives

Further,
us
us,
it
a literary
rifacimento.
let
quote
Bodhisattvdvadaualialpalala,
no. 92, Bhadrakalp&vadana, no. 28, and, for comparison, Jataka, nos. 41, 82, 104, 369, 439. A Chinese version has been re-transhued by Beal, Romantic
Legend,
p.
342.
BUDDHIST
A)IT IN
JAVA
245
of 4, 8, 16, and 32 kdrshdpdnas
,hut, as
she wishes to prevent

to sea,
him from following
his father's
example and going
he forgets himself so
far as to kick
her prostrate head.
The
wreck of the ship which he has

ating point in the story, of
fitted
out marks the culminpart corres-
which the second
ponds, point for point, with the first. Having escaped death,
Maitrakanyaka
is,
as a
reward for his works, successively

at
and amorously received

16 and 32
leads
each halting-place
:
by
4,
8,
nymphs
still
(apsaras)
but his adventurous spirit
him
further and further, at last into a hell
where
sons
try
who
strike their
mothers
are punished.
This symmeand must

his bas-
must have been welcome
to the sculptor,
have dictated to
reliefs.
him
in his turn the
arrangement of
is
Now
the scene of the wreck

(pi.
of
Leemans
until no.
224.
figured on no. 216 CXXIII), and the story does not end One might suppose, therefore, that the
are likewise consecra-
four pictures
which precede no. 216
ted to Maitrakanyaka.
One
thing
at least is certain,
namely
that he appears, already
accompanied by
his
mother, on
no. 212, at the corner of the north and east facades of the
sttipa.
For the following ones we
are entirely
in
accord
with Prof. Speyer and Dr. Groneman.
(The drawing of L., no. 212, pi. CXXI, is almost entirely missing). Under a mandapa Maitrakanyaka, seated on the ground with his handsjoinedjisofferingto his mother a purse, which he has just placed before her upon a tray
I.
adorned with flowers
(pi.
XLI,
2).
numerous
behind the mother are
The bystanders are seven women, standinobe counted five of his

is
or crouching; behind the son
may
a
companions. Quite
at
the
left
house
seen in outline.
We reproduce in plate XLI, 2 only the central group, which alone is of importance for the identification of the scene.
It
will be observed that the left
elbow of the mother
is
as
246
BUDDHIST ART
joint
is
IN
:
JAVA
us not hasten to cry
though the
out thai this
were twisted
let
a mistake
at least
on the
part of the sculptor, or

:
even a deformity,
according to the native taste
the
skilfully dislocated
arms of the Javanese dancing-girls bend

edifice cuts the panel into
is
no otherwise
2. (L.,
in this position.
214).
An
two
distinct
parts.
On
the right Maitrakanj'aka
practising
his last
sedentary occupation, that of a goldsmith, as is proved by the
small balance held by a
woman, who may

is
be either his
mother or
a simple customer. In the foreground a purse,
bigger than that of the preceding picture,
doubtless supgifts
posed to contain the 32 kdrshdpanas. The ioin legendary
would thus have been reduced by the sculptor
to two.
On
we
the
left,
in fact, despite the
poor
state
of the bas-relief,
at his
see the
mother of Maitrakanyaka vainly prostrated

i).
feet (pi.
XLII,
all
Wilsen had given her
moustache, which
cut short
identification;
and
this explains
why
that
ofDr.
S.
d'Oldenburg, based upon the lithographs, began

following picture, that of the wreck.
216).
only
at the
3. (L.,
The
supplications of his mother failed to
restrain
Maitrakanyaka; on the right
we
see the sad end of

first
his sea-voyage,
on the
left his
encounter with the four

to have
nymphs. Here the sculptor seems
been
afraid
neither of repeating himself nor of wearying the spectator
by the sight of so many pretty women;

successively
4. (L.,
5.
:
for
we
perceive
218).
(L.,
The encounter with the 8 nymphs; 220). The encounter with the 16 nymphs
1
(in
point of fact they are

6.
1);
(L., 222).
The encounter with

last
the 32
nymphs (14
in
reality).
7. (L.,
224). At
the mania for roaming has led Mai:
trakanyaka as
far as a
town of hell (pi. XLII, 2)
apparently
BUDDHIST ART
IN JAVA
terrible
247
he is gathering information from the

place, whilst in the
guardian of the
a
background we perceive, with

head, the
burn-
ing wheel upon
its
condemned
soul
whose
both
details
place, unwittingly,
he has come to take. For the
rest
wear the same costume, with the exception of a few

in the
form of
their jewels.
it
But these
differences, slight
though they be, exclude,
appears, the possibility of redbg-
nizing Maitrakanyaka a second time in the sufferer. There

is
every reason for believing, on the contrary, that,
to a scruple of the artist, just as

his
we
did not see
owing him strike
mother, so also
:
we
are not witnesses of his punish-
ment
like his crime, his
chastizement
is
only suggested.
We
ly
must not
forget, in fact, that he is the Bodhisattva in

fire
person. According to the texts, the wheel of
has scarce-
mounted upon
his
head, than he forms a
vow
to
endure
this terrible suffering for ever
with a view to the

is
salvation of
humanity whereupon he
:
immediately freed
from
all
suffering.
Does the
left
part of the panel forth-
with represent
this
apotheosis?
Or
does the palisading
which
intersects
the building, while at the
same time
it is
determining the boundaries of the interior of the infernal
town, serve as a framework for a
new
action? This
almost impossible for us to decide, so long as

identified in their turn the eight panels
we have not
of the following
and
final story.
Let us
sum up
is
all
the principal wall of the
first
gallery of
Boro-Budur
decorated with 240 bas-reliefs, arranged in
two rows;
identified
those of the upper
row have already been

thanks especially
said of
by the help of the
Lalita-vistara;
to the Divydvaddna, the
same may now be
two
thirds of those of the lower row.

results obtained not
This recapitulation of the
only encourages us to hope for the
248
BUDDHIST ART
completion
:
IN
JAVA
fortunate
of this enterprise in a relatively
near future
it
also allows us to discern the
ways and
means to the ultimate success, as well as the difficulties which we shall continue to encounter. Among the first of these we must naturally place the absence of satisfactory reproductions. The long series which we have just examined would doubtless have been recognized long ago,as were immediately the scenes, in two or three pictures, of the /t/^tihas figured on the opposite wall, if ihe published drawings
had been perfectly exact. But a slight inattention
in the story of Maitrakanyaka, the
or, in that of
such
monk
as,
change of sex of a person,

into
Rudrayana, the transformation of a

is,
Buddha
as
may
be conceived, sufficient to put us
off the
scent,
and forces archaeologists

to
who
have not
judi-
direct access to the originals
abandon the most
ciously chosen clue.
We
must, therefore, rejoice that the
Government-General of the Dutch Indies has recently

sanctioned the project of photographing
still
all
it
the sculptures
will,
existing at
Boro-Budur. Doubtless
fail
with
its
accustomed generosity, not
to distribute copies
among
the various societies for oriental studies.
On
this condition
alone will the enigmas which
still resist,
although invaded
on
all
four sides at once, finally yield to the collective
researches of students of
Buddhism;
in the
meantime we
having
left
cannot legitimately reproach the

long unexplained a
latter lor
so
monument
that
it
of this importance.
Does
this
mean
is
sufficient to cast one's eyes
upon exact reproductions, or even upon the these bas-reliefs, whose narrative aim is not
order to understand their meaning?
fications
originals, of
doubtful, in
The
it
preceding identialso necessary to

tell.
prove clearly enough that
is
know
beforehand the story which they would
And,
doubtless, the blame for this belongs to
some
extent to the
BUDDHIST ART
sculptors
:
IN
JAVA
249
still
it
would be
well, before devolving
upon
them
the burden of our ignorance, to have present to our
minds the conditions under which they must have worked. Firstly, enormous surfaces were given them to be covered
:
on the
principal wall of the first gallery alone
the 240
panels there aligned have an area of
more than 400 square

Hence we
metres In truth,
!
it
was not so much sculpture as decorative was exacted from them.

120 pictures of the upper row they
fresco-work
that
understand
why
in the
should have spun out the childhood and youth of their

Master, whilst in the 120 of the lower one they
somewhat
for
lengthened out the ten avaddnas to which they had recourse

in order to
fill
the space.
It
was materially impossible
them
that
to keep solely to the picturesque or pathetic episodes, to those
is
diately
which alone had a chance of being immerecognized by the spectator, and which were
faithful of
capable of forthwith arousing in the
former
days the
memory
is
of
some
tradition
and
in the archaeo-
logist of to-day the recollection of
some
it
reading. For
them
every incident
ly
good, provided that
lends itself docile-
to
representation.
We may
even ask ourselves wheare not in their
ther the
best.
most colourless motifs
view the
They
are really too fond of scenes in
which every-
thing takes place by
way
of
visits
and conversations be-
tween persons whose
discreet gestures, such as are

tell
becomstrictly
ing to people of good company,
us absolutely nothing abuse

is,
concerning the course of events.
If this
speaking, excusable, they do not, in our opinion, escape

the reproach of having
more than once evaded
the difficulty
by intentionally omitting, and replacing by

tions at court, subjects
better fitted to
(i)
It is,
insipid recep-
more dramatic and consequently

the thread of the story (').
are here speaking
make us grasp
of course, understood that
we
from the point
250
BUDDHIST ART
IN
JAVA
in
Not only are the characteristic episodes thus drowned a dull, monotonous flood of pictures without movein
ment, but even

often
each picture
a veritable
the
principal
motif
is
submerged under
in the
as
it
debauch of accessories
is
and
details.
The only excuse

is
here for the artists

is at least is
to be
found
as
form of the frame, which
three times
wide
high. Consequently there

is
sonage whose cortege
not spread out to
no great perform a wall-
covering, sometimes over several rows. True, the presence

of these
numerous dumb
often they take
actors
is
quite conformable to
;
Javanese, as well as to Indian, custom

that
fine
but
it is
understood
:
most
no
part in the action

it
they con-
themselves to crowding
with their stereotyped
repetition,
which
is
more
it,
or less compensated by the variety

is
of the attitudes, always deftly treated. This

sculptors have
not
all
the
made
as
it
were, a point of honour not to
leave vacant any part of the surface at their disposal. In
order to complete the furnishing of their panels, they go
so far as to
vases
at the
(cf.
fill
the space beneath the seats with coffers or

i
;
pU.
XXXV,
XXXVJII,
XXXIX,
XL,
i);
top they heap together, according to circumstances,
buildings or trees, naturally figured on a reduced scale; or

again rocks, treated according to the old Indian convention
(cf. pll.
XXXVII,
2,
upper scene; XLI, i);
or, finally, ani-
of view of the identification of these bas-reliefs. All the less must

that
we
forget
we
are treating of images of piety,

this.
the
more mindful
the
all
sculptors
themselves were of
their subjects,
Their evident decision to put aside
scenes of
violence (bloody sacrifices, executions, murders, parricide, etc.) offered by

is
justified, like their
irreproachable chastity, by the desire
to arouse in the
mind of the
faithful
none but calm and

to
collected, in
one
in
word, truly Buddhist impressions. This they have perfectly succeeded

doing, and
we
are rather in the

if
wrong
taste,
reproach them for
it.
It
is
not
entirely their fault

for expression
series,
oar western
is
corrupted by an excessive striving
and movement,
especially affected by the

to us a
monotony
of these
whose edifying character remains
dead
letter.
BUDDHIST ART
mals of
all
IN
JAVA
life,
251
kinds, cleverly sketched, indeed, from
with
(cf.
the single exception of the horses, which are mediocre

pi.
XXXVI,
2,
upper scene).
is
It
clearness
of the story
not
may be imagined that the much enhanced by this

nothing to
tell us, for
it
crowding, the more so
as there is
example, whether the animals play a part in

for the
or not
worst
is
that they
sometimes do
so.
Thus
2), or
.
the
birds represented in the Qibi-jdtaka (pi.
XXX VI,
on
10),
fly
such and such
a scene
from the MdndbcUravaddna (no
form an
integral part of the story, whilst those
which
away with Manohara (pi. XXXIV, 2) are pure decoration. Finally, we must not forget that the artists of Boro-Budur did not in any way forbid themselves the use of the ancient expedients of the Indian school, juxtaposition of two or
three distinct episodes and repetition of a person in the
same
picture.
Thus
it
may happen
and on
this point the
reading of Leemans' descriptions

that in the midst of
is
particularly edifying
such confused masses
we
fail is
to fix
upon
the sole actors, or objects,
whose presence
facts.
of
real
importance for the concatenation of the
But the chief and most evident

is
fault of these bas-reliefs
the persistent incapacity of their authors, in spite of
their
manual
skill,
to create figures having a characteristic

it
individuality. Assuredly,
a crime
would be
unfair to regard
it
as
on the
part of the artists of those distant isles not
to have reached a pinnacle of art

to the Indian school
which remained unknown

art itself attained
and to which Greek
only at
its
best period.
But the fact is
of representing types,
They are capable but not individuals. They possess a

patent.
for
model of
a
a king,
which serves without distinction

the exception
;
gods, as does that of the queen for goddesses; a model of
monk, which, with
of the coiffure,
a courtier,
is
equally suitable for Buddhas
model of
an
252
BUDDHIST ART
a
IN
JAVA
anchorite,
is
Brahman,
all
warrior, etc. This stocii figure
used by them on
it is
occasions. According to the circum-
stances
facial
it is
it
capable, by the play of gesture
and even by
of
features, of expressing different states
mind
incapable of assuming a
its
physiognomy distinguishing
it is
from
congeners.
Thus
that, for
example,
in the
same legend we have seen the same princely personage called here Dhana, Sudhana, or Druma, there Rudrayana,
Bimbisara, or (îkhandin. At a distance
(cf. pll.
of five panels
XXXVII, 2 and XXXIX,
5) a king and a
monk are
:
similarly engaged in conversation with each other
no-
thing warns us that in the interval they have both changed

their personalities.
It
would not appear
that in ancient
times the pilgrim
who made the /jmiflî^mrt of these galleries

commentary of some monkish different names to figures so similar
:
was
still
able without the oral
cicerone to ascribe
less can
we,
now
that the local tradition
is
completely
extinct, dispense with
a written
commentary.
of which
We may
we have
read
it
affirm that
we
shall succeed in identifying
on the walls of
Boro-Budur only those
bas-reliefs
:
somewhere
in the
read the legend
and, again, the example of
the Siidhanakumdrdvaddna proves that
we must have
same work
as
had the sculptor.
This bookish character of the sculptures of Boro-Budur

is
from the philological point of view the most curious
conclusion to which
we
are led
by our rapid inquiry
direc-
ted to the particular point of
view of
their identification. If
these bas-reliefs cannot be understood except by a constant
comparison with the

posed
after the texts
texts,
it is
because they were
com-
and to serve as illustrations thereto.

the
Through
the lithographic reproductions

artists treated the
which the Javanese
last life
:
manner in of Buddha
had already given us an inkling of
this
the direct study
BUDDHIST ART
IN JAVA
253
of the originals and the review of the neighbouring series
only confirm us in this opinion
('). It
follows that these
sculptures not only give us information on

details of
many
concrete
:
contemporary Javanese
to us
life
and
civilization
they
also reveal
which version of the Buddhist writ-
ings
was most
readily used in Java at that time.
Thus we
know
already from the
manner
in
which the
artist illustra-
ted the legend of Prince Sudhana, that he followed the
Sanskrit text preserved by the Divydvaddna, and not the

Prakrit version of the Mahdvastu.
identified avaddnas, those of
The
three other certainly
Mandhatar, Rudrayana, and
Maitrakanyaka, likewise attest the current custom of draw-
ing from this canonical fund of which the Divydvaddna

a kind of anthology.
is
Now
the independent researches of
MM.
Ed. Huber and Sylvain Levi have

last collection
is,
shown simultanemost
part,
ously that this
for the
taken
from the
Viiiaya-pifaka of the Mula-Sarvastivadins; and,

tell
on
the other hand, the Chinese
us that the Lalita-vistara,
which
is
followed page after page by the bas-reliefs of the

(').
upper row, belongs to the same school
The study
of
the sculptures of Boro-Budur authorizes, therefore, the
supposition that the canon of the Mula-Sarvastivadins was

that best
known
in Java. Perhaps this preference

it
was due
edited,
to
the prestige of the Sanskrit, in which

to
as
was
and
,
what may be
called
its
higher exportation value
compared with the

clearly
Prakrit of the Mahasanghikas, or
the Pali of the Sthaviras.

thesis
is
However
this
may
be, the
hypo-
confirmed
by the categorical informatraveller Yi-tsing; in
tion furnished
by the Chinese
his
time, he
tells us,
towards the year 700 of our

I,
era, that is
(i) Art greco-bouJdblque du Gaiidhdra, vol. (2) Cf. Ed.
p. 617.
Huber,
I
;
iJ.
. F. .-0., VI, 1906 and S. Levi, T'ouug; pao, series
n, vol. VIII, no.
Beal, Romantic Legend, pp. 3S6-7.

20
254
BUDDHIST ART
IN
JAVA
to say, scarcely a century before the foundation of Boro-
Budur,
in
the Islands of the Southern Sea the Mula-
Sarvdstivddanikdyaha.s been almost universally adopted (') .
This agreement in the evidences deserves to be noticed. All

taken into account,
bas-reliefs.
it
does not impair the interest of our
Assuredly, in spite of the talent of their authors,
they were
condemned beforehand
artist
to lack that indefinable
spontaneity and animation which can be communicated to

the
a
work of the
only by labour in
communion with
still
living oral tradition.
The
sculptors of Boro-Budur,
at
in the effort to revive
an inspiration
times languishing,
have had to be content with dipping into foreign and

already ancient texts
:
but,
on the other hand, they have

scriptures
the merit of having supplied us with several series of illustrations for authentic fragments of the sacred
of Buddhism, treated with a technical

deserve to be studied in detail by those
If
skill
which would
our conclusions run the risk
whose metier it is. of somewhat lessening the

considerably increased.
aesthetic
value of their works, the documentary interest
emerges, by
way of compensation,
Ill
Buddhist Iconography
Boro-Budur.
in Java.
We
shall
not undertake a detailed review
of the bas-reliefs deployed along the upper galleries of the

stnpa.
We restrict
ourselves to noticing that, as
we mount,
finally
they assume a character more and more iconographic, less
and
less narrative ,
and that the edifying story

Takakoso,
(i) I-TsiNG,
K there
is
.4 record
of the Buddhist Religion, trans.

....
p. lo. Lit.
almost only one
BUDDHIST ART
gives
IN
JAVA
(').
file
255
way
to the
image of piety
Buddha, monks,
nuns, Bodhisattvas of both sexes
past in twenties, at
times seated under trees more or less stereotyped, most

often installed under the open porches oftemples, just as they
are seen
on the miniatures, or the clay
seals,
all
of India ().
these repeti-
The
sculptors weary so
much
the less of
tions as each one of
them
represents so
much
it
progress in
their task
covering the considerable surface which

to decorate.
was
in
There would be no advantage

few
the second gallery,
noting here
and there
such
in passing a
specially characteristic figures,
as, in
four or six arms, and a

(pustakd)
gallery,
some Avalokite^varas with Manjucri carrying the Indian book

{iitpala)
;
on the blue lotus

a
or again, in the third
group composed of a Buddha between these
same two Bodhisattvas, etc. The problem is much more vast, and demands a solution of very different amplitude. It would be necessary to make a census of all these images and each of their varieties, to draw up an exact and complete table of
them, and to study attentively their graphic
distribution; then only, after having allowed for the necessities
of decoration and having
discerned the really essential

identification of
among this crowd of idols types, we might attempt the

that
what
for the artists of Java constituted the
Buddhist
pantheon.
We
must hope
some Dutch
it is
archaeologist will find time to undertake this delicate and
extensive task;
it is
unnecessary to say that
forbidden
to a simple visitor.
Neither shall
we
dwell upon the hundreds of statues
which decorate
this stupa of the
Many Buddhas
(for
such would be the meaning of the word Boro-Budur)

(t) But see, supra, the identification
gallery, pp. 165-6
but
and
pi.
ofoneof the bas-reHefs XXII (Great Miracle of âvasti).

I'litdc, I,
of the upper
(2) Cf. Elude sur Vicoiiogr. bouddbique de
1900, pp. 45-6.
256
BUDDHIST ART
IN
JAVA
is
here the reason for our abstention

were, in
fact,
quite different.
classified
long ago, and
W.
de
They Humboldt
five
proposed to recognize
among them,
in
accordance with
Hodgson's Nepalese drawings, the images of the

ally admitted,
Dhyani-Buddhas. The identification has since been gener-
and
the
in principle
we
see
no reason
to
for con-
testing
it
at
most
it
would need
be pressed furthe groups
ther and completed.

in
The arrangement of
must
any case be remade.
Among
all
these manifold replicas
with heads
generally well treated
and expressive, but
effeminate and bloated bodies,
seated in padmdsana and
only differentiated by the gestures of the hands,

in fact, distinguish
1.
:
we must,
in the four first
rows of niches
east,
(in the proportion of
92 to each facade), to the

dnl
those in hbmiisparâ-mu-
C)
the south, those in vara-mndrd
;
2. at
3
at
the west, those in dhyihti-mudrd
4. at
5. in
the north, those in ablMya-uindrd; the fifth
row of
little
niches,
on the four
facades (viz.
64 altogethe
6.
r), those in
viiarka-mudrd
circular
in
the 72
open cupolas of the three

;
terraces, those in dhannacakm-miidrd

7.
the single
image
found under the great
central
cupola.
Whatever
identification
may
be proposed,
will,
it
is
understood, have to take into account each of these varieties,
without omission and without
confusion. There-
cannot admit that of Humboldt (*), which fore we confuses and mixes up nos. 4 and 5. If we must identify
(i) I'or the mudras, or gestures ol the hands,

(2) Cf. Lef.mans,
loc.
ct. ibid.,
p. 68.
ciL, p.
480.
BUDDHIST ART
1
IN JAVA
257
Akshobhya, by the gesture of calling the earth to witness,

Ratnasambhava, by the gesture of giving,
4.
3.
2.
Amitabha,
by the gesture of meditation,

gesture of protection, niches
it
Amoghasiddha, by the
is
clear that in the last

5
.
row of
we must
recognize,
the fifth
Dhyani-Buddha,
Vairocana, by the gesture of discussion, although the gesture of teaching

is
more usually reserved
for
is
him and
scarcely
it
although, on the other hand, the vitarka-mudrd
distinguished from the abhaya-mudrd by the fact that in

the index-finger
is
joined to the thumb.
It
follows likewise
that with the five

al galleries
rows ofniches belonging to the polygonlist
we
have, as was natural, exhausted the
of
the five Dhyani-Buddhas.

6.
all
The 72 images
exhibit
of the circular terraces would then
be consecrated to the historic Buddha, âkya-muni, and
would
7.
him
teaching.
As
for the
purposely unfinished statue which was

it
discovered under the great central cupola,

subject of
last
has been the

it
many
hypotheses. Dr. Pleyte regards

:
as the
,
enigma of Boro-Budur
The
great
Dagaba
he
says ('),
was formerly without any opening; but
at pre-
sent one can have access right into the interior, part of
the wall having been removed.
light
a hidden
image of
The removal brought to Buddha, which represents him

image of Buddha
of
its
seated in bhihnisparfa-miidrd. This
is
thus
the centre of the sanctuary.
By reason
incomplete
form
it is
considered by Groeneveldt to be a representation
would be a manner of symbolizing the abstract essence of this supreme divinity of Mahayanism. Kern, on the contrary, recognizes in this unfinishof the Adi-Buddha. This
(i) C.
M. Pleyte, Die
i-iii.
Buddhalegeiide
p.
ix.
in den
Sliulpturen dcs Tempels von

ibid.,
Boro-Budur, Amsterdam, 1901-2,

notes on pages
For the bibliography see
258
BUDDHIST ART
:
IN JAVA
ed figure an embryo Buddha

to the Bodhisattva in the
this
would be an
allusion
If
womb
of his mother...
these
diverse interpretations
fail
to satisfy us
any more than
they did Dr. Pleyte^ the short resum^ which he gives of
them
is
at
least sufficient for
our purpose.
We
we
do not
stop to
indeed pretend to discuss here the greater or less degree

of probability in these theories.
criticize that
Still less shall
of Wilsen,
who saw in
this
same
statue a rough
model of
this
a future
Buddha, prepared
for subsequent
com-
pletion by the
cunning
priests ('). In truth, speculations of
kind are scarcely more susceptible of refutation than

;
of proof and
If
it is
this
which makes us suspicious of them.
we in our turn we should prefer
venture a
new
hypothesis,
it
is
because
to seek the solution of this
problem of
archaeology elsewhere than in the messianic, symbolical
more or less such forms of Indian Buddhism. Let us, then, make a tabula rasa of
or theistic conceptions
familiar in such
and
all
this
metaphysics
essential
and consider again, as

of Boro-Budur,
briefly as
possible, the
elements of the question. Under the central

stiipa
dome
of the
at
the spot where
we
should expect
the upper
deposit
to find the usual deposit of relics, or at

for
it
least
happens sometimes that there are along the
perpendicular which joins the
summit
to the base several
of them, one above the other was discovered an image

of Buddha,
whose emplacement
sufficed to prove
its
spe-
cially sacred character.

left
Now
this statue
was intentionally
hands and
tiie
unfinished
The
hair, the ears, the
feel are
not completed , says Leemans; and further on he
adds
One
is
forced to admit that
tlie
artist
who made
the plan of the whole really had a premeditated intention
(i) Cf. Leemans,
op. cit.,
pp. 486-7.
BUDDHIST ART
IN
JAVA
259
of leaving the statue of the central sanctuary in the state

in
which we possess
it
(').
On
ihe other hand, this

legs
image shows us Buddha

Indian manner, the
left
seated,
his
crossed in the
hand resting
in his lap, his right
hand hanging down, the palm turned inwards and the

fingers stretched
toward the ground. Before committing

method, to ask ourselves,
ourselves to any apocalyptical explanation of this figure

it is
well, in point of
first
of
all,
whether the iconography of India, the recognized model

for that of Java,
does not comprise any type of Buddha
composed
If
in the
same
attitude
and presenting the same
peculiarity of incompletion.
it
were permissible to judge by the
facility
of the solu:
tion, the question

in
would
it
in this case be well put
at least,
order to answer,
is
not necessary to push
far
our
interrogation of the Indian tradition.
The two most celebraBuddha

that of
ted prototypes of the pretended portrait images of

are that of
Kaucambi (or Qravasti) and
Mahabodhi,
near to Gaya.
tion.
The former
is
in this case
out of the ques-
Concerning the second we possess two versions of
an identical legend, the one reported by Hiuan-tsang, the

other by Taranatha
(').
Anxious before
artist
all
to guarantee the
authentic resemblance of the image, they naturally attribute

its
execution to a supernatural
the less in
on two points they

historic truth. First
seem none
of all,
harmony with
texts, in the
we
learn
from the
that the original
work was regarded
matters not
most formal manner,

rightly or wrongly,
as not being finished,
an accident which
people were unanimous in explaining as due to an unfor(i) See the discussion, he. (2) See, for the
first,
cit.,
pp. 484-6.
II,
the translation of Stan, Julien,

sqq.; and,
for
pp.
465 sqq.,
or of S. Beal,
II,
pp. 120
the second, the translation of
SCHIEFNER,
p. 20.
26o
BUDDHIST ART
IN JAVA
tunate interruption in the mysterious
work of
the divine
sculptor. Among the unfinished parts Taranatha cites especially the toe of the right foot
and the locks of
hair.
Whilst
these material details
would be
less easy of verification
than might be thought in the obscurity in which, asHiuantsang tells, the majesty of the idol was hidden, there
is
some
appearance that this general belief in

teness
its state
of incomple-
was
in
one way or another well-founded. In the

and
in
second
place,
any
case,
it
is
a fact attested
by the
monuments,
it
as also
by the descriptions of the

seated,
texts, that
represented
Buddha
, at
the
left
hand
at rest,
and
the right hanging

his meditations
the
moment when,
it
disturbed from
by the assaults of Mara, he touched the

as witness (').
, to use
earth with his fingers, in order to invoke
In short, the image of Vajrasana of

the term under which
hhiimisparga,
it
Mahabodhi
was known, made the gesture of which for us comes to the and was, or
same thing
passed
for being, incomplete.
We
of
leave to experts the task of concluding.
To
us this
double rapprochement appears sufficiently precise to allow
our putting forward the idea that the central Buddha of

in bhiimisparga-mudrd,
is,
Boro-Budur, incomplete and

least intends to be,
or at
nothing but a replica of the statue of

simplicity, the hypothesis has
it
Bodh-Gaya. In addition to its
also this great advantage, that

ity
frees us
from the necessof Java, always
of attributing exceptionally to the
artists
so respectful towards Indian tradition, the creation of a
new
if it
model which India would not have known.

does away with one
able one,
difficulty, in
Finally,
our opinion
it
a considerits
we do
not think that
raises
another in
(i)
The
references
are to be found
in
our Etude sur V Iconographie bond-
dhique de
I'liide, I,
pp. 90-94.
BUDDHIST ART
place. It
is
IN
JAVA
261
fact historically established
by Chinese evi-
dence that from the VII"' to the XI"' century of our era
that
is,
during the period covering the construction of

is
Boro-Budur, which
IX"* century
the
attributed to the second half of the
mond
or
True Visage of the Throne of Diaof Intelligence , was the most venerated
Buddhist idol
in India,
('),
and even the model most
in request
for exportation
whilst the temple of
become
this
the greatest
explain without effort
Mahabodhi had centre of pilgrimage. This would why a more or less faithful copy of
by the
miraculous image should have been able to assume a
character sufficiently sacred to merit being placed
Javanese architects in the hollow of the great stupa of the

Indian Archipelago, just as the original reposed under the
arches of the famous sanctuary of Magadha.
Such,
at least, is
the hypothesis which
we could not
all
help long ago (') submitting to Indianists, with

respect inspired
the
by the experience of our predecessors
and the reservations imposed by the necessity, in which
we
still
were, of trusting to the descriptions of others. At
the time of our visit to
Boro-Budur we found nothing
to add concerning this statue,
inasmuch
as
it
it,
was
still
in
the
same
state in
which Dr. Pleyte had seen

left in a state
it
once again
covered up to the neck and

very unworthy of
all
of
abandonment
the ink which
had caused to flow.
Thus we were
the wish that
obliged to restrict ourselves to reiterating

it
might once again be cleared and more
closely studied. If
subject,
filled,
it is
we have
returned in
some
detail to this
because in the interval this wish has been ful-
and because the kindness of Major Van Erp allows
(i) Cf. Ed. Chavamkes, Les lincriplious chinoises de Bodh-Gaya in Revue de

I'Histoirc des Religions, vol.
XXXIV,
i,
1896.
(2) B. B. F. E.-O.,
Ill,
1903, pp. 78-80, whence these pages are taken.
262
BUDDHIST ART
at
last a
IN JAVA
this
US to produce
(pi.
photograph of
famous
in
idol
XLIII,
i).
Perhaps
:
this latter will be for the reader a

it
disillusionment
in
fact
merely sketches
a rather
rough fashion the ordinary type ofBuddhas of Boro-Budur,

and
sana
it is
quite clear that,

really intended,
if
it
a replica of the
image of Vajrafreely
was executed from a moulding. But upon a moment's be seen that this was exactly what was
is
and not
it
reflection
will
to be expected;
and, in any case,
it is
well once for
all
to place before the
eyes of the public the decisive piece of evidence in a dispute
which otherwise would run the

The Chandi Mendut.
reach to identify, by
risk of
being endless.
It
would be a
way of a
and
more within our specimen, the images which

task
decorate the Chandi Mendut. This edifice, placed in the axis
of the oriental gate
of,
at three
kilometres from, Boro-
Budur, consists,
front.
in fact, of a cella only,

is,
with a vestibule in
The whole
according to the Javanese custom,
perched on a terrace in the same manner as are the Brah-
manic temples of Parambanam. In Buddhist terminology it
is
what
tues,
is
properly called
a.
vihdra ('). Naturally
it
shelters sta-
and the walls of its entrance vestibule,
like the exterior
faces of the building, are decorated with figures
Buddhist character
may
be recognized at
whose purely once by anyone

this
who is
upper
(i)
Cell)
a little familiar with the Indian
iconography of
religion.
The
building, fairly well preserved, except in the
parts, has
been the object of a restoration the archi-
We know
that the
has been unduly extended by European archxologists to
the monastery (Cf.
meaning ofthis term (temple of divinity or monk's tlie whole of Art g.-h- du Gamllmru, p. 99). We deliberately leave
aside the other Buddhist edifices
which we likewise
visited
in
the neigh-
bourhood of Jogyakarta under the guidance of Dr. J. Groneman, and on which we may consult his guide, entitled Boeddhistische Ternpel-en KloosierBouwvalltJi in de Parambanan-Vlakte, Soerabaia, 1907.
BUDDHIST ART
tectural details of
IN
JAVA
263
which we
shall
not undertake to discuss.
The three enormous

on
the
their pedestals (').
detail.
statues ofthea'//fl have been replaced
They
are characterized
by
a curious
Whereas
at
Boro-Budur, and even on the walls of
Chandi Mendut, the nimbuses of the divine personages

Southern India, the simply oval form, those
rise to a point, like
retain, as in
of the three figures

Bodhi-tree,
in
the leaf of the

It
the Sino-Japanese fashion.
would be
interesting to date as exactly as possible the appearance of

this
form
in Java. It
would,
in fact,
mark with
their
sufficient cer-
tainty the
moment when
the
two
from
great currents of artistic
influence, which, diverging
common
Indian
source, had followed respectively the land routes through
Central Asia and the sea route south-eastwards,

in the island
met again
and
there, so to speak, closed their circuit (').
The
in the
central statue, about
enormous block of
andesite,
m. 2,50 high, cut out of an represents a Buddha seated

in the gesture
European manner, the hands joined

usaiui
of teaching. Not only the
and the mudn'i, but even

the images found at
the details of the hair, the lotus-stool, the throne with a

back,
etc., recall
in a striking
manner
Sarnath, in the northern suburb of Benares, on the traditional site of the master's first preaching (cf. Icon, houddh.,
I,
fig.
10). Besides, to cut short

is still
all
discussion, the lower

a
band of the pedestal

law
,
stamped with
wheel of the
accompanied by the two
characteristic antelopes ot
the Mrigadava.
On
having
each side of the teaching' Cakya-muni, on a throne

a
back likewise adorned with superposed animals, a

is
Bodhisattva
seated in hJitahhcpa, the
left
leg bent back, a lotus.
the right foot hanging
down and
resting
on
At the
(i) Cf, B. . F. E.-O., IX, 1909, p. 831.
264
BUDDHIST ART
IN JAVA
Buddha Avalokite^vara may at once be recognized, thanks to the effigy of Amitabha which he bears in his headdress. As usual, his right hand makes the gesture of
right of
charity; his left
is
folded back in the position of discussion,

(cf. ibid.,
left
but without at the same time holding a lotus

pi.
V,
2).
His counterpart, with the palm of his
hand
leaning on the ground and the right hand turned back in

front of his chest, does not present any particular
mark
allowing us to determine his identity.

ditional force of
It is
solely the trato attribute to
custom which compels us

:
him the name of Manjugri the more so as, after having despoiled these two acolytes of every characteristic attribute, the sculptor must for a means of recognition have
relied
upon
their simple presence
by the
side of
Buddha.
left,
The
walls of the vestibule bear on the right and
in
panels of about m. 1,90
X m.
i,
figures of the genius of
wealth and his wife Hariti, which have already been publish-
them. Of the facade of the temple exceptionally oriented towards the north-west instead of to the
principal
east
ed by Dr.
J.
Ph. Vogel
(').
We shall
not
insist further
upon
only the wall to the
left
of the entrance
is
preserved;
it
bears a standing Bodhisattva, holding a lotus
surmounted
by a stApa
Maitreya
If
it
seems that we must by

112-5).
this sign recognize
(cf. ibid., pp.
the
we now commence on the terrace the pradahhinA monument, we come first to the north-eastern facade.
we
see, seated
of
In
the middle of the central panel, framed by pilasters bearing

atlantes in their capitals,
on
throne covered
with a lotus and under a stereotyped

ity
tree, a
feminine divinis
with eight arms. Unfortunately the head

it
broken
but
seems, in
fact,
that
it
had only one

727-750
:
face;
and
this
and
(i) B. . F. l:.-0., IV (1904), pp.
cl.
above, p. 141
below,
pi.
XLVIII,
2.
BUDDHIST ART
IN JAVA
265
suffices to put aside the identification
with the Vajra-Tara
with four faces

{ibid.,
I,
(ibid., II,
pi.
1905,
p.
70) in favour of Cunda
p.
146 and
VIII, 4).
Her
right
arms do hold
the shell, the thunderbolt, the disc, and the rosary.

left
Of
her
arms, the
first
from the top
is
broken; the three others
carry an elephant's
hook
(ankufd), an arrow,
and some
either side
object
which we could not distinguish.

:
On
stands a Bodhisattva holding a flyflap
the one
on the
right
has further the pink lotus of Avalokitecvara, the one on the

left
the blue lotus of Manjucri. Finally,
on the two
his right
lateral
panels, the
same standing Bodhisattva,

(ibid., I, fig. 14).
hand
in
the varamudrd, bears a flower quite analogous to the ndgapiishpa
of Maitreya
On
the next facade the central figure

I,
is
an Avalokiteof
its
cvara with four armsQbid.,
p. 104, etc.).
One
right
arms, which
is
broken, must have been lowered in the
gesture of giving, whilst the other holds up a rosary.
pink lotus and a book adorn the
left
hands; the flagon of

side.
ambrosia
rests
upon another
lotus
on the same
Two
feminine attendants, doubtless forms of Tara,
worship
panels
him. In the Bodhisattvas figured on the two

the thunderbolt with
rapani.
lateral
which both
are
armed proclaims Vajand
The
facade
principal
is
figure
of the
south-western,
is
last,
again feminine (pi. XLIV). She
seated in the
)idgas.
Indian manner upon a lotus supported by two
The
two
attributes of the
left
upper pair of hands, on the right the

the book,should indicate the Prajna(ibid., pi.
rosary and on the
paramita with four arms

case the
IX,
and
4).
But in that
normal hands should make the gesture of teaching,

if
instead of that of meditation. Similarly,
she were a
four-armed Tara, the

ture of charity (ibid.,
first right
II,
hand should make the ges-
p. 63).
The symbols and
the alti-
266
BUDDHIST ART
IN JAVA
tudes combiile, therefore, to indicate a second representation of the goddess Cunda, the form with four arms
pi.
(ibid.,
VIII,
and figure 24). The two Bodhisattvas, her attendexactly those of her counterpart
ants, reproduce
on the
opposite facade.
carry
As
regards those of the lateral panels, they

a
on blue lotuses
sword and
book
respectively
we must,
therefore, see in
them two
two
replicas
of the same
Mafijucri, of
whom
:
these are the
traditional
emblems
Qbid., p. 119).
To sum up
dut
in the personages
who
decorate the exte-
rior of the three
unpierced faces of the temple of
Menone
we
propose
at first sight to
recognize, in the middle,

eight arms, and
the sides,
:
two images of Cunda with four and of Avalokitecvara with four arms; on
two
repli-
cas each ofMaitreya, Vajrapaniand Mafijucri
all
being im-
portant figures of the Buddhist pantheon. But, naturally,

this preliminary review
It
would have
to be severely tested-
would be necessary, in particular, to examine these basreliefs more closely with the help of ladders or a hanging
stage,
so that
no
detail
it
could escape; and, this minute

still
labour accomplished,
would
be necessary to verify
by comparison with other Buddhist statues of Javanese

origin whether there
is
not occasion to modify in
some
measure, for local reasons, the Indian attribution of these

images. At that cost only could these too rapid identifications
become reasonably
certain.
The
Museum
of Batavia.
We
have just spoken of a
kind of general confrontation of the Buddhist statues ot

Java.
The
relatively
would not be lacking, in spite of the restricted number of Buddhist monuments in

material
the
island.
Many
of
them have already been brought
together, both in a building near to the residency of Jogya-
BUDDHIST ART
karta
IN
JAVA
267
and
in the
museum
of the Asiatic Society of Batavia.
Of
the
first
collection a catalogue has been published
by
Dr. Groneman.
tioned in the
The most
interesting objects to be
men-
second are some inscribed images of the
Dhyani-Buddhas Akshobhya(no. 224)andRatnasambhava

(no. 225), of the (akti Locana (no. 248"), of Tara in the
form of Bhrikuti (no.

Every one
taken
at
112*), of
Hayagriva (no.
76*),
etc
('),
will appreciate the interest of these
names
hasard from our notes on the lapidary

as
museum.
We
must likewise mention

less
belonging to the
museum
of the capital a considerable collection of small figures of
more or
which
precious metals (gold, silver, or bronze),
are for the
most
part already classed (-). Let us cite

artistic statuettes
among
tecvara,
this in
others
some very
of Avaloki-
Vajrasattva, Kuvera, Tara, Marici, etc. All have

that they are
common,
is
remarkably
faithful to their
Indian models.
There
for a
one
at
which
it
is
perhaps worth while to stop
moment, because
it
of the rarety of the type in India
and the success which
has had in the Far East.
We
have
already had to occupy ourselves with the sole example pre-
served by chance at Bodh-Gaya.
Now
Dr. Pleyte
and
repliat Lei-
we
apologize for not having
time
known
in
this
reference at the
had for his part published three Javanese

is
cas (^),
one of which
now
London, another
(i) Several of these statues have already been published

J. L. A.
by the
late
Brandes, Beschrifv'wg van de mine... Tjandi Djago, The Hague and

to this collection \vc are indebted to
Batavia, 1904.
(2)
For access
the kindness
of
Dr. C.
M. Pleyte, who was

lot
so
good
as to take the trouble of
opening the
glass-cases for us.
(5) Cf. Bijdragen
de Taal-,
afl.
i
Land- en F'oJkenhunde van Ned.-Ind., Zesde

2,
Volgreeks, Tiende Deel,
and
pp. 195-202, and our El. sur I'lcon.
bouddb. de I'lnde, 11, 1905,
fig. 4.
268
BUDDHIST ART
at
IN
JAVA
den, and the third
Batavia (pi. XLIII, 2).
He had
likewise
the merit of discovering in Schiefner (') a legend which
explained the bellicose pose of this divinity, whose

foot treads
left
upon the
face of a
man, and
a
his right
upon the
bosom
macy
of a
woman. This would be
mode
of deciding,
with no possible equivocation, the question of the supreof a simple Buddhist guardian of the law over
the great
god of the Brahmans.
(îva
had the imprudence
to refuse obedience to Vajrapani
under the pretence that
the latter
was only
yahha
contemplate for your

his
own
edification the
punishment of
crime.
We
in
our turn
may
note that on this point the descriptions of the sddhanas.,
or magic charms, confirm the Tibetan tradition by likewise
giving to the persons overthrown the names of

cvara and his wife Gauri
:
Mahe-
while for the genius, instead
of making
of him
simply a furious transformation of
Vajrapani, they use the
more
precise appellation of Trailo-
kyavijaya. Let us add that this last reappears

divinities of the Japanese
among
the
pantheon under the vulgar desighe has no longer more than one
nation of Gosanze. His pose has not changed, nor his double,
living pedestal
;
and,
if
pair of arms, his hands, at least, continue to execute the
vajrahi'mkcira-mudrd characteristic
of his anger and
com-
mon
tuette
to all his representations (").
On
the Javanese sta-
we
find again the four visages

stele of
which the Sanskrit

ascribe to him, and
manuscripts and the
Magadha
even the eight attributes (sword,
disc,
arrow and
bell,
(i) A. Schiefner, Eiiu tibetischc LcbciisbcKhreibuiig Qahyamuui's, p. 244.
von Japan of
loi and
Hoffman, Pantheon von Nippon (vol. V, of the Beschreibtinr^ Sikhold), p. 75 and pi. XIX, fig. 164; and Si-do-in-diou {Ann. du Musee Guimel, Bibl. d'ljtudcs, vol. VIII, Paris, 1899), pp. 100(2) Cf. J.
Von
pi.
XII.
BUDDHIST ART
IN
JAVA
269
thunderbolt, elephant's goad, lasso and
bow) which they

believe, to this
agree in placing in his eight hands.
Any
special inquiry
:
would
lead us,
we
double conclusion
on the one hand, the

their
close fihation of
the Javanese Buddhist images in relation to their Indian prototypes, and,
on the other hand,
more or
less distant
kinship with the Tibetan, Chinese, or Japanese idols, deri-
ved from the same origin.

the composition or style
no profound divergence from of the common models seems to

If
guarantee to this province of Buddhist iconography any

great originality,
its interest,
on the otherhand, promises to

is
extend
far
beyond the
local horizon. It
important for the

it
general advancement of Asiatic studies that

last
should
at
form
as a
whole the subject of some publication. Not
only would the harvest be abundant, but
we have
carried
away the impression that it is ripe and ready to be gathered. It is much to be desired that the enlightened government of the rich colony should provide some Dutch savant
with the necessary
[Note additional
Bulletins
des
to
leisure.
note i on p. de
I'Inde
214
(
Upon
de
reperusing M. August Earth's

I'Hist.
l'eli<rions
Rev.
des
Religions,
t.
XLV,
1902, p. 354 n. I, or vol. II, p. 442 n. i, of the edition of his Qiuvres) see that the identification suggested above for the bas-relief no. 14
Dr. Pleyte's publication has been already proposed by him.
in full
we
ot
He works out
the same interpretation
the central incident, has been omitted,
conventions of this
ex post facto at
art,..
We
That the maternal womb, the scene of is entirely in conformity with the are doubly fortunate in finding ourselves
rendering to him the priority as reoârds
one with him and
in
the identification.!
21
PLATE XXXI
Ct. pp. 206-7, 213-5.
View of Boro Budur as it siill appeared in 1907; by the care of I. Major Van Erp the stone seat contrived on the summit with a view to
the
more comfortable contemplation of
the magnificent scenery has
since been removed, and the original lines of the top cupola
have
been partly restored. (Cf pp. 206-7.)

II.
Our photograph represents the central

face, at the point
part of the
first
gallery
on the western
staircase.
where
it
is
crossed by the western
On
the right, at the top,
we
distinguish in the upper
row of
the
bas-reliefs the
two
last
of the Bodhisattva's four promenades, namely,
the rencontre with the dead

ing bas-reliefs of the
man and with
the
monk. The correspond-
lower row have not yet been explained.
On
where the viev/ is taken, we cannot see the two rows of sculptures which correspondingly decorate the moulded parapet to the left. (Cf. pp. 213-5.)
the other hand, from the place
BUDDHIST ARCH/EOLOGY
IN
JAVA
PL,
XXXI
BORO-BUDUR
GENERAL VIEW
(FROM THE NORTH-WEST)
2.
BORO-BUDUR
(PART OF
FIRST GALLERY
WEST FACADE)
PLATE XXXII
Cf. pp. 209-11.
The
three following drawings (section, plan
and outline of Boro-
Budur) have been obligingly communicated by Major Van Erp, and

they present in consequence every guarantee of accuracy.
r.
The
present elevation replaces that published in the 5. E..

fig. 3
F.
O., 1909,
(cf. ibid., p.
8^1), which, not
being a normal
section, had led us into error.
The
curve a b follows the original line
the whole portion situated to the right of the point b and marked by divergent hatchings represents the terrace subsequently added, under which is at present buried the ancient base with its deco-
of the sUipa
ration already half accomplished. (Cf. pp. 208 n.

II.
and 210.)
The
plan corresponds exactly in dimensions with the eleva-
tion placed above. Just as the elevation
decorative architectural
shows the arrangement of the elements, niches and cupolas, so the plan
enables us to get a clear idea of the distribution of the galleries, both
polygonal and circular, of the staircases, and of the gargoyles for carrying off the rain water. (Cf. p. 211.)
BUDDHIST ARCHEOLOGY
IN
JAVA
PL. XXXII
BORO-BUDUR
SECTION AND PLAN
PLATE XXXI II
Cf. pp. 209, 211.
I.
This outline,
for
convenience completed by restoring the pin-
nacles, has the effect of ocularly exhibiting the shape, as a
segment of
sphere, but with indented edges, which the original plan had from the
beginning assigned to the

tion of the
II.
stiipa
of Boro-Budur and of which the addiin divesting

it
it.
lower terrace has not succeeded

staircase,
(Cf. p. 209 )
first
View of the northern

it
where
:
leaves the
it is
gallery
as far as the fourth
can
still
be perceived
at the
then
hidden from the
view of the spectator standing from the fourth and

last
foot of the building.

its
On
issuing
polygonal gallery,
slope, already
much
day
reduced, passes under the only ornamental gateway which to
this
has remained intact. (Cf. p. 211.)
BUDDHIST ARCHEOLOGY
IN
JAVA
PL. XXXIII
1.
SILHOUETTE OF BOROBUDUR
STAIRCASE AT BOROBUDUR
(NORTH SIDE)
PLATE XXXIV
Cf. pp. 2l8, 220.
Plates
XXXIV-XLII
are reproductions of photographs taken

in
by the
author from the bas-reliefs,
the state in which they were

in places
1"),
in
May
1907, with the lichens which

pli.
XXXV,
2;
XXXVI; XXXIX,
XXXVIII and
were eating them away (cf. and their stones sometimes
disjointed (cf. pU.
XLII, 2).
to
I.
This
plate
and the following belong

cf.
the story of prince

left
Sudhana. For the description
p. 218.
On
the
will be observed
the characteristic type of the Brahman, with his beard and large chignon.
II.
Upper
scene.
Qvetaketu, half recumbent on his throne

(not,
it
in
his
celestial palace
amid the paradise of the Tushitas, pays

his
seems,
without a certain melancholy)
adieux to his heavenly companions.

dis-
The
latter,
ranged on each side of him, manifest, on their part,

of affectionate regret for the
creet signs
imminent departure of the

Manoshall
future
Qkya-muni.
scene. Cf. p.
Lawer
hari
is
220.
It
will be noticed that the flight of
the only
movement
i,
in the slightest
degree violent that
we
have to encounter in the whole series of these bas-reliefs (cf, however,

further
tiers
pi.
XXXVI,
lower scene). Scarcely do guards and courto
allow themselves
betray at
the sight of her
gesture
surprise.
The
birds figured
on her
left
have no other object
absolutely necessary to ascribe one to
them (cf
p.
than 251)
of
if it is
to
emphasize the
aerial character of
her
flight.
BAS-RELIEFS OF BOROBUDUR, JAVA
PL,
XXXIV
1.
STORY OF SUDHANA, No
J;
INCANTATION AGAINST THE NAGA
(CENTRAL PORTION)
2.
STORY OF SUDHANA,
Above
:
No
11
MANOHARA'S FLIGHT
THE BODHISATT V A'S FAREWELL TO THE GODS
PLATE XXXV
Cf. pp. 220-2.
I.
is,
upper scene That on

in
fact,
pi.
XXXIV,
his
last
(upper scene) the Bodhi-
sattva
on the eve of
re-descent upon our earth,
may
forms
be seen in this picture, the next in the upper

in the
row
of bas-reliefs.
Seated
pose of meditation under a

still
much
decorated pavilion, which

in the
kind of tabernacle, he
floats
above the clouds

are
midst
of his flying cortege of divinities, of

whilst others
whom some
conveying him,
as pledges of
wave banners,
Cf.
fans, fly-flappers
and parasols
his future princely dignity.
Lower
scene.
p.
221. Grouped on the right, the royal insignia
(parasol, fly-flapper, conical fan, and Itai oi sentc [alocasia macrorrhiza
ScHOTT.', the
last still
used by the Javanese, says Dr. Groneman, as

all
provisional umbrella ), will naturally reappear in

(cf. pi.
the court pictures
XXXVI,
Cf.
p.
I,
lower scene,
etc.).
II.
222.
The group on
the right duly represents prince
Sudhana
letting his ring fall into the vessel of
one of the attendants,
who, stooping down, has just placed it at his feet. On the left the spring towards which walk, or rather glide, the other women have you ever seen the gliding motion of the Javanese female dancers ?
is
depicted as a kind of rocky basin, shaded by a tree and overgrown
with lotuses.
BAS RELIEFS OF BOROBUDUR, JAVA
PL.
XXXV
1.
STORY OF SUDHANA, No
Above
12: THE PRINCES THE BODHISATT V AS DESCENT UPON EARTH
RETURN
STORY OF SUDHANA,
No. 16:
AT THE FOUNTAIN
(RIGHT. HAND PORTION)
PLATE XXXVI
Cf. pp. 228, 230-1.
I.
is
upper
scene.
Prince Siddhirtha, languidly ensconced upon his

ring, as a
throne, offers his
own
token of betrothal,
feet.
to
Gop^ orYaôd^,
left
who
kneeling with clasped hands at his

for her sake;
On
the
presses the
crowd of maidens disdained
on
the right the emissaries
of the king with visible satisfaction discover, and discuss

selves, the significant attitude of the prince,
among them-
whose
heart, to the great
despair of his father, had until then remained proof agrinst love.
Lower
scene.
Cf. p. 228.
On
the right,
King M^ndhfitar, flanked by

:
his court, witnesses the scene

fall
from
his palace
pieces of
woven
stuff
from the clouds, naturally in the same long, rectangular shape which they would have when issuing from the loom. Among the
people some catch
them
in
their flight, others
themselves
with
them,
whilst
others
providently
commence make
to
drape
veritable
bundles of them.
II.
Upper
scene.
Prince Siddhartha, preceded by his guard and

is
followed by his court,

iot
seated under a parasol
on
four-wheeled char:
drawn met (as may be seen on the
by horses, very poorly designed (cf. p. 251)

left)
he has just
an old mendicant, leaning on a stick

this
and led by a child; and a propos of

of the four promenades
scene. Cf. p-
unexpected rencontre he learns

is
through the mouth of his squire the existence of old age. This
first
the
(cf. pi.
XXXI,
2).
Lower
as in
230.
at
It
will be observed that
we
do not see here,

lay his obedient,
Gandh^ra and even

with
Amaravati,an executioner
still less
but cruel, hand upon the Bodhisattva;

as in Central Asia,
his skeleton
jar
does
this latter appear,

flesh.
almost entirely stripped of

at
Such
horrible sight
would
too strangely
Boro-Budur.
BAS-RELIEFS OF BORO BUDUR, JAVA
PL.
XXXVI
1,
STORY OF MANDHATAR, No
AbovR
THF,
12: THE RAIN OF BODHISATTVA CHOOSES HIS BRIDE
GARMENTS
2.
STORY OF KING
Above
QIBI, THE DOVE AND THE THE FIRST OF THE BODHISATT V AS FOUR PROMENADES
HAWK
PLATE XXXVIl
Cf. pp. 233
.1.
Plates
XXXVIIXL
Cf.
are consecrated to the story of Rudriyana.
I.
pp.
2^3-4.
Judging by their head-dresses, these are

their
cuirass,
Brahmans who which is about to pass from

courtiers.
have been charged by Rudrayatia to bring the precious
hands into those of Bimbisara's

it
And
it
is
clearly a cuirass,
without sleeves and closing,
seems,
II.
in front.
Upper
scene.
is
On
the
left
the Bodhisattva (already under the
aspect of a
Buddha)
seated on a throne covered with a lotus, and in
conversation with his master Arada.

teristic
The
latter exhibits all the
charac-
marks of the Brahmanic

midst of
a
ascetic, as
do also
his other disciples,
who,
in the
conventional landscape of trees and rocks, which
represents their hermitage, occupy the rest of the picture, meditating or
praying, their rosaries round their necks or in their hands.

Laiuer scene.
It is
the ever- recurring court picture
that here
again
appears.
We
have remarked (p. 234) that the throne of the teaching

It
monk
is
higher than that of the king, his disciple.
might be
inter-
esting to refer the reader to a rule to this effect, explicitly stated in the
Prdtimoksha of the Sarvastivadins, v, 92 (Journal ^siatiqiie, nov.-dec.
I9M'
P-
535! ^^-
Fi>^'OT
:
and trans. Huber). But,

it is
in fact, this
is
the
general custom in India

prestige of
by an exception, only explained by the

the scene above
Buddha among
later generations, that in
the sculptor has assigned to
h-m
a seat
higher than that of his master.
PL.
XXXVII
1.
STORY OF RUDRAYANA, No
PRESENTATION OF THE CUIRASS
(LEFT-HAND PORTION)
2.
Above
,
MAHAKATYAYANA
S VISIT
THE BODHISATTVA WITH HIS FIRST BRAHMAN TEACHER
PLATE XXXVIII
Cf. pp. 234-5.
I.
Cf.
pp.
234-5.
Note
in
the case of the Buddhist

total
nun the
first
complete tonsure ot the head and the
absence of jewels, conform-
ably to the rule of the monastic order to
which she belongs. The

is,
feminine person seen full-length on the right of the king
doubtless,
queen Candraprabh^.
II.
Cf.
p.
23
It is
the latter
whom we
find again in the following

a
scene, kneeling
on the ground
in the
costume of
nun. Between her
and the bench on which are seated the two hhihhunls (whose heads
have been displaced with the block which carried them) curious utensils
of worship will be noticed.
BAS-RELIEFS OF BORO-BUDUR, JAVA
PL.
XXXVIII
10:
THE NUN QAILA'S SERMON
(LEFT-HAND PORTION)
2.-
11
QUEEN CANDRAPRAbH AS ORDINATION
(CENTRAL PORTION)
PLATE XXXIX
Cf. pp. 235-6.
Here Candraprabhd, descending again from heaven, in order to keep the promise which she had made to her husband to come back as a ghost, reappears, quite naturally to our eyes, in the costume of
I.
a goddess,
and consequently of
a
i.
queen
that
is
to say, the
same which
on which
she wore on plate

the king
is
XXXVIII,
Note the cracks
in the block
carved.
II.
Cf.
pp.
is
235-6.
The
distinction
between the king and the

emphasized by the
the
fact that
crown-prince
in this scene especially
the father alone wears the muhita or
tiara,
which the son, contrary

in
to
custom
pi.
(see,
for
instance, prince
Sudhana
low.r scene of
XXXV,
III.
2), here does not
wear.
part of
Cf. p.
236 and, for the sake of comparison, the right

pi.
the lower scene in
XXXVII,
2.
PL.
XXXIX
-eSf^'^^'-'':
':..*L<^
Jîiii?:^ 'i5iV--r
. >.urli~-''-
^^t
4j?
PLATE XL
Cf. pp. 237-8.
I.
upper
scene.
O.i the
left
the
Bodhisattva (ia the form of a
Buddha), seated in meditation among the rocks

Uruvilvi, raises his right
and in the shades of
hand in order to mske to the fifteen gods (one of whom is broken) ranged on his left a polite gesture of refusal. What he declines is the proposal, which they have just made to him, to breathe in through his pores a secret vigour, which may sustain him in the
midst of his super-human austerities
:
for he will
owe
his salvation to
himself alone. His well-bred interlocutors receive his decision with a
demeanour
by the
loss
as discreet as
it
is
varied.
It
will be observed that the maceras in
ations of the Bodhisattva are not in
any wiy shown,

so
Gandhira,
of
flesh
on
his
body
It
much
realism would here be
regarded as the height of impropriety.
Lower seem(cf. p.
Cf. p. 237.
will be noticed
also in this connection
that the sculptor does not
make
us witness the
murder
of
Rudriyana
249, n.
i). It
may
much
be curious to observe
paintings
delicacy
the existence in the
Musê Guimet of Tibetan

themselves with so
wh3se authors have not troubled for there is more than one way
art.
of being a Buddhist, in
II.
life as
well as in
Cf. p. 238.
It
will be observed
and
this
trait
curiously
recalls the pleasantries of
our Middle Age concerning the monks
that
theBrahmans
distinguish themselves by a special degree of cupidity.
BAS-RELIEFS OF RORO BUDUB, JAVA
feiilj
1.
STORY OF RUDRAYANA,
Above
No
16
AFTER THE PARRICIDE

THE AID OF THE GODS
THE ASCETIC BODHISATTVA
DECI.INEf!
STORY OF RUDRAYANA,
No. 19 THE (LEFT-HAND PORTION)

;
RAIN OF JEWELS
PLATE XLI
Cf. pp.
.'41-3,
245-6.
I.
Cf.
:
pp.
plates
XXXVIII,
they are
seen
siir
2403. The conventional rocks already met with in 2 and XLI (upper scene) are here still more distinctly the same as at Ajanta and in Indian miniatures (rf. "/.
I,
riconojr. bouddh. de I'lnde,
pp. 35, 183).
The
three following
reproductions belong to the story
of Mai-
trakanyaka.
li.
Q.
pp. 245-6.
is
The
respect due to the mother, as well as to

(cf.
the teacher,
p.
here also marked by the higher seat attributed to her

pi.
220, no. 8, and
XXXVII,
2).
PL. XLI
1.
STORY OF THE PAIR OF KINNARAS

(CENTRAL PORTION OF THE SECOND SCENE)
STORY OF MAITRAKANYAKA, No
THE PURSE-OFFERING
(CENTRAL PORTIONI
PLATE
XLII
Cf. pp. 246-7.
I.
Here, again,
it
would never be suspected

:
that
Maitrakanyaka
is
supposed to kick his mother on the head
such
is,
however, the
subject (cf. pp.
245-6). This portion of the wall shows very serious
cracks
II
Cf. pp.
246
7.
The
dvdrapdla
of the
is
to be
compared with those
who
left IS
likewise guard the gates
palisade of the
same kind
as thit
Brahmanic temples of Java. A of wh'ch we get a side vitw on the

pll.
seen again from the front on
XL,
(lower scene) and
XLIV.
PL. XLII
1.
STORY OF MAITRAKANYAKA,
No. 2
THE MOTHER'S SUPPLICATION
(LEFT-HAND PORTION)
STORY OF MAITRAKANYAKA, No
7: IN
THE INFERNO CITY
(RIGHT-HAND PORTION)
PLATE
Cf. pp.
XLIII
257 62, 267-9-
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BUDDHIST ARCHAEOLOGY
IN
JAVA
PL. XLIII
<
> <
o
<
PLATE XLIV
Cf. pp. 265 6.
Photograph by Major Van Erp
for the identification cf. pp. 265-6.
On
the pUnth stretches the top of a paHsade of large
wooden
stakes
joined by a thin crossbar. Behind are seen the waves of a lotus pond, in
which
are supposed to
grow
the lotuses
which support the three prinrecall
cipal persons.
Two
N^gas, recognizable by their serpent head-dresses,

lotus,
holdup the stem of the central

Miracle
at
and thus
those of the
i).
Great
gravasu
(cf.
pll.
XX; XXIII; XXVIII,

for
The
stereotyped
trees attest a
lateral
remarkable feeUng
ornament. At the foot of the two
ones are placed treasure-vases.

is
The
central tree,
surmounted by
parasol,
further embellished with birds and hanging bells, and,

is
conformably to tradition,
flanked by adoring divinities, here enframed
in finely chiselled folds of cloud.
The
iconographic
motif, carved in
position, thus extends over the
whole wall of the temple.
BUDDHIST ARCHyEOLOGY
IN
JAVA
PL^
XLIV
:rF
i-,-4^:ppP4^^l,
THE GODDESS GUNDA BETWEEN TWO BODHISATTVAS

ON THE SOUTH-WESTERN
W ALh
OF THE GH A NDI-MENDU T
The Buddhist Madonna
C).
The
this
painting reproduced in colours
on the frontispiece
to
volume comes from the
ruins of Yar-Khoto, at about
ten kilometres to the west of Turfan. Discovered

13"'
on the
of
of July 1905 in the course of the operations of the

this region
second German archaeological mission in
Chinese Turkestan,
Ethnographical
in Berlin,
lar,
it
it is
at
present deposited in the Royal
Museum
(Kgl.
Museum
fiir
Volkerkunde)
under no. T(urfan)
II,
Y, 69. In shape rectangu-
all
measures m. 0,35 by m. 0,50, and, according to probability, was formerly framed in bands of woven
material, like a Japanese

it
kakemono. The sanctuary, which

in its
had once adorned, was apparently one dedicated to Bud:
dha
at least,
the fairly
numerous manuscripts found

the diversity of their Sogdian,
company retain, under

teristic
Turto
kish or Chinese languages and scripts, the
common
charac-
of having a Buddhist purport
we should have
except only
some Uigur fragments, which would be Manithe final disintegration of the
chean.On the other hand,

building, constructed
of undressed bricks, could not be
much
later
than the ninth century of our era. Only the
extraordinary dryness of the climate explains
how a
thing
so perishable should have succeeded in reaching us, beneath

the thick accumulated debris of bricks and dust, in a state
(i) Extract from Moniimcnls

tions et Belles-Lcttres (^Fondalion
et
memoires puhlies par

Plot), vol.
I'
Academic
des Inscrip-
Eugene
XVH,
fasc. II,
1910.
272
THE BUDDHIST MADONNA
of preservation relatively so satisfactory.

to the kindness of Dr.
We
are indebted
A. von Le Coq and Dr. Bode, the
Director-General of the Royal
Museums
in Berlin, for the
opportunity of offering to the public a first acquaintance with

this
work, one of the most significant, in our opinion, which have issued from the recent excavations in Central Asia.
The
reproduction which
we
publish
is
sufficiently ad-
equate to enable us to dispense with anything beyond a

succinct description, insisting less
seen
at
the
first
upon what is still to be glance than upon what only a close examprincipal subject
is a
ination reveals.
The
seated
woman,
holding in the hollow of her right arm a child in swaddling

clothes, to
wîom with her left hand she presents her bosom.

is
Her head, surrounded by atriple circular nimbus,

as far as the shoulders
covered
by
a veil,
embroidered round the
hems and
tied back with a ribbon.
She
is
clothed
down
to
the feet in a tunic with long sleeves, open at the breast and
quite analogous to those
which we have seen worn by the

is
women
by
of Kashmir. This robe
strewn with lozenges
themselves subdivided into four hke figures, each marked

a red spot
which were probably woven

hem
The
as the veil.
feet are
in the stuff;
the collar, cuffs, opening and
being bordered with the
same embroidery
with
a necklace
shod in slippers
is
without heels, depicted in black, and the neck

of the same
adorned
The child is tightly swathed up to the neck, like a mummy. The chair on which the woman sits, in a very awkward position, is without arms or back, but very massive and much ornamented. From the front we perceive only two rectangular uprights,
hue.

fitted
273
between two frames of the same shape, the one

rests
on the ground being a httle wider than that which serves as a seat. The mouldings are repeated symmetrically. Those of the two inner crossbars reprowhich
duce the regularly outlined curves of the embroidery
:
the decoration of the outer framework and of the uprights
introduces halves or quarters of the lotus flower into the

intervals of the curved undulations or the angular zigzags
of a stripe.
This central figure

ants, four
is
surrounded by eight
little
attend-
on each
little
:
side.
These
are
so
many vigorous
ornamented
cotton
is
and plump
tufts of hair
boys. All wear on their shaven crowns

their necks are necklaces
round
with
medallions,
their
feet
doubtless serving as
amulet-bearers
loins
on
black
in
shoes
about
little
their
drawers,
forming
front a
pocket
which
pierced with a small
slit,
but projecting in wide pleats
behind.
already
The
penetrating eye of Dr. A.

that four
von Le Coq has

left,
noticed
of them are about to play a

at
kind of hockey.
raising his
The
first,
the bottom to the
is
two hands, of which the right brandishes a crooked stick, towards one of his companions, who is perched upon the stool, as if to incite him to throw the ball
which he clasps
tightly in his right hand.
left
The
latter also
holds upright in his
hand
a similar bat,
if
and half turns
towards the seated woman, as
she were watching their
play, while feeding her latest-born.
At the
top,
on the
right,
two other
boys are engaged in the same sport. The upper one, who is squatting, with his left hand throws the ball, which is indicated in red; the one standing
little
below
has
receives
it
with his bat
for, before the

left
canvas was
stretched and the drawing distorted, his
arm, which
now
disappeared,
was, doubtless, long enough to
274

is
reach and manipulate the red, bent stick which
to be
seen between the
two
partners. Below, a fifth child, seated
on the ground,
practises playing a sort of guitar
with four
he can, in
strings. Still lower, a sixth is carrying as well as
a basket too big for his arms,

slices
some melons, whole or in those famous melons of Upper Asia, whose

all
excellence
travellers unite in celebrating
and of which
the scent alone the Great
was
sufficient to
awaken
in the heart of
his
Mogul
Baber, even
mid the enchantment of
Indian gardens, a homesickness for his native Ferghana.
To
return to the
left
portion of the plate, above the two

little
hockey-players
we
see another
boy,
who seems
a
to be
amusing himself by trying to balance on his head handled vase. As for the eighth little figure in the top
it is
two-
corner,
so
much
injured that
its
we
dare not venture any conjec:
tures concerning
manner of amusement
completed the
figure,
the author
is
of the tracing which
accompanies and supplies what
missing
in the plate, has

little
with infinite
probability, as a
genius perfectly analogous to the one
in the symmetrically opposite corner.
To
this
summary
description
we
are justified in adding
a few observations of a technical kind.
The
painting
is
executed on a piece of coarse canvas, which had previously
been covered with a coating,

features (perhaps first sketched
now
partly vanished.
The
often
by the help of
a pounce,
dusted over a perforated pattern, as
we know was
drawn
the custom of these image-makers) were
in ink,
with great sureness of hand.
If the sitting
posture of the
woman
is
unskilfully
rendered,
we
shall
remark, on the
the lozenges
figure.
other hand, an interesting attempt to
make
on the dress blend with the movement of the

colours, doubtless
Then
water-colours,
have been applied in
broad uniform
tints.
Here,
it
seems, golden yellow was
275
confined to the seat and embroideries, while for the textures there
is
recourse to a series of reds, passing from the

the
minium
of the dress to
carmine of the
veil
all
are to be seen again
on the various bands of
the halo.
Then
Hght wash in ink, encircling each feature, emphas-
izes the contours
and hollows out the
folds, whilst a
few
delicate touches here
and there give the finishing stroke to
the
summary
indication of the modelling.
These
are exactly
the procedures which are found to recur in Sino-Japanese

paintings, as also
on Persian miniatures.
We know
that
Oriental art has continued of set purpose to ignore the

chiaroscuro.
it is,
As
to the date to be assigned to this picture,

:
provisionally, rather uncertain
for the archceology

its
of Central Asia has to be drawn from the chaos of

rials,
mate-
which
for the
most
part are
still
unedited.
However,
thanks to the previous excavations of Sir Aurel Stein,
we
know
that the raktb with four keys, with

is
which the
child
musician
playing, the flowers
which the mouldings of
the seat encircle, the
wave
or
cloud
motif of the
in
Niya and at Rawak from the third century of our era Turkestan
embroidery were
in use at
southern
But,
(').
on
the other hand, according to the opinion of Dr. A. von
Le Coq, the woman's costume, ot a fashion already Uigur not to mention the extreme obliquity of the eyes
would
force us to descend at least as far as the beginning
of the seventh.
(i)
(seat),
SeeM. A. Stein, Ancient Khotan, pi. LXXHI (guitar handle), LXVIII LXXXVIII (waves), LXVn(halo), etc. and cf. our Art greco-houd;
dhique du Gandhara, figg.
162, 213,
245,
246 (encircled
flowers), 273
(waves), etc.
276
II
So
far
we
have restricted ourselves to a simple statement
of the facts furnished by an examination of the document.
Now
it is
time to broach the more delicate question of its
interpretation. Inevitably, as
this pious design,
soon
as
we
are confronted
by
some familiar picture of the Virgin nursing the Child Jesus. For this unavoidable rapprochement we see at least two reasons. Firstly, there are not so many ways for a woman to offer her bosom to her nursling. The second, more
are carried back in
we
memory
to
topical,
reason might chance
through long habituation
not immediately to occur to us.
We
it
heard the ingenuous expression of
remember having from the lips of a

of an Italian
young
his
Panjabi
Brahman, who,
in
front
chromo-lithograph of the Holy Family, could not conceal
astonishment that
the mother of the

after the
God
of the
the
Europeans should not be dressed
manner of
Mem-Sahebs
He
expected, as he explained to us, to see

a
on the head of Mary

Indian
hat
similar to
those
worn by
English ladies, whereas, in
fact,
her veil gave her quite an
appearance. This he could not get over... After

at his
having smiled
amazement, we
shall
do well not to
incontestable
forget the exact bearings of his remark.
It is
that the artistic tradition of the veil does in fact give an
Asiatic appearance to the

if
most Gothic of our
Virgins, But,
our European images go more than half way to meet
this
first
Notre
Dame
de Tourfan
as
it
had from the

that
(')
been christened
it
is
intclhgible
con-
(i) This hypothesis was, indeed, put aside by Dr. von Le
Coq because
of the Buddhist character of the manuscripts found at the same time as the painting
(cf.
Journ. of the Roy. As. See, 1909, p. 309).

versely our
first
277
instinct will
be
to connect this latter
with a Christian prototype. Have not the excavations in

fact
proved the former existence, in this oasis of Turfan, of

sects?
Manichean and even Nestorian

by
hypothesis
but, with a
The unedifying
will, all
entourage of eight urchins would indeed be ill-explained

this
;
little
good
may
little
be arranged, and in strictness one could reduce these
elves to a purely decorative role, analogous to that played
by
their counterparts,
the putti, on the paintings of the

settle the
Catacombs. In short, definitely to

the identity of our figure,
sufficient to confront
it
question of
it
we may imagine
first
that
will be
with the
chance representation,
provided that
ing her child.
It
it
be somewhat anterior, of the Virgin nurs-
will perhaps surprise
more than one
reader to learn
that
we have
experienced great difficulty in laying our

a representation. It is not, indeed, that
hand upon such
we
ever thought to find thereby the clue to an enigma

us, as will be seen, susceptible of a
little
which seems to
much
nearer solution. But as
as
anyone did we think of
denying the Christian analogies of the painting of Turfan,

and in any and every case
to connect with
fore,
it
a
at
would have been interesting western counterpart. We went thereit
and knocked
the door of the specialists.
We must
was not
confess that their reply

told us, to begin
was not what we expected. They

that
with,
the
Virgo lactans
(').
shown
art,
in the
its
catacombs of
Rome
Even
in
Byzantine
with
well-known horror of the nude, the icons of

first
the raXaxTOTpoepouaa, charged, perhaps, at
with some
late, in
indecorum, do not seem to appear until very
the
(i) Cf.
J.
WiLPERT, Die MaUreien
der Katakomben Roms, 1905 (not even
on
his pi. 22).
278

Italian
XV"' century, and would be imitations of an
model,
itselfof recent date ('). Finally, in France the first
examples
would not go back would

liarity
further than
the XIV"" century, and
translate in
our religious
(").
art
new
feelings of fami-
and tenderness
But even the best established
laws must always have some exception, and in the present

case
M. Gabriel
first is
Millet has pointed out to us at least two.
The
furnished by the ivory cover of a Gospel ofMetz,
attributed to the IX"' century of
our era (pl.XLVI, i)
the
Mother of God
her
thus designated by
name
in
Byzantine
a coffer,
sigla, is seated
on
left
a raised throne in the
form of
and
oflfers
bosom, over which she has modestly
drawn
bands.
a fold
of her veil, to a child entirely swathed in
The
other specimen, recently obtained from the

at
excavations of the Service of Egyptian Antiquities

qara, is
Saq-
by the gracious permission of M. G. Maspero repro(pi.
duced here
XLVI,
2). Seated
on
a chair
with
a back, of
rather rude construction, the Virgin iMary

offers
no
less chastely
little
the nipple of her right
bosom
on
to a
Jesus,
already growing,
who,
installed
his
mother's knee,
holds
her
forearm with both hands. According to the
published information this painting had once adorned the

walls of a convent founded in 470 and probably destroyed
soon
after the
Arab conquest of Egypt (640-641). Whilst
the Carolingian ivory

since
would be
later
than the image of

earlier. But,
Turfan, the Coptic fresco would, therefore, be
notwithstanding the analogy of the wholes and
even of certain details
we discern
We
at
once that none of
(i)
KoNDAKOv, Monuments
of Christian Art at Athos, 1902,

e
p. 173 (in Russian);
Benigni, La Madonna allatante

1900, pp. 499-501.
fig. 68 and im motivo hiiantino?
ap. II Bessnrione,
VH,
are indebted for this informaMii.li-t.
tion to the kindness of
our colleague M. Gab.
(2) E. Mali;, L'Art religieux de la fin da Moyen-dge en France (1908), p. 148.
THH BUDDHIST MADONNA
279
these three figures proceeds directly from either of the other
two, their simuhaneous existence serves in the end only to
induce us to bring a prudent reserve to bear upon our
state-
ments.
If
our short enquiry does not

in
at all result,
as
we
it
had begun to think,
guaranteeing the entire absence of
the type of Nursing Virgin from ancient Christian art,

at least
proves the extreme rarety thereof. Consequently,
it
suffices
and
it
makes no
further claim
to
divert us
from the
first trail
along which our European prejudices
would have started us. Whoever, in fact, has by

ist
his studies acquired a certain
familiarity with Central Asian matters,
whether he be Indian-
or Sinologue, cannot have remained ignorant of the pre Scrindia ,

;
ponderant role played by Indian civilization in

at least
down
to the
coming of
the
Musalmans
and
it is
a fact
no
less surely established that
the principal vehicle
of this influence
was the religion of Buddha. It is in this direction that it would be proper, a priori, to point our towards the same quarter we are in the case researches
:
of this particular picture directed by the character of the

edifice
beneath whose ruins

it
it
was discovered. Now,

shall
if
we
look
at
no longer with eyes
hereditarily Christian, but
through Buddhist spectacles, we

recognize in
it,
no
less
infallibly
instead of the Virgin
Marv nursing the

last
Child Jesus, the fairy Hariti suckling her

gala,
born. Pinare
whilst
her.
some
This
of her
numerous sons
playing
around
is a
consecrated iconographic theme, of
which
it
will be easy for us to quote
numerous examples,
spread over nearly twenty centuries and over the whole of

the Far East. In
this
firce
of the scarcity of western counterparts,

at
abundance of documents would
once weigh
:
down
the balance in favour of the Buddhist identification
compa-
rison of the various replicas will bring full confirmation.
28o
III
But,
first
of
all, it
is
relevant to present briefly to the
non-Orientalist reader the goddess

invite
fairy,
him
to
make. In
a
truth,
fairy.
whose acquaintance we she was originally only a

birth she, as well as her
and even
of the
still
wicked
By
troup of imps, belonged to the race, often maleficent, of

spirits
air (^yaksha), in
whom
popular Indian belief
had, and
dies.
has, a habit of incarnating contagious

pitiless
mala-
She herself personified the most

It is
of infantile
epidemics.
well
known
that in the India of the present

is
day, in spite of the progress of vaccination, small-pox
dreaded to such an extent that
it is still
the custom not to

the family until
trial
reckon children
among
is
the
members of
they have victoriously passed through the

rible disease.
of this terreceives
This
why the
green Hariti
still
from the Buddhists of Nepal the worship which the Hindus of the plains address to the cold
Qtala. That she
should have ended by transforming herself from a formidable scourge into a beneficent divinity will not surprise
any student of
religions.
Of
course, there
was
legend to
explain this transmutation

gold.
of worthless lead into pure
Buddha
in person
had once converted the yakshini

is
who
decimated,
or (as
,
metaphorically written)
piti-
lessly
devoured
the children of the
(now Rajgir, in Behar). In human feelings, he decided

Pihgala, the last and
order to
town of Rajagriha convert her to more

five
to deprive her for a time of
most loved of her
hundred sons.
Some
fact,
even relate that the Master hid Piiigala under his

:
inverted alms-vase
see
and on Chinese paintings we do,
in
hordes of
demons
vainly endeavouring by the
help of cranes and levers to turn over the huge bowl,

in
281
which the
be,
little
genius
is
imprisoned
(').
However
this
may
the
this
stratagem succeeded.
Hariti
by
The grief caused momentary separation made her return
to
to
herself, or, better, put herself in the place of simple

tals,
mor:
whom
she had at times robbed of their sole offspring
she swore never to do so again. However, every one must

live,
even the wicked
who
repent.
As soon
as she
is
con-
verted, the ogress
mother
respectfully calls the attention of

first
the Master to the fact that the
precept of his morality,
by
five
interdicting
all
homicide, really condemns her and her

die of
hundred sons to
hunger; and Buddha,
much
struck by the justice of this remark, promises that henceforth in all convents his
monks
shall offer a daily pittance,
of course on condition that she and hers faithfully observe

their vows...
This monastic legend, very

ours, as
skilfully
composed, endeav-
we
see,
not merely to conciliate the contradic-
tory notions attached to this deity, at once both cruel
and propitious
ful, it
in order
completely to reassure the faith-
also stands as a guarantee against
any relapse of
the converted yakshini into her ancient errors. Last and in regard to
decorum most important,
it
claims to vindicate,
under colour of a contract long ago made with the Master,

the installation of this former ogress in the convent, and
the propriety of the worship offered to her.
It is,
in fact,
only too clear that
it
is
from pure concession to popular

of Hariti was to
superstitions that, according to the testimony of the Chi-
nese pilgrim Yi-tsing, the image
be
found
either in the porch or in a corner of the dining-
hall of all Indian monasteries .
There she was, moreover.

239-244
;
(i) Cf. Archxologia, LHI, 1S92, pp.
La
legeiide
de Kouei fseu
mou chen (Annales du Musee Guimet, Toung Pao, Oct. 1904, p. 490.
Bibl. d'Art, vol. I); Ed.
Chavannes,
282

tells
he
us in plain terms, adored no longer as a devourer,
but as a
giver of children. Usually the genius with
the golden bag
was opposite
to her
at least,
when he
was
not, as in a
:
number of surviving
representations, seated
beside her
for the
common
people had been quick to
associate thedispenserof riches with the goddess of fecundity (').
We may even be
permitted to think that their altars
must have been those not least frequented by devout laymen, the more so as both sexes were there plainly provided
for.
passage from Hiuan-tsang interests us
still
more
directly
by attesting
that the
worship of Hariti had

to encoun-
been transported early into the north-west of India. While

following the same itinerary,
ter,
we were surprised
under
lation
name which is nothing but an Afghan transof hers, the mound, still miraculous, even in the
a
eyes of present-day Musalmans, which marks the location
of her principal sanctuary in this country of Gandhara,
where
at
about the beginning of our era the Grceco-Buddhist
art flourished (").
This
is
sufficient to explain to us the antiquity,

at
number
and character,
once
classical
and benignant, of her
Indian images. All answer more or less to the general description given by Yi-tsing
:
she
is
depicted
as
holding a
five chil-
babe in her arms and round her knees three or

dren
.
The
There
little
genii
who
are
usually
playing and
five
worrying each other evidently represent her

sons
.
is
hundred
all
nothing astonishing in seeing them

:
of nearly the same size

true Gigogne,
the texts admit that their mother, a
may very
well have been able to bring
them
(i) See above Essay V, The Tutelary Pair.
(2) Cf. Yi-Tsing, Records, trans. Takakusu, p. 37

trans. Jolien,
I,
Hiuan-Tsang, Memoires,
I,
p.
120; Bull, de
I'Ec. fr.
d' Extreme -Orient,
1901,
pp.
5.11
sqq.
THE BUDDHIST MADONMA

all
283
all
into the world in the
same year
she
(').
In the midst of
this
swarm, which often

that
climbs over her person, one

is
would sometimes say

her
posing
in
advance as
is
an Italian allegory of Charity. At one time she
seated
Benjamin
rests in
her lap and childishly plays with

at
her necklace (pi. XLVIl, i), or

suckles
times simultaneously
is
her breast.
still
Then
again she
standing; but her

is
favourite
clings to
her bosom. Usually he

in
placed
astride her hip, in the
carry their children
manner and two at

far
which Indian
women
have
least of his brothers
succeeded in climbing as
(pi.
as the maternal shoulders
XLVII,
2).
With
combined, as
in pi.
at times partly two types XLVIII, i, which in addition shows the
these
husband of the goddess
may be connected the

ogress,
relatively
numerous images furnished no less by the ruins of the districts of Peshawar and Mathurathanby the famous grottoes
of Ajanta,
The
It
once the terror of
fruitful
mothers, has clearly there become a kind of matron, hope

of barren
women.
is
this auspicious
group
that, as
we
are about to see, has
conquered the whole of the Far East.
IV
For
this pacific
conquest two ways had been opened by
those pioneers of Indian civilization, leaders of caravans or
master mariners, the one by land and the other by sea.
It
was this latter route which must perforce have been followed
in order to reach Java,
on the
actual confines of the Indian

little
Archipelago. In preference to the
bronzes of the
muon
seum
able,
in Batavia
we reproduce here the

I, p.
evidence too portable

253,
1.
to be unexception-
Hariti actually sculptured
(i) Mahdvastu, ed. Senart,
2.
284

left
the
wall of the entrance corridor of the temple called

to the
Chandi Mendut, near
famous
sti'ipa
of Boro-Budur
(IX* century),and doubtless almost contemporaneous with right wall opposite, an image of it. Represented on the
the genius of riches
completes the proof of the trans-
plantation of their double worship into the
most
beautiful
of the
Islands of the Southern Seas
(').
Crouching upon
a cushion, her legs covered with a sarong
and her body

wears a sumpthan thirteen
clothed only with jewels, the goddess,
who
less
tuous
little
coiffure,
is
surrounded by no
demons
One
is
being presented to her on the
right
by an attendant, whilst the others play in the sand,

time Pirigala, resting in her arms, prepares
the conviction of a nursling charged by
identification of his
caper about, or climb trees in order to steal their fruits;
and during
this
to suckle with
all
the sculptor to emphasize the

ther (pi. XLVIII, 2).
mo-
mark noted, we return to our startingthe same family group on the march over the sandy roads of Central Asia. It was hardly doubtful that, in order to reach China, they must have pursued the same routes which the Chinese pilgrims had taken in
If,
this
first
point,
we may follow
order to reach India.
Of this
probability recent discoveries
have made a certainty. The original of the frontispiece marks

at
Turfan precisely the route followed on the outward
journey by Fa-hian and Hiuan-tsang, the northern route

which, footing the chain of the Celestial Mountains, rounds
the great desert basin of the Tarim.
As to the southern
route,
which deployed along the northern slope of the Kuen-lun mountains the chaplct of the oases visited by Sung Yun
on the outward journey and by Hiuan-tsang on
his return,
(i) Sec above, p. 264.

it
285
was unwilling to be behind
its rival
in
a
any way, and
it
also has already furnished us,
if
not with
canvas, at least
with a mural painting of Hariti.
No
one
is
unacquainted with the brilliant excavations

Stein,
carried out by Sir Aurel
on the occasion of two

Takla-Makan.
at the
successive missions, over the ancient alignment of this

track across the present-day desert of
One
ot
them brought
oasis of
to light, in
March 1908,
Khotan)
north of the
little
Domoko
(itself situated at a
longitude of a
more than one degree
east of
a large figure of a
woman,
cell
painted in tempera
on
a coating of mortar, in the
embrasure of the door of a
little
Buddhist sanctuary.
2,45,
The
its
measured on the
interior
m. 2,50 by m.
panel,
and
mud
walls, decorated with
BuddhasandBodhisattvas,
attain-
ed a thickness of m. 1,35.
particularly interests us
intact
The
m.
1,15 wide,
which
here, had been preserved almost
under
heap of sand accumulated by the wind to a
height of m. 1,20.
times,
Only
the lower part
had
in former
when
the entrance served as a passage for worship-
pers, suffered
much from
the abrasion of passers-by.
Howto us
ever, according to the notes kindly
communicated
seated,
by the explorer, there could

left
still
be distinguished near the

is
foot of the
woman, who,
apparently,
two
little
figures, clothed
little
and gambolling about, whilst near
her right foot a

the
naked boy seemed to be getting out of
way
to
of a blow struck by a person completely effaced.
As
the
upper
portion,
it
has
;
reached
the
British
Museum
in an excellent condition
and
Sir
first
Aurel Stein
has very kindly allowed
us
to
It
give a
and double
reproduction of
acteristic
it
(pi.
XLV).
the
shows
clearly the char-
features
of
principal
figure,
the
dreamy
squint of the eyes, the
symmetry of the two
lovelocks,
the perforated and frightfully distended lobes of the ears,
286
the oval of the

taste,
moon
face , too broad according to
our
the folds (classic in India)of the neck, the net of pearls
in the hair, finally
and above
all,
the triple circular orb of the

is, is
nimbus. The goddess, since such she
dressed to the
waist in a short cassock, of a rich greenish hue, spotted with
yellow and trimmed with fawn braid, the short sleeves
ter-
minating above the elbow in a

plaits.
frill
of linen folded in fluted

sleeves, evidently be-
Underneath are long, reddish
longing to the bodice of the dress.

scarf, exactly similar to that
turquoise-coloured
worn by
the Gandharian images
(pi.
XLVII,
left
i),
hangs
in folds in the
hollows of her arms.
Her
a
hand, with straightened index, rests on the front of

is
her knee, which
bent in the Indian manner. Meanwhile

left
naked child clings to her
bosom,
is
as if asking to be
suckled, whilst another

right forearm,
ride familiarly
little
boy
seated astride
on her
and two more, one of
whom
is
dressed,
on her shoulders. This more than

pll.
suffices to
i,
determine, from analogy with

identification with Hariti
XLVII-XLVIII,
the
and her mischievous progeny.

is,
The
opposite wall of the embrasure

:
unfortunately, des-
troyed
we should have expected
to see there the genius
ot riches, the usual counterpart of the
goddess of children.
Let us add that, according to the chronological indications

elicited
by
this
Sir
Aurel Stein, the decoration of the temple to

later
which
image belonged could not be

A. D., and
than the
VIII"' century
If,
may
be a
little earlier.
continuing our journey eastward,
we
at last arrive
in China,
we
arc so
much
the
more
certain to
discover
Hariti there, as, according to the evidence of Yi-tsing, the

portrait
of the goddess-mother of
demon sons (Kweitime (end of the
tseu-mu-chen)
was already
met with
in his
Vll"' century) to be
in the country. In fact,
under
this
same surname, pronounced Ki-si-mo-jin, she has
The BUDDHIST MADONNA

pushed her way much further
inspection of her
still,
287
as far as Japan.
A simple
modern images, whether representing her under her usual mask or, by a curious survival, in her proper guise as an ogress (pi. XLIX), will prove that the type has not, any more than the name, been so travestied
by the
local interpretation that
one can
hesitate as to
its
identity; even in the absence of any traditional designation,

it
could be divined simply from the child nestling in his

itself
mother's lap or walking by her side. In China

are not quite so simple,
matters
to have
and
new element seems
intervened to complicate the problem. Has the personality
of Hariti been engrafted upon that same native goddess
who, according to
fied
a certain interpretation,
had been identi-
with the Indian Bodhisattva, Avalokitecvara? Has she
simply been absorbed into the vogue of the feminine
forms of the
latter
and considered
as
one of the numerIt is
ous avatars of
decide,
his inexhaustible grace?
not for us to
any more than to unravel the origins of the cu-
rious legend
which tends to make of
Kuan-yin with a
child a virgin
who
we
is
mother only by adoption. But
what we
believe
can affirm, by reason both of the
fundamental identity of the worship offered and of the

exterior analogy of the iconographic types,
is
that
the
innumerable
statuettes, either seated or standing, in
which
is
the Great Mistress with the white robe... just because she
the patron of childless people,

in her arms,
is
represented with a child
which makes her strongly resemble the Vir)',
gin Mary (')
are only succedanea of the Indian
and Serind-
ian images of Hariti (pi. L). Finally, and consequentially,
we must
likewise recognize the latter under the exactly
(i)
De Groot,
Les felcs annudlcmcnt celihrccs a Htiioui (.\nn, du

182.
23
Musee
Guimet,
vol. XI), p.
288
THE BUDDHIST MADONNA.
similar features of the
Annamese Quan-Am, who,

in a
seated
on
a rock
and draped
child,
robe with wide
plaits,
bears in
her arms a
which has caused her to be surnamed by our soldiers the Holy Virgin (') .
V
This time the
ed, but
circle of
our pilgrimage of research
is
clos-
only
after
having embraced the whole of the Far
East.
We
see that the observation of the Christian analogy
of these images recurs like a refrain in the mouths of those
Europeans whose eyes have once lighted upon them. In

case the unanimity of the testimonies should run
some
risk
of impressing the reader, he will quickly reassure himselt
some Egyptian mummy were wakened from its secular sleep, it would not hesitate in the least to recognize in them replicas of Isis suckling Horus, whilst every modern Hindu would with the same certainty see in them Krishna in the arms of his mother D^vaki or of his nurse Yagoda. The type of the woman with a child, the
by reflecting
that, if
happy incarnation of the wishes of mothers and the natural

object of their worship, belongs, in fact, to
all
times,
if
not to
all
countries. Still there are distinctions to be
made.
Not everywhere do the same images personify

ideas,
far
the
same
from
it
did they
so, different civilizations

different
is
would nevertheless know them under

whole intention of
by restoring to
this
names.
The
the
short study
pi.
to assign to
heroine of the frontispiece and

tion
XLV
her authentic posi-
her, if possible, her
moral physionomy
and replacing her
in her milieu. Deified, as witness her halo;

;
a feminine divinity, as witness her forms goddess-mother,

(i) G.
DuMouTiKR, Les culUs
aniiamiles (Extract Iroin the
RevM
Indo'
Chinoise, 1906), p. 30 of the separate print.

as
289
witness her progeny
affiliated to
the Buddhist pantheon,
as witness the place in

gin, as
able,
which she was found; Indian by oriwitness her Gandharian prototypes; we have been
in the
idols,
without any shadow of violence, to include her
group of
and the cycle of legends, dedicated to the
ancient ogress of smallpox.
Of course,
:
she
is
shown
to us
dis-
only as transformed into a protectress of children and a

penser of fecundity to
women
fact.
from the very moment

is
when we
catch sight of her in India, this transformation
already an accomplished
In the last analysis, the best

rests,
it
verification of her identity
here as there, in her

for
this
entourage of urchins
trace of her past,
were
not
suspicious
which even
in her
subsequent dignity
not have been able
continues to cling to her,
we should
with absolute certainty to

Hariti, the
call
her by her Sanskrit

little
name
.
of
so-stybd
mother of the
demons
All taken into consideration,

at a precise
we believe that we thus arrive

:
and sure identification

is
and the interest of this

It
iconographic type
recalls, in fact,
thereby increased.
announces, or
its
congeners beginning with India,

its
father-
land, as far as Japan, the limit of
migrations, to say nodifficult to
thing of Java. Henceforward
it
would be
choose
a better illustration of the recently acquired
knowledge conart
cerning the progressive diffusion of Buddhist

out the Far East.
It
through-
was not
until
1900 that our public

VII"'
had a revelation of the existence in Japan, since the

century, of a religious art of the
human
.
figure
its
of what
origin
was formerly
was quickly
styled the grand art
That
was
to be sought in China, through the intermediacy of Corea,
by the photographs recently published by M. Ed. Chavannes (').

(i)
seen,
and can
easily to-day be verified
Ed. Chavannes, Mission
archeologique
dans
la
Chine septentrioitak,
Paris, 1909, pll.
CV-CCLXXXVH.
290

of the ancient Buddhist art of China are
The productions
those lately
in their turn connected in the
most evident manner with

German,
the
first
exhumed by
the Russian, English,
French, and even Japanese excavations in Turkestan. But

these latter had been
independently and from
connected, by a transition no less evident, with the works
of the Indo-Greek school of Gandhara. Thus, thanks to the
combined
efforts of the latest scientific
missions
in Asia,
we
have seen joined again the scattered links,
or, better, the
broken glimpses, which we already possessed of the long

chain of transmission.
last
The most important

series the
result of the
explorations will have been definitely to arrange before
our eyes in an uninterrupted
numerous images
it
which, escorting that of Buddha, followed

far as
in
procession as
the islands of the Rising
Sun or of the Southern

if
is
Seas. In this varied train of gracious or furious figures,
there
is
none more charming, neither

at
there any
it
more
re-
presentative , than that of Hariti, were
only because we
is
meet her
all those
each step on the road; and this
why, among
which have already been brought

first,
to the
museums
upon our
of Europe, this one, from the

notice.
forced itself
But
let
us not be misunderstood.
frail
We
do not
in the least
claim to base on the
support of this single image the
theory which hundreds of documents continue more and
more
to reinforce, the theory of the conquest of eastern Asia

art
:
by Indo-Greek
ally typical
we merely
Were we
in
say that
it
remains a sign-
example of
a part.
a historical
phenomenon whereof it
little
formed only
pressed a
it
further,
we
might even be willing to see

of a fact
still
an excellent illustration
more
general.
The
recent unification ot the art

fact,
of higher and lower Asia has, in
a correlative
in the
art
:
fundamental and long recognized unity of European

and now
have a
it
291
appears
more and more
clearly that the
two
common
source. If for a
moment we
disregard the
intrusion of the
art in the
Musalman Arabs,
its
the history of religious
ancient world, from the beginning of our era,

essential features
may
when reduced to
:
and excluding
be summed up somewhat in numerous local variations this manner on the decadent trunk of Hellenistic art were grafted in nearer Asia two vigorous young shoots,
of which one has been called Grêco-Buddhist, and the other
might
just as well be called Graeco-Christian. It is not for us
to ignore the fact that the latter has through Italy
and
Byzantium
realize
conquered the whole of Europe; but
we must
like
also that the former, growing and multiplying
the Indian fig-tree, has likewise gradually
won
over the
whole of Eastern
Asia.
And
thus,
from the islands of the
Atlantic to those of the Pacific,
humanity has by degrees
come
to pray only at the feet of
more or
less distant,
or less unsuspected offshoots of Greek
art.
But on the
more most
of
distant branches of this great evergreen tree never have
there burst forth flowers
more
regard
beautiful nor
to
more
full
resemblance,
if
not
in
the
moral perfume
which
in
they exhale, at least in regard to the material
form
which they array
themselves before
our
eyes, than
the
images. Christian and

if,
Buddhist, of the Madonna.

foresee,
Even
to the
as
we venture
to
the field
of
artistic
comparisons must
other,
habitually be
widened from one ocean

role
the most universally attractive
will
always revert to those figures which incarnate the maternal
and
in
some
cases at
the
same time
virginal
grace of the eternal feminine.
PLATE XLV
O.
pp. 285 6.
HARITI,
PL.
XLV
O]
PLATE XLVI
Cf. pp.
278-9.
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XLVI
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PLATE
XLVIII
Cf. pp. 141-3, 261, 283-4.
I.
Group, consisting of Pîicika and

a
It
Hiriti,
now
in the
Peshaw.ir
J.
Museuin, and reproduced from
photograph kindly lent by Dr.

B. in
Ph.
at
VoGEL.
India,
comes from the excavations made by Dr. D.
Spooner
Arch
Sahri-Bahlol, and has already been published by
him
In
Snrv.
Annual
Report,
1^06-7,
pi.
XXXII,
c.
his
hands,
both
(left)
broken, the genius of riches must have held (right) his lance and
the purse
which H^riu, apparently, was helping him to exhibit to the faithful (cf. pp. 141-3 and 283). In addition to the nursling of the goddess we see also around them five oth^r putti, whilst sixteen mjre play about on the pedestal.
gladdened cyts of the
II.
This photograph, taken by the author, represents only the
central part of the panel, with the
image of the goddess
(cf. pp.
264
phoIV,
and 284). For

727.
complete picture
J.
we may
have recourse
to the
tograph published by Dr.

1904,
p.
Ph. Vogel in the B.
F. E.
PL. XLVIII
1.
HARITI AND HER PARTNER IN
GANDHARA
2.
HARITI IN JAVA
PLATE XLIX
Cf. pp. 286-7.
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PL.
XLIX
O
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PLATE L
Cf. p. 287.
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INDEX
{Arabic numerah tejtr
to
pages,
Roman
to the descriptions
accompanying
the
vunibeted plates).
Abandonment of Home,
hhinishhramana
Great. See
Mahd-
AmarA,
story
of,
figured 50 (Barhut).
style of,
11.
Amaravati sculptures, elegant
Abhayavnidrd. Set MuJri.
railing
Stupa, Boro-liudur modelled

the, 209-10.
upon
Acacia
sirisa. See
Qrisha.
AgoKA, Bodhi-tree provided with
Buddha
Buddha's
figures
from
tlie,
der, 121,
by, 17, 102.

visited by, 23, io8.
date of, 116.

visit
to Bimbibira
Buddha lelics redistributed by, 78. Gandhara a frontier country un-
figured
on
the,
102.
the,

See
date of bas-reliefs on
190.
Ramagrama
romance
visited by, 23.
lour
Great Miracles figured

the, 73, 148, ii-iv.
of, at
Vidiâ 79.
on
Sduchi connected wiih, 78.
AfohlvadUna, passage in the, figured 79

(Sanchi).
Amba.
railing of (fragmentary), 4.
Shaddanta-jataka figured on
the, 39, 188,195-6, XXIX.
AgvAGHOsiiA. See Buddhacarita.
Mango.
of,
See Sutralamkara.
Ambrosia, Vase
gate
figured 91 (Sanchi).
Afvattha figured
on
tlie
of Sauchi
Amitabha
figured 256-7 (Boro-Budur).
94, 102, 104, 107.

See also Bodhi-tree.
figured
on head of Avalokitejvara
figured 256-7 (Boro
264 (Chandi Mendut).
Agathokles, coin of, described 126. Agnes, type of, in Jdtaka 49.
Ajaiita caves, date of frescoes of, 190.
Amoghasiddhi
dur).
Bu-
Ananda
;
incarnated
in
King of Benares
Great Miracle figured in the,

160 and n.
2.

AjAtacatru,
Alianishlba
162-5, xxi.
43 XIX (Sanchi). Anchorite. See Hermit.
Hariti figured in the. xlix.
Anda, part
ol Stiipa, 33.
of, figured
paintings (archaic) of the, 4.
Animals, Buddha in company

107 (Sanchi).
Shaddanta-jataka figured in
the,40, 188, 195-9, 199, XXIX.
visit
of, to
Buddha
highest
figured
Buddha's birth in form
of,
35.
throne formed of superposed, xxi

(Ajainil).
19, 179, n. 2 (Barhut).
heaven,
the
I.
<if
the
See
also
Antelope,
Buffalo,
Bull,
Rupadhdlu, 159, n.
Camel,
Crocodile,
Deer, Dog,
Akshobhya figured 267
(Batavia
Museum).
of,
Elephant, Hamsa, Horse, Lion,
256-7 (Boro-Budur).
126.
Alexander, Indian campaign
Alms-vase figured xxvii (Gandhara).
Monkey, Q.uail, Parrot, Peacock, Stag, Swan. Tortoise, Unicorn, Woodpecker.

24
294
Ankle-rings
(Sinchi).
THE BEGINNINGS OF BUDDHIST

worn by female
figure
ART,
&
See also
89
(GandiiSra), xxviii (Gandharal
Halo and Nimbus.

Avaddna-fataka,
Ankufa. See Elephant, goad for.
Maitrakanyakavadana ac2.
Annam,
Antagiri,
Hariti figure in, 287-8.
cording to the, 244, n.

at,
Bimbisara's
visit
to
Buddha
AvALOKiTEgvARA
figured 255, xxii (Boro-
figured loi (Sanchi).
Budur), xxiii (Ku4a).
Antelope, Buddha's birth as. See Kurungajitaka
pensive pose
statuette in
of,
xxv (Gandhara).
Batavia
Museum
267.
figured 97, 107 (Sanchi).
wanting in Gandhara sculptures,

also in
XXIX (Amaravati).
Tortoise, story of
Divy^vadana and Maha-
Woodpecker and
the, 40.
vastu, 177-8.
Axe, hermit's, figured 98.

Ayuh-samskdra-utsarjana localized at Vaicill
at
Antelope-horn. See Rishyagringa.

See also Deer.
149 D.
Antialkidas mentioned on column

dija 82.
ViBalconies figured 93 (Sanchi).
Antiquities, Indian, materials for Diction-
xxv (Gandhara).
loins. See Paryafi-
ary of, 80.
Balustrade. See Railing.
Arada
figured xxxvii (Boro-Budur).
Band round knees and

ka-bandha.
Ardmadiisaka-jdtaka narrated 44.
figured VI (Barhut).
Banner figured xxxv (Boro-Budur).

Barhut
railing,
Archer, Bu ddha's birth as. See Asadisa-jataka
remains
57.
of,
in
Calcutta
on the gate of Sinchi 93. Aristotle, Lay of, cited 48. Armourer, workshop of, figured 52 (Barfigured
hut).
Museum
sUipa,
Bodhi figured on
the, 102.
Arms,
dislocated,
of
Javanese
women
Buddha represented only by symbols on the, 75.

Buddha's Conception figured on the, 92. Buddha's figure wanting on
the, 117.
figured 245-6 (Boro-Budur).
Arrow, making
of,
described 52.

of, 10.
Art, Buddhist, abstract character of, 14.
ceremonial occasions
conflicting
Buddhas, seven
gured on
traditional,
fi-
tendencies
in
ancient school of, 18.
the, 72.
Buddhist Heaven figured on

the, 72.
developement
school
of
ancient
of, 17, 25-6.
Gandharian.
routine
See
Gandhira.
I.
date of, 34, 190.

Elipatra's visit to
Buddha
fi-
origin of. See Essay
gured on
Ascetic,
the, 19.
procedure
of an-
Great Miracle figured on the,

178-180, XXVIII.
cient, 17.
Asadisa-jdtaka narrated 56.
jJtakas
figured
II,
on
the.
See
Buddha's birth
sataka- jataka
as.
See
ArSmadd-
Essay
V, VI.
figured
saka-jataka, Bhisa-jitaka,Camma-
Shaddantajataka
the, 39,
on
on
Dabbhapuppha
ji-
184,
194 6, XXIX.
figured
taka, Dfibhiyamakkata-jitaka.
Vi^vantara-jitaka
the, 57.
Su
Ar4da, Brahman, Hermit.

to, figured 5
AsiTA Buddlia's presentation

(Amaravati).
Atlantes figured
Kinnaras figured on
the, 242.
monks not
tions
figured
on
the, 76.
xxv (Gandhira).
(Ta-t'ong-fu),
scenes identified by inscrip-
Aureoles figured xxi
xxv
on
the, 68.
INDEX
Barhut stupa, sculptures
Bark-garments,
ot,
295
mentioned
in
followed a
liv-
BimbisAra
story of
Ru-
ing tradition 58.
clriyana 232 sqq.
Brahmanical, figured
on
Birds figured 100, 107 (Sanchi).
the gate ofSanchi 97.
Earth, A., scene

fied
at
Boro Budur identi-
XXV, on
roof,
(Gandhara).
XXXIV (Boro-Budur).
XLIV (Chandi Mendut).
of,
by, 269 n.
Barygaza. See Bhiruka.

Baskets figured at Barhut, 50.
Bas-reliefs,
Bloch, D'Th., view

of bull in Lahore
at
concerning figure
21 n. 2.
Museum
composition
of,
Sinchl,
of
altar
BoccACio, Rishyajrifiga-jataka transposed

by, 48.
compared
with
that
scenes of Middle Ages, 83.

passim.
Bodh-Gaya, signacula from, See also Mahibodhi.
12.
Batavia
Museum,
sculptures in the,
2669.
Bodhi,
emblem of
the,
employed
for
mi-
Beal, Rev. S., conversion of Ka^yapas

identified by,
76 (Sanchi).
miraculous
racles of the second rank 19.
figured 16, 77, 103, 108 (Sanchi),
view
of,
concerning
102 (Barhut), iv (Gandhara and
trees, 72.
Amaravati), XIX (Sarnath).

represented by
148, n. 2.
Beasts. See Animals.

Bells figured xliv (Chandi Mendut). Belt of jewelry, worn by female, figured
throne under tree
temple, miracles related by Hiuantsang concerning the, 24, n.

i.
89 (Sanchi) Benares, Great Miracle figured

2.
at,
181-
tree at
Bodh-Gaya
king
of, see
Ruru-jataka.
Agoka's
visit to the, 23,
108.
Buddha
figured under the, 26
sculptures from, iv.

sign.icula from, 12.
See also Mrigadiva, Sarnath.
at,
(Gandhara).
Buddha symbolized by, 19-20.

Buddhas, seven
bolized
last,
each sym-
Besnagar, Anoka's romance
79.
by
his special, 72, 104
Besom.
See Rajoharana.
(Sanchi).
in,
Bestiaria,
Unicorn story
48.
figured
72,
102 (Barhut and
Bhadra-gbata. See Vase, Lottery.

BballdtUa-jdtaha. See Kinnara-jataka.
Sanchi), 89, 90, 102 (Sanchi), 178 (Barhut), i (on

coins),
rivati).
II
Bharhut. See Barhut.
(Sanchi and
Ama-
Bharukaccha. See Bhiruka.

Bhilsa, Sanchi stupa near, 63.
railing built
17-
by Aôka round,
Bhiru, Minister of Rudrayana, figured 238

(Boro-Budur).
Bhiruka, foundation
of,
Tishyarakshita's attempt
the, 108,
upon
240.
Bhisa-jdiaka narrated 45-6.
Bodhisattva figured (?) 162, n. 2 (Ajanta),
Bh6pal,
Begum
of, offers
gate of Sanchi
255 (Boro-Budur), 263-4 (Chandi
siflpa to
France 62.
of, in Batavia
Bhrikoti-TAra, image
Mu-
ra),
Mendut), xv andxvi (GandhaXXII (Boro-Budur), xxili
seum
267.
(Kuda), xxvii and xxviii (Gandhara,
Bignonia flower figured 86 (Sanchi).
XXXV (Boro-Budur).
Suaveolens SeeVktiW.
visit of, to
102
See also Siddhartha, Avalokite^vara,
BiMBiSARA,
Buddha, figured 77,

to,
Maitreya, Mafijugri.
Bodhisatlvdvaddnakalpalaid
,
101 (Sanchi).
visit
Boro - Budur
of
Buddha
figured
sculptures in conformity with the,

22';
(Amaravati).
6.
296
THE BEGINNINGS OF BUDDHIST ART, &

,
Bodlnsattvdvaddna'kalfiahitd
Maitrakanyaka
Brahman, bark garments

(Sanchi).
of,
figured
97
story according to the, 244 n. 2.
Mandhatravadana according
225
n. I.
to the,

British
figured
97
(Sanchi), 218
(Boro-
Budur),
XXV (Loriyan-Tangai),
Book, emblem of Brahma 175; ofMafljugri 255 (Boro-Budur).
XXXIV, XXXVII, XL (Boro-Budur).

headdress of See Chignon.
figured
XXVII, xxviii (Gandhara)-
hermitage
Budur).
figured
xxxvii (Boro-
L (China).
Boro-Budur,
artistic defects of,

at,
207-8.
n.
inferior to Kshatriya according
to
conservation work
206
the Buddhists, 54.
designed as
stupa modelled upon
music of
the, 48.
Amaravati Stupa 209-10.

Guide
to,
Su
also
Arada, Asila.
by
J.
Groneman,
at,
215.
Brishl. See Mat.
Great Miracle figured

jitakas at. Essay VIII.
xxii.
Museum,
signacula in the, 11.
Broach. See Bhiruka.

i,
original plan of, 208 n.
215.
Buddha, almsbowl
(Gandhara).
of,
worshipped
xv
sculptures, artistic merits of, 212-3.
Bodhisattvavadanakalpafollowed by the, 225-6.

characteristics
birth of, figured 21 n.
(later Stelae
i
lata
of Benares), 70 n.
in (Gandhara and
IV
(Sanchi),
(crowded
of
Amaravati),
scenes,
avoidance of scenes
(Gandhara and Benares), xix

(Sarnath).
violence, failure in individuality,
bookish character) of 250-4.

edifying scenes
Bodhi
symbolized 20-1
vati), 21
of. See
(Amara-
empha-
(Buddhist coins).
sized on, 227.

insipid
in,
Bodhi.
scenes figured
248-9.
arrange-
castes in relation to, 53.
conception
in
of,
figured 92 (Sdnchi),
Pradakshina
(Gandhara and Amaravati).

of. See of,
ment
10 be
of, 214-5.
death
Parinirvana.
See
photographed 248. situation, form and dimensions of,

205, 206-7.
descent
from heaven.
De-
vavatara.
Dharmacakrapravartana
of.
See
view
of,
xxxi, xxxn, xxxiii.
Dharmacakra.
Bowls of viands figured 235 (Boro-Budur).
elephant tamed by, at Rajagriha,

150.
farewell of,
nares).
to
Boy, golden, figured l (China)
Chandaka
iv (Be-
Boys playing a game figured on

ting from Central Asia 273-4.
Bracelets
a pain-
worn by
female
figure
89
figure, artistic value of the, 136-7.
composition of the, consisting of
(Sanchi).
monk and
prince,
BrahmA figured 96
(S.'inchi),
162 and n. 2.
(Ajanta), xv (Kanishka casket),
150-4.
created
by sculptors of N.
India 24.
XIX (Sarnath), xxiv (Gandhara).
W.
heaven
of,
figured
71,
92,
103
date
of. in
Amaravati 116,
115,
(Sanchl).
Burmah
in inscription
115,
Cambodia
Java
115,
Brahmamitra mentioned
(Bodh-GayA).
Ceylon 115-6, China 115, Gandhara

1
17-8,
Maga-
Brahman
ascetic. See
Cammas^taka-jdtaka,
dha 116, Mathura

116,
116, S4rn4th
44.
Siam
115, Tibet 115.
INDEX
Buddha
figure declared impossible in texts
18.
297
BuDHA, mother of. See M4ya. Naga of Swat river converted by,
embodies
ideals of
Olympian
h:i
122.
and Mahapuru
134-5.
the,
Greek characteristics of
1
19-120.
Parinirvana
of. See Parinirviria.
portrait statues of, 82-83.
Greek origin of the, Essay IV.

Indo-Greek type
oldest
of, 7.
preaching of, to the 35 gods, figured 165 n. I (Ajanta).
Questions
of, to
âriputra 163 n.
descriptions
of
the,
(Ajant4).
relics of,
119.
deposited in eight Sanc-
oroitted in scenes 4.
tuaries, 147; in
Kanishka casket
figured 78 (SSn-
omitted
at
Barhut 117.
of,
129, 130.
Padmasana posture
proved
255 n.
relics of,
war
of,
painted on cloth 234.
chl).
by Kanishka casket
i" Cen129-130.
that
Renunciation of Life by. See Ayuhsamskara-utsarjana.
to belong to the
tury B. C.
related
return
of,
to
Kapilavastu, figur-
to
of
Christ
ed 93 (Sanchi).
squire of. See
155-6, XVI.
said
Chandaka.
figured iv
tobea
portrait 82-3, 259.
seven steps
res).
of,
(Bena-
tonsure omitted from the,

152-5.
of,
statue of, sandal
wood, 24
n. i.
figured
uniformity
112-3,
114.
symbolized
19. 75.
at
Sanchi and Barhut,
n6
I
n.
(Turfan, Khotan),
128 (on coin of i" century A.D),

172 n.
(Takht-i-Bahai),
BuDDHAS
preceding
âkyamuni
72
figured
254-
xxvi (Mahomed Nari).
62 (Boro-Budur), 265 (Chandi Mendut), xi (Gandhara), xv (Kanishka casket), xvi (Gandhdra),
seven
last,
symbolized
(San-
chi and Barhut), 104 (Sanchi).
thousand,
at
Murtuk and the Great
XX
(Ajanta), xl, xliu (Boro-Bu-
Miracle 160 n. 2.
See also
dur).
footmarks
of,
in (Amarivati).
of, hinted at
Qkhin, Ka^yapa, Kanakamuni, Krakucchanda, Prabhutaratna,
Four Promenades
(Sinchi);
Budur).
107
Ratnasambhava,
Vi^va-
figured
xxxi
(Boro-
bhu, Vipa^yin.
Buddhacarila,
Great Miracle described in
Gandhara
by, 122.
said to have been visited
the, 158.
Buddhism
of. See
in
GandhSra, history
Essay
I.
of,
121-5.
Great Departure
nishkramana.
Mahabhi-
Buddhist
art, origin of.
monuments abundant
dhara 124.
in
Gan-
hair cut off by, jewels abandoned
by, 132.
Hirit! converted by, 122.
Buffaloes figured 97-107 (Sanchi).
BiJHLEB, G.,
Sanchi inscriptions studied

.
horse
of. See
Kanthaka.
Bull,
by, 66 n
life of, life
in successive births 35.
symbol of Buddha's
I.
Birth, 21 (coins),
of, 115.
of.
Mahabhinishkramana
bhinishkramaiia.
5eMahaat
Bulls
with
human
faces
figured
107
(Sanchi).
to,
monkey's
150.
oflfering
Vaiâli
BtJRGESS, J., frescoes at Ajarita described by, 162-165, XX.
2?8
Burgess,
J.
,

photograph communicated by,
ART,
&
Long-men and
115.
Chavannes,
E., caves of
IV, XXVI.
Ta-t'ong-fu
in, 115.
described by,
Burraah, Buddha type not original
167 n.
I.
Caila, nun, figured 234-5, xxxviii (BoroBudur).

Cai7rai, Eight Great,
Chinese statue interpreted by,

photograph furnished by, xxi.
Shaddanta-jataka
translated
L.
from
2,
147;
Hymn
to the,
Chinese texts by, 188 and n.

190.
147 n. 2.
(,;akra.
5Indra.
Cakravartin, Seven Jewels of a, 227.
Chignon, Brahmanic, figured 97, 175 and n. 2, xxv-vi(Gandhara),xxxiv, xxxvii

104
Qdla
tree,
symboHzing
Vi^vabhfl,
(Boro-Budur).
Child figured 139-40 (Gaul), 141 -2 (Gan-
(Sinchi).
Calcutta
museum, remains of Barhut
rai-
dhJra).
ling in the, 57.
Children, goddess
original in,
of. 5i;Haritl. in, 115.
Cambodia, Buddha figure not

115.
China, Buddha figure not original
Hariti figure in, 286-7.
Camel
figured 87 (Sdnchi). Cammasdlaka-jdlaka narrated 44. Campaka (Ndgapushpa) flower figured 88
Christ figure based on Lateran Sophocles
136.
related
to
that of
Buddha
(Sinchi), xxii-iil (Boro-Budur).
155-6, XVI.
Christian
art, Hellenistic
Cakdragupta, Gandhira ceded by Seleukos to, 121.
origin of, 290-1.
juxtaposition
in, 83.
of
incidents
CandraprabhA,
queen,
figured
235,
xxxviii-ix (Boro-Budur).
symbols
employed
by,
in
Cankrama figured 93 (Sanch!). symbolizing Buddha 19 (Sanchi).
Catacombs 82. Qhi'jdtaka figured 2301, xxxvi

Budur).
(Boro-
Canoe
figured 100 (S^nchi).
Canvas, painting on, 274-5.

Capitals, decorations of,
localized in
Gandhara, 123.
of
86 (Sanchi).
Qkhandin, son
Rudrayana,
figured
Iranian, 87, 91 (Sanchi).

to, figured 163, n.
Cariputra, questions
(Ajanta).
235-7 (Boro-Budur). ÎKHIN symbolized by

(Sanchi)
CiivcA,
PundarJka,
104
Casket from Kanishka stupa figured xv.

Caste;, Bodhisattva and the, 53.
calumny
tree
of, at ^ravasti 185.
Qirliha
symbolizing
Krakucchanda
Catacombs, symbols employed by Christian artists of the, 82.
104 (Sanchi).
Civilization of India represented
on Sanchi
Caves, Buddhist. Sft Ajanta, Ta-t'ong-fu.
sculptures 80.
Ceylon, Buddha figure

115-6.
not original
in,
Cloud figured xliv (Chandi Mendut). Cluny museum, signacula

Cock, Buddha's
jataka.
in the, 11.
Chaddanta-jdtaka. See Sha4danta-j''.
birth
as.
See
Kukkuta-
Chair figured 144 (Gaul
and
India).
Chandak\, Buddha's
(Sanclill,
III
squire,
figured 105
Coins, Indo-Greek, described 125-8.
(Gandhira
and
Amard-
vdti), IV (Benares).
Spooner
figured XIV.
punch-marked, discussed by D. B.
14, 21 n. 2.
Chandi Mendut,
HSriti figure from, 283-4.
Chariot
images
in the, 262-6.
figured 93, 100 (Sinchi), (Barhut), xxxvi (Boro-Budur).

cathedral, carvings
178
Columns, Persepolitan or Corinthian, figured XXV (Gandhara). supported by Atlantes xxvi (Gan-
Chanres
on
the, 61.
dhira).
INDEX
Columns.
See also Capitals.
299
Conception,
Buddha's,
represented
20
Demetuios, coin of, 126. Demi-gods figured 71 (Sdnchi).

Departure, Buddha's
Great.
See
(Amarivati, Barliut, Sinchi).
Mahd-
Concli figured 93 (Sanclit).

Corintliian
bhinishkramana.
columns xxv (GandiiJra).

figured
xvii
DEVADATrA, monkey incarnation

xvin
of, 43-4.
i
Cornucopia
(Gaul),
Devdvaldra figured 163 (Ajaina), 163 n.

(Barhut), xix (Sarnath).
(Gandliara).
unclean in India 142.
localized at
Kanyakubja
(Fa-t'ien),
Court scenes figured xxxvi-ix (Boro-Budur).
Kapitha (Hiuan-tsang), or Safika5ya
(Divyavadina and Fa-hien)

I.
^rivastl, Buddha's birth as son of citizen

of,
149 n.
54.
Dharmacahapravartana
confused with
n. 1.
Cinc&'s calumny at, 183.

figure
(personified) of, 175,
Great Miracle 169

xxvii
figured 16 (Sanchi), iv
(Gandhara).
figured 239 (Boro-Budur).
77
n.
i
(Gandhira and Amaravati), xix (Sarnath). symbolized by wheel 148 n. 2, 11.

king, figured
Great Miracle
at.
See Essay VI.
Dhoti figured 85, 89, XL (Gandhara).
Jetavana scenes figured
Dhritarashtra, Gandharva
85 (Sanchi).
(Sanchi). See Jetavana.
Sundari's assassination
at,
183.
Dhydni-Buddha figured256 /(Boro-Budur).
<^Kl (?) figured
70 and
n. i,
88 (Sanchi).
Crocodile figured 100 (Sanchi).
images
Sec
in Batavia
museum
267.
CuDDHODANA, departure
of,
from Kapila-
Akshobhya, Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi, Ratnasambhava, 'Vairocana.
vastu figured 93 (Sanchi). Cuirass figured xxxvi (Boro-Budur).
CundA QuNGA
figured 264.5, 266, xliv (Chandi
Dion, father of Heliodoros, 82. Disc figured 227-8 (Boro-Budur).

Divydvaddna,
Avalokite^vara and Manju-
Mendut).
dynasty mentioned in Barhut
in-
^ri
wanting
;n the,
78.
scription 4, 34.
extracts of Mftla-Sarvastivadin 'Vi-
Cupid garland-bearers figured xv (Kanishka casket), xxv CGandhara).
naya
in the, 151 n. 2, 223, 253.
followed
by
sculptors
of
Boro-
QvETAKETU
figured
xxxiv (Boro-Budur).
Qydma-jdtahi figured 74 u. 2 (S4nchi). localized in Gaiidh4ra 123.
Budur 223-4,223-6, 253.

Great Miracle narrated in the, 151,
173-
^yAmAea, companion of Mahakaiyayana^

Great Miracle described as necessary act of
Buddha
and
I.
by, 151.
First
groups together Birth, Bodhi,

Preaching
Dabhhapuppha-jdtaka narrated 44-5.
Death of Budnarrated
in
Davids, T.
Dancers figured 91 (Sanchi). W. Rhys, Twin Miracle
dha 148
as
n.
Maitrakanyaka
the,
story
viewed by, 157.

Decorative motifs at Sanchi 69, 85-90. hard to distinguish from
244 n. 2. Mandhatar story narrated

225-30.
Paficika
in
the,
Buddhist scenes
84.
named
in the,
174 n.
in
imported
81-2.
from
Persia
artisans
Rudrdyaiia story narrated
the,
by Iranian
231-40.
Dog
TwinMiracle narrated
in the, 156-9.
Deer
figured xxix (Amaravati).
See also Antelope, Gazelle.
Dog-tooth ornament xxv (Gandhara).
500
Domestic
chi).
life,

scenes from, 80, 95 (S4n-
ART,
&
European
by, 50.
literature,
borrowing from India

of
Domoko,
Hariti figure
from, 285-6.
67.
Existences, previous,
taka.
Buddha.
Su
J4-
Donors to Sanchi stupa nained Dragon figured l (China).
Driver of chariot figured 93 (Sanchi). Drum figured 93 (Sanchi).
Fahien, Great Miracle notnarrated by, 183.
Fan
Mahacaitya at
185 n.
Qravasti
seen
by,
Druma,
Kinnara
king,
figured
221-2
(Boro Budur).
Fairy. See Yaksha.
Du Hamel,
Constant, story of, 49.
figured 95 (Sanchi),
xxxv (Boro-Bu-
Di'tbhiyamakhata -jdlaha narrated 43-4.
dur).
Dvdrapdla figured 71
(Sanclii), xlii
(Boro-
Fa-t'ien, Great Miracle associated with Je-
Budur).
Dxang-loun^
Great
Miracle
narrated in
tavana by, 149 n. 2. Feer, L., Shaddantn-jataka discussed by,

187, 193 n. I. Fell, Capt., Sanchi stupa visited by, 63.
the, 161 n. 2.
Earrings figured 89 (Sanchi), 144. Edification, increasing, as test of date in

religious tales, 191-2.
Fergusson'
J.,
view
of,
concerning Indian
sculptures and texts 186.
Ficus glomerata. Set Udurabara.
EKAgRiNGA.
Elapatra,
(Barhut).
See Rishyafringa.
figured 19
indica. See
religiosa.
Nyagrodha.
A^vattha.
visit of, to
Buddha
as,
Su
Fig tree. See Bodhi-tree,

37-39, 186.
of,
Elephant, Buddha's birth
Fire cauldron figured 98 (Sanclii).
Buddha's
conception in form
(Barhut), 86,
165,
Fishes in pond figured xxviii (Gandhara).

Flagstaff figured
figured 92 (Barhut
figured 45
and Sanchi),
88,
n.
90 (Sanchi)
of,
90,
i
Florence, baptistery of, scenes on the, 83.
97
(Sanchi),
164
Flowers,
garlands
dhara).
xxiv-xxv
(Gan-
(Ajanta),
2278, 254 (Boro-Bu-
dur), XIX (Sarnath), xxviit (Barhut), XXIX (Barhut

vati),
rain of, xxil (Boro-Budur),
xxiv,
and AmaraXXX (Karamar hill and

86 (S.inchi).
XXVIII (Gandhara).
Ajanta).
Flute figured 93 (Sanchi). Fly-fiapper figured, 93, 105 (Sanchi), >;ix
goad
for, figured
(Sarnath),
xxi
(Ajanta),
xxii,
savage, tanned by
six-tu.';ked. See
Buddha
150.
xxviii (Boro-Budur), xxix

ravatl),
2.
(Ama165
Shaddanta-j.itaka.
xxxv (Boro-Budur).
as,
symbolizing Buddha's birth 20 n. symbolizing Buddha's

21,
I.
holders,
Brahma and Indra

See i^n.
conception
(Ajanta), 168 (Western India).
Fortune, Indian.
zed 202, n.
I.
wild, figured 88 (Sanchi).
Francis, H., Jataka translation by,
critici-
Erp, Major van, Boro-Budur conservation
work under, 206
n. i, xxxi.
Fresco painting. See Painting.
Boro-Budur drawings executed by,

210.
Ganda, Gandamba,
152, n. I.""
as
name
of gardener,
photograph communicated by, xxxii,

XLIII, XLIV.
Gandhara
art,
Greek details
Greek origin
from, date
of, of,
EspSrandieu, E., stereotypes lent by,xvii.
Buddha
145-6.
145-6.
190.
work
of,
on
Gallic bas-reliefs 139 41.

tree.
bas-reliefs
of,
Eugenia jambu. See Jarabu
said to
have
visited, 122.
EuKRATiDES
revolts against Demetriosi26.
Buddhism
in, history of, 121-5.
INDEX
Gandhara, Buddliist monuments numerous
in, I24-S-
301
Genius, flying, figured xxiii (Magadha and

Kucia),
See also
xxvii-viii
(Gandhara),
ceded by Seleukos to Candragupta,

121.
Yaksha
Getty, Henry H., pliotographs communicated by, XLIX.

Girl, Jade, figured L (China).
in
cities of, 118.
columns
Corinthian or Persepoli-
tan style in, xxv.
conversion
frontier
of,
by Madhyantika 122
Goat figured 87 (Sinchii. Gods, Fifteen, figured xl (Boro-Budur).
country under A?oka, 121

in, 125-8.
Go
Thirty-three, Buddha's preaching to

the, 19, 163 n. I.
Greeks
Hariii story localized in, 122
who
dispose
of the
creations
ol
jataka scenes rare in, 26.

jalakas localized in, 123.
themselves and others. 92.

idess figured
xxxix (Boro-Budur).
legendary scenes numerous
in, 26.
Gold, shower
of, figured
228 (Barhut).
Madhyantika apostle
monasteries (looo;
of,
122. 125.
Goldsmith
by, IV.
fifûied
246 (Boro-Budur).
Maiiayana flourishing
of,
in,
GoLOUBEW, v., photogiapli communicated

Gopa. See Yajoda.
124.
Hiihyaijrii'iga-jatnka localized in, 48.
sculptures from,
iii,
xv, xvi, xviii,
GosANZE, Japanese name of Trailokyavijaya (q

v.), 268.
XXIV-VIII, XXX, XLVII.
Shaddanta-jataka
188, 193-6.
figured
in,
39,
Greek coins 126-8, figured xiv.
~
commonly worshipin,
influence on art at Sanchi 82.
Tutelary Pair

ted
invasion of India and influence in
ped and figured
141-2, xvili,
Gandhara 125
dhist art
8. late
See
Karamar Hill, Kharkia, Mekha-Sandha, Peshawar, Sahrialso
source of Christian and
Bud-
Bahlol, Takht-i-Bahai, Taxila.
290 I Gridhrakuta, Saddharmapundatika associawith the, 149 n. 2.

J.,
Gandliarvas as Jecorative figures 85 (Sanchi).
Griffiths,
Shaddanta-jalaki fresco des-
king of the. See Dhritarashlra.

story
of.
cribed by, 195
Gardener,
jataka.
See
Aramadusaka-
Griffons figured 94 (Sanchi).
Groneman,
Guide
to
Boro Budur by,

verified
a.
at
2,
Gargoyles for carrying off water xxxi (BoroBudur).
215.
170-2,
Maitrakanyaka- jataka
Garland as decorative motif, 85 (Sinchi).
Boro-Budur by, 215 anJ

243-4.
figured
172
n.
(Takht-i-
Bahai),
xxiv-vi,
XXVIII
(Gan-
dhdra), xxviii (Barhut).

--
Grouping of sculptured scenes 77. Grunwedel, a Buddhist heavens detec,
serpentine, in sculpture, 34.

rain
of,
ted in sculpture by, 71.
Garments,
figured
228,
xxxvi
frescoes of
Murtuk reproduced by,

figures
1.
(Boro-Budur).
Garuila figured 107 (Sanchi).
160 n.
2.
Maitrakanyaka
by, 244 n.
compared
xviii.
Gate of Sanclii stupa described 65. Gaul, Tutelary Pair in. See Essay V, xvii.
Gazelle figured iv (Gandhira and
vati),
photograph communicated bv,
Amara-
sculptures at Sanchi identified by,
XIX (Sarnath).
See also
Antelope and Deer.
71, 76. Guarriians of sanctuary. See DvarnpAla.
General figured 227-8 (Boro-Budur).
Guides, Mess of the, Gandhara sculptures

in, 119, XI.
Genius figured 71, 80 (Sanchi).
24*
302

stu la
ART,
93
&
Guimet Museurr, Sanchi

in the, 92.
moulding
Herald fii'ured
(Sanchi), 229 (Boro-
Budur)
Guitar, boy playing, figured 274.
Hermit figured 80, 98 (Sanchi).
See also Ararla,
Ascetic,
Brahman,
xxxvii
Halaka, a hunter, 218 Halo of Buddhas 172.
9.
Kaipvapa.
Hermitage,
Brahraanic,
figured
figured 175 n.
See also
xxvi (GandhJra). Aureole, Nimbus

i,
(Boro Budur).
life
of a, figured
."^cene in
98 (Sanchi).
Hamsa-jdlaka figured 37 (Barhut). Hariti, the Buddhist Madonna, 279-gi
Himalaya,
the, 219,
converted
figure
by
BuJdha
122,
280
283-'(.
HiRU, minister of Rudrayana, 238-40. Hiruka, foundation of, 240.
from Chandi Mendut,
HiUAN-TSANG, Gandhara monasteries

mated
at
I
esti-
Domoko 28>-6. Annam 287-8.

China 286-7.
Japan 287. universally found
in
000
by. 124.
Bud-
Great Miracle disregarded by, 183.
Mahacaitya
183 n.
at
(^ravasti
seen
by,
dhist countries 290.
Rishya^rii'iga story related
by, 48.
Vajrasana statue described by, 25960.
figured frontispiece
(Yar-Khoto),
(Japan),
XLV (Domoko)
(Gandhara),
(China).
XVIII ,XLVII,XLVIII
xlix
Ho[ieysuckle figured 87, 89 (Sanchi). Horse, Buddha's. See Kaiithak.i.
in all Indian
images
of,
monaste-
figured 95 (Sanchi), 163 (Ajanta), 227-8 (Boro -Budur). XXVIII (Barhut),
ries
^
282.
originally
281.
xxxvi (Boro-Budur).
148
described
by Yi-tsing
of
HuBER,
symbolizing Great Departure

n. 2,
I.
an ogress, goddess
of
Hoti-Mardan, Gandhara statues
in.
119.
smallpox, 142,280-1, XLIX.
E., Divyavad.ina traced to
Mula-
reminiscence
worship
of,
in
Sarvastivadin Vinayaby, 151, 223
Gandhara 122, 282.

See also
Tutelary Pair.
147 n.
2.
n 2,253. Ldhasudatta and

by, 174 n,
I.
his wife discussed
Harmikd, part of stupa, 53. Harp figured 49 (Barhut).
Harsha Qladitya, poem

220-1.
ot,
Roruka localized by, 238 n 2. Rudrayana story analysed by, 231-2.

Sutralamkara (Chinese) in 10 chapters
Hastinapura, capital of northern Pancala,
noted by, 200
Hayagriva, image
267.
of, in
Batavia
Museum
Humboldt, W. von. Uhyani Buddhas detected at Boro-Budur by, 256.

Hut, Brahmanical, figured 97 (Sanchi).
Idolatry.
Head
dress,
Brahmanical.
See
Chignon.
(S4n-
Heaven, Akanishtha. See Akanishtha.
Buddhist,
chi),
figured
71,
91
Buddhism not originated

lieu hostile to, 9
in
mi-
72 (Barhut).
Descent from. See Devivatira.

Kdmiivacara, figured 103 (Sanchi).
iMara's, figured
not mentioned in
Veda
Idols
9.
rare in ancient India 8
92 (Sanchi).
Vidiâ, 82.
mentioned by
carved
Indian,
Patai'ijali
Hell,
9
Idolatry.
Tushita
See Tushita.
of, at
Images,
anthropomorphic.
at Sanclii 69,
See
Heliodoros, column
town
of,
figured 246-7 (Boro-Bu-
discussed
by Dr.
Konow
dur).
n. 3.
INDEX
Indian
art,
life,
303
history ol ancient scliool of, 18.

details of, illustrated
Jdtaka Kapota See Kapota".
by sculp-
Kinnara.5ie Kinnara".
tures 29.
Kukkula. Sre Kukkuta".

Kuruiiga. See Kurunga".
Indra, Buddha visited by, 19 (Barhut). figured 96 (S4nch!), 162 and n.

(Ajanta), 170 n. 2,
Mahdjanaka, See Mahajanaka".
175 n. 2 (in
Mahakapi. See Mahakapi".
Great Miracle), 177 (in Devavatara), 179 (Barhut),
monkey.
pigeon.
See
Mahakapi".
229-30, 232
5(;(;
Kapota".
(Boro-Budur), iv (Benares), xv
(on Kanishka casket), xix (Sarnath), XXIV (Gandhara).
quail. See Latukika".
Rishya^rinjja. See Hishyaijringa".
Kuru. See Ruru".

Shaddanta. See Shaddanta".
stag. See
heaven
of,
figured
91
(Sanchi).
steals ascetics'
food 46.
in
at
Ruru".
Indramitra mentioned
inscription
Bodh-Gaya
SS-
4.
at,
swan. See Hamsa". Temiya. See Temiya".

Unicorn. See Rishyagriiiga".
Vi^vantara. See Viijvantara".
Vidiiura. See Vidhura".
Indraprastha, Vidhura-jataka localized
Inscriptions
34,
92
(Barhut),
66,
86
San-
(Sanchi).
Ionic capital, volute of, imitated
chi 87.
at
Jdtukas at Barhut. Sec Essay II.
figured
23
(Barhut and
Sanchi),
40 (Barhut), v-vi (Barhut).

nature of the, 30
rarely figured in
Iranian artisans in India 82.
Isis
capitals
on gate of Sanchi g
Gandhara 26.
influence in Indian art 69, 87, 91.
Jdlaka book, age of verses and prose, 189-
suckling Horus, images of, 288.
Ivory-carvers of Vidiâ 67,

Jackal and otters, story of the. See Dabbha-
90, 196-7, 201-6.
Great Miracle in Introduction

152 and n.
i.
to,
Maitrakanyaka story compared with

the, 244 II. 2. Mandh4travadana
puppha-jitaka 44-5.
Jain
monk (Digambara)
tree
at
figured 16} (Ajan-
compared with
tA)
the, 225 n.
I.
Jambu
Kapilavastu
figured
106
not complete 58.
(Sanchi).
Java,
TwinMiracleinIntroiluctionto,i5
5.
Janmacitraka, the naga, 218.

Japan, Hariti figure in, 287.
Jdtaka, antelope. See Kuruhga-jataka.
Jdtakamdlu,
Twin
Miracle in the, 155.

115.
Buddha
figure not original in,

in, 205.
of,
Aramadusaka.
Set-
Arama".
Buddhist art
Buddhist images
of India 269.
resemble those
Asadisa. See Asadisa",

Bhallatiya. See Kinnara".
routes followed by Indian civilization to, 283.
Bhisa. See Bhisa.
--
Cammasataka,
gihi. See Qibi".
See
.
Cammasataka".
5s(!alsoBataviJ,
BoroBudur, Chandi
Mendut.
Jetavana,
cock. See Kukkuta".
Great Miracle not localized in

the, 149
Dabbhapuppha SscDabbhapuppha".
DCibhiyamakkata. See Dijbhiyamakkala".
and n
2.
Great
Miracle
in
represented
by
i.
wheel
front of the, 180 n.
elephant. See Kakkata", I.alukika",

ShacKlanta".
Mahaprajiiaparamiia
with the, 149 n.
2.
i.
associated
Hamsa.
5ee
Hamsa".
scenes in the, 77 n.
304

Buddha
divests himself of his, 106.
ART,
&
at,
Jewels, belt of, figured 89 (SSnchi).
Kapilavastu. See also Lumbini.
Kapitha, Devavatara localized
149.
figured 227-8
(BoroBudur).
art
seven, of a cakravartin 227.
Kapoia-jdtaka figured 37 (Barhut). Karamar hill, Shaddanta-jataka figured at,

74,
Juxtaposition
of incidents in
83
XXX
Karli.
(Buddhist and Christian), 98 (Sanchi).
Great Miracle confused with Dharat,
Jyotipala, vydkaranaof,figuredxxvi(Gandhara).
macakrapravartana
169 n.
i.
Karma, law of, 3 Kau?4mbi, Buddha

1
portrait statue at. 259.

of,
KAgvAPA, conversion
100 (Sanclii).
of,
figured 76, 97,
Khara
unimportance
gend, 149.
in
Buddhist
le-
Buddha
figured xxvi
fGandhara).
village
mentioned
in
Rudrayana
symbolized by Nyagrodha
story 238.
tree 104 (Sanchi). Kakanada. See Sanchi.
Kharkai, Buddha head from, xi.
King figured 100 (Sanchi), 232, xxxvi-xl

(BoroBudur).
187-8,
the,
Kalpadrumdvaddna, date of the, 190.
Shaddanta-jataka
in
5 a/so Aôka.
tra,
Ajataâtru, Bimbisara,
194, 196, 198, 204 n
(Juddliodana, ûiiga, Dhritarish-
Kdmdvacara heaven
tree 104 (Sanchi).
fii;ured
103 (Sanchi)
Druma.
Royalty.
Kanishka,
Mahaja-
Kanakamdni symbolized by Udmribara

Kanishka, Clovis of Northern
India, 128.
naka, Mandhatar, Milinda, Prasenajit,
Kings, Four Great. See Lokapala.
coin
of,
with
figure of
Buddha
Kinnara figured 219 24 (Boro-Budur),

(Sanchi).
II
128.
figured 129 30.
XV (on
casket).
form
of.
discussed 241 and n.
2,
242.
Peshawar winter
XV.
capital of, 129.
jdtaka figured 53 (Barhut and Boro-
stupa, and casket of, i28-3o, xiv
Budur), 241, XLi (Boro-Budur).
horse, figured
king- See
Druma.
Kanjur, Mandhdtravadana according to the
Kinnari Manohar.i. story of the. 219-24.
225 n.
I.
Kisi-MO
105
JIN,
the Japanese Hariti, 286 7.
Kanthaka, Buddha's
(Sinchi),
iii
figured XLix.
at.
(Gandhara and Amaravati),

at,
Kondivt^, Great Miracle figured
168.
IV (Benares).
Konkan, Great Miracle figured

149.
in the, 182.
Kanyakubja, Devavatara localized

Kapilavastu,
deity
of,
KoNOW
S.,
images in ancient India
dis-
figured
175,
in
cussed by, 9 n. 2.
(Gandhira and Amaravati).

departure of king from, figured 93
(Sdnchi)
gate of, figured 13.
Kosala king and queen reconciled by Bud-
dha
tree
53.
Krakdcchanda symbolized by
104 (Sanchi).
(Jirtsha
Kkishna suckled by Devaki, images

'288.'
of,
Jambu
chi).
trte near, figured 106 (San-
Krityd effigy, in magic rites 8 n.

Kshntriya.
i.
Mahabhinishkramana symbolizing,
148.
Brahman
Bu
inferior to, according
to
at
idhists $4.
as,
Nyagrodharama
scenes
III.
gate
of.
See
Buddha's birth
55.
NyagrodhJama.
at,
KsHEMENDRA, Mindhiitarstory narrated

i
by,
figured 77, n.
(SSnchi),
225 6.
Mflla Sarvistiviidin
canon followed
signacula from, 12
by, 151 n. 2, 204 n.
INDEX
Kuan- YIN
figured l (China).
30s
Hiuan-tsang
duce
Ltvi
shown
to
repro-
Kuginagara, signacula from, 12
S&trilamkrira
version
of
Kudi
stupa, Buddha's death
commemo-
rated by, 12.

caves, Great Miracle figured in the,
Shaddanta jitaka by, 199 n. i. Kanishka compared to Clovis by,

128.
168.
poem
of
Harsha restored by,
147
sculptures from the, xxiii.
n. 2.
Kukkuta-jiilakd figured 37 (Barhut).
267.
references concerning Panthaka supplied by, 157 n. 5.
Kurunga-jdtaka figured 40 (Barhut).
KuvERA
not one of the Tutelary Pair 141

Batavia
286.
Lieu-lulsi-kiitg, date of the, 190.
statuette in
museum
Shaddanta-jatakain the, 187-8, 196,

198.
KwEl-TSEU-MU-CHEN, the Chinese
Hariti,
Life,
Buddha's renunciation
of. See
Ayuh-
samskdra-utsarjana.
La Fontaine,
48, 50.
j4taka tales reflected by, 45,
Lilaiij. See
Nairaiijana.
by,
i.
Lion,
Buddha symbolized
Lakshana, sign of recognition for identifying sculptures, 176, 181.

Lalitahshepa posture figured 265
(Chandi
Mendut).
Latita-vistara
horned, figured 87 (Sanchi). winged, figured 87 (S4nchl). Lion-headed brackets xxv (Gandhara).
figured 87, 90, 107 (Sanchl).
versions of stories
on
bas-
LocanA, image
267.
of, in
Batavia
museum,
reliefs
214 (Boro-Budur).
26.
Shaddanta-jAtaka mentioned in the,

192.
Loin-cloth See Dhoti.
Lokapdki figured 91, 103

n.
I,
(S.inch!),
173
Lamaist images, symbols of Buddha on,
174;
711
(Gandh.ira and
Amard-
vati),
at,
xxvi-vii (Gandhara).
date of caves in pass of, 115.
of,
Lambaka, scene
Budur).
figured
239 (Boro-
Long-men,
Great .Miracle figured in caves

167 n.
I.
Lance figured
145- xviiii (Sahri Bahlol)
Lahikika-jdtaka narrated 28.
Le
Coq., a. von, Hariii painting discus-
Loriy4n-Tangai, sculptures from, xxiv-v. Lotus as attribute xxir, 255, 264-6.

as decoration 85 (Sanchi).
figured 86. 88,
n.
I
sed by. 275, 275, 276 n.
photograph communicated by, xviii.

jataka scenes described by, 217,
89 CSanchi), 172
173;
Leemans,
(Takht-i-B.ihai).
xv
222 (BnroBudur).
(Kanishka casket), xix (Sarnath),
Buddha
statue described by,
2589
XXVII (Gandhara), l (China)
(Boro-Budur),
footstool figured 165 (Ajanta), 167
Legendary scenes figured 90 (Sinchi).

Leggings figured 144.
(Magadha), 168 (Western In Ha),

XXI (Ajanta),
Leroux,
E., stereotypes lent by, vii-x.
seat figured
163, 170-2,
175, 176^
Letter figured 232 (Boro-Budur).

Li6vi,S., Bodhisattvavad4nakalpalat4 pas-
xxiii-vm.
stalks as food of ascetics 46.
sage emended by, 174 n.
5.
crisis
in
Indian conscience at
the
symbolizing Buddha's birth 21.
miraculous
n. 2,
I.
birth
21
time of Afvaghosha described by,

204.
seven steos of Buddha XIX (Sarndth).
Divy.ivaddna traced to Miila-Sarvastivadin
Vinaya by, 151
n. 2, 223
LOders. H.,SfltralaiTikara fragments identified by, 173-4.
n. 2, 253-
3o6

figured I73 4; XXIV, XXVIII
LoHASUDATTA
(Gandhara).
KuJa, Western
India), 172 n 2
(Takht-i-Bahai, Rawak), 178-80

at,
LumbinJ, Buddha's birth
13.
(Barhut), xix xxviii.
Qûddhodana's
visit to,
93.

122.
narrated 159-62.
narrated in Buddhacarita
158, Di-
Macdonell, A. A., photograph communicated by,

III
vyavadana 151, I7j,jataka and
Mahavamsa 152 and
n. i.
Madhyantika, apostle of Gandhara, Madonna, Buddhist. See Essay IX,
preferred to
Twin
155-6
Miracle in Sar-
nath
stele
XLVI.
See Hariti.
M.
Millet
reasons for
182-4.
tardy recognition
of,
figure explained by
symbolized by wheel in front of Je-
figured XLVii (Caroiingian and
tavana 180 n
I.
Coptic)
versions of the, classified i8o-2.

of,
Magadha, Buddha
116.
figures from, date of,
Mahdpurusha, ideal
embodied
in
Bud-
dha figure 154-5.
capital of. See Rajagriha.
Mahavamsa^ conversion of Gandhara nar167 8.

rated by, 122.

See also Antagiri,
dhrakilta,
in.
Bodh-Gaya, GriMahaboJhi.
and Benares), xxvi
Great Miracle according to the, 152
and
n. i.
Mtihdhhinlshhamana figured iii (Gaiidliara).

IV (Amaravati
Twin
156.
Miracle
according
to
the,
(Mohamed-Nari).
Mahdvaslu, Avalokiteijvara and Manju^ri
represented
(Sanchi), 20 (AmaraI
wanting
in the, 178.
vati), 21 n.
(Benares), 105 (San-
Twin
Miracle
according
to
the,
chi).
155-7n. 2,
st
i.
symbolized by horse 148

portrait
Mahdydna, part played by Gandhirian docat,
Mahabodhi, Buddhist
259-62.
See also
itue
tors in, 125.
Maitrakanyaka
(Boro-Budur).
story figured 243 -7, xli-ii
Bodh-Gaya.
(Barhut),
Mahdja>mka-jdtaka figured 52 (Barhut).

74
narrated in Avadanajataka,
etc.,
Mahdkapi-jdlaka figured 41
n. 2 (Sanchi).
,
244
n. 2.
Maitreya
figured
figured 264 (Chandi Mendut),
MahAkatyayana
dur).
234
(Boro-Bu-
XXII
(Boro Budur), xxvi
(Mo-
hamed-Nari).
quoted coiicernmg
Mahdparinibbdna-sutia
symbolized by Campaka 88 (Sanchi).
the four sacred places 148 and n.
Mahdprajiidpdramiid-sutra associated with

the Jetavana 149 n
2.
tlie
iMallas,
tree of, figured 105 (Sanchi).

as, 55.
Makh.\deva, Buddha's birth

Jeta-
Mahdprdtihdrya associated with
despair of the, figured iv (Gan-
vana 149 n 2. confused with the Dharmacakrapravartana 169 n.

coni'used
i.
dhara).
Mallet figured 140, 144 (Gaul).
with the
Twin
Miracle
Mandhat.ar, story of, figured 224-51, xxxvi (Boro-Budur).
156-8.
figured 160 and n, 2, 162-5 (Ajanta),
story of, narrated in Divyjlvadana,

etc
,
225-30 and 225
n,
165-6 (Boro-Budur), 166-7 (Tat'ong-fu), 167 n.
Mangifera. See Puiujarika.
(Long-men).
Mango
tree figured 86,
89 (Sanchi), 162
i67-8(Magadha1, 168 (Kondivt<5,
(Ajanta).
INDEX
Mango, miracle of
the, 152.
307
Minister. See also Hiru, Bhiru.

Miracle, Great. 5c Mah.'ipratih.irya.
MANjU(;Ri figured 255 (Boro-Budiir), 264-6
(Chandi Mendut), xxv (Gandhika).
Twin.
Sec
Yamakapritihdrya.

Mara,
wanting
in
Divyavadaiia,
Mahi-
Mithila,
AmarA
story located in, 51.
vastu, and Gandliara 177-8
Mali,^janaka story located in, 52.

See also Yavamajjhaka.
Manohara,
flight of, figured
xxxiv (Boro-
Budur).
story of. 219-24.
assault of, figured 103 n. (S.inchi),
Mohamed-Nari, sculptures from, xxvi.

Monasteries,
Buddhist,
Hariti
figure
in,
281.
161
and
n.
i,
162-5
(Ajanla),
Monk
Buddhist,
124.
figure
numerous
in
Gandhdra
of
m-iv (Gandhara and Amaravati),

XIX (Sarnath).
in composition
1
Buddha
heaven
of,
figured 92 fSSnclii).
01.
figure
1-4.
Mdradharshana. See Mara, assault
figured
MArici, statue
of,
,
267 (Batavia Museum)

Kaiiishka stupa explored
XVI
234, 239 (Boro-Budur), (Gandhara), xix (Sarnath),
Marshall.
J. -H
xxv (Loriyan-Tangai), XXVI (GandhJra), xxxi, xxxvii

dur).
by, 129.
(Boro-Bu-
photographs communicated by, 64

n. 2, 84,
11,
vii-x, XIX.
-150.
not figured
at
Barhut and Sdnchi 96.
scenes on stele identified by.
Monkey, Buddha's
jitaka.
birth as.
5 Mahakapias,
Mat, Brahmauical, figured 97 (S^nchl). Mathura, Buddha figures from, date of,
116.
Devadatta's incarnation
43-4.
Great Miracle missing

stiipa,
at,
182.
4.
le-
figured 45 (Barhut), 100 (Sanchi).

offering
of
the,
figured
150, xix
fragments of railing,
of,
(SArnaih).
unimportance
in
Buddhist
Moon,
crescent, figured 172, n.
(Takht-
gend 149.
i-Bahai).
Maudgalyayana Maya, dream of,

Ill
figured 174.
Mortar and
i
pestle figured 95 (Sanchl).
figured 70 and n
(?),
Motifs, decorative,
borrowed from Persia

at the, 13.
(Gandhira and Amaravati),
ix (SSn-
81.
chi).
Mrigaddva, Buddha's preaching

first, 5
Meditation, Buddha's
(Bodh-Gaya).
Mudrd
181
;
figured
165
(Ajanta),
170
n.
2,
Mekha-Sandha
Asia 274.
hill, xii.
256-8 (Boro-Budur), xv (Kanishka
Melons figured on fainting from Central
casket), xix (Sirnath),
xx
(.\janla),
xxi
(Ta-t'ong-fu), XXIV (Gandhara).
Menander,
coin of, 127. conversation

with,
6.
Mula-sarvdslivddin
school
prevalent
in
Nagasena's
Sagala capital of, 127.
Catnma-
Javi 253.
Vinaya and
255-
the Divydvadana 151,
Mendicant figured xxxvi (Boro-Budur). - See also Monk.

Merchant, Buddha's birth
sataka-jataka.
as. See
MuRDH.\TAR. See Maiidhatar, 226.

Murtuk, Thousand Buddhas
at,
160 n
2.
Musicians, celestial. See Gandharva.
MiLlNDA, Questions of King, 127. Se also Menander.
figured 91. 93,
100 (Sanchi), 259
(Boro-Budur).
Millet (Gab.), Madonna
figures indicated
by, 278.
^14'"-
Buddha
relics at
Rdmagrama guar-
Madonna
figure explained by, xlvi.
Minister figured 227 8, 229, 238-40 (Bo-
ded by, 78. Buddha's victory over the wicked,

ro-Budur).
3o8

figured 167 (Magadha), 168 (West-
ma
Olla figured 139 40 (Gaul).
ern
India),
,
IV
(Benares),
xix
Olympian,
Otter. See
ideal of,
embodied
in
Buddha
XX (Ajanta), xill (Kuda, Magadha), xxv (LoriyanTangai), xxvi (Mohamed-Nari),

(Sarnath)
figure 134-5-
Dabbhapuppha
jataka, 45.
Oxen
figured 87 (Sanchi)
XLV (Chandi Mendut).
Janmacitrak.i,
siory
of,
218-219.
Padma.
See Lotus.
of
Swat
122,
river
converted by Buddha
Padmdsana posture.
Buddha
figures
in,
256 (Boro-Budur).
in ViJhura-jataka 55.
woman
See also
patra.
Ela-
reserved for
Buddha
[ibid.).
235 n.
Nanda and Upananda,

pillar at
Painting, fresco. See Ajanla.
Nagapiya, donor of
Nagara-devatd
of.
Sanchl, 67-77.
in
water colours on canvas 274-5.
Tibetan, XL.
Ndga-piisbpa flower. See Campaka.

S'e
Palisade figured xlii (Boro-Budur),
xuv
Town,
personification
(Chandi-Mendut)
Pancala country 217-224.
Nagasena, Menander converted
by, 6.
Pancika, god with purse, 141-2
Nairafijana river figured 96, 100.
(Wes(Kuda
in
Nanda and Upananda

racle 159-161.
in the
Great Mi-
figured
264 (Chaadi Mendut), xlviii (Sahri,
Great Miracle 174 n. 5. 220 (Boro-Budur)
figured 167 (Magadha), 168
Bahlol).
tern India), 173, XXIII
named
in
Divyavadana 174
of,
n. 5.
and
Magadha), (Gaudhara)
Naga.
xxv-xxvn
See also Tutelary Pair.
Panthaka. miracles
of
157 n. 3.
dha
See also
Paradise. See Heaven.

nativity
Nandiltada symbolizing
I.
Bud-
Pdramitds, or Perfections of Buddha, 57.

Parasol,
Nativity, Buddha's. See
Buddha,
birth of.
Buddha's, in
Necklace
chi).
worn by
figured
171
n.
k-niaL figure 89 (San-
Buddha represented by, 19 the heaven of Thirty Three Gods 19.

164
172
n.
the
figured 93, 94, 95,96, 102 (Sanchi),
Nimbus
144
I,
(Gaul and
265
(in
hiJia)^
(Ajanla), 170-2 (Ajanta),

I
leaf
form,
n.
(Takht-i-Babai), xix
Chandi Mendut), xxiii (Magadha),
(Sarnath),
XXI
(Ajanta),
xxiv
XXI
(Ta-t'ong-fu),
xxv
XXVII and
xxviii
vati).
xxviii
(Gandhara),
(Gandhara).
See
ats-o
Aureole, Halo.
234-5
(Barhut), xxix (.\maraXXXVI and xxxvii (Boro-
Nun
figured
(Boro-Budur),
xxv
BuJur).
(Loriyan-Tangai), xxxviii, xxxix

(Boro-Burlur).
Parinirvdna
fii,'ured
iv (Gandh.ira, Amar.i-
vati, Uenares),
xix (Sarnath).
See also âilA.
symbolized by StOpa 16. 89 (S.inchi), 73,

vatl).
Nyagrodha tree
Ardma
figured 94 (Sanchi),
90,
I,
II,
IV
(Amar4-
symbolizing Ka^yapa Bud
dha 104 (Sanchi).

figured at Sanchi 94.
Parnafdld. See Hut.
Parrot figured xi-vii (Gandhara).

Paiyai'ika-bandha posture figured 97 (San
Ogress (Hariti) figured xlix (Japan). Oldenbupg S. d', jSlakas at Boro-Budur

identified by,
chi).
Pdlali,
symbol of Vipa^yin, figured 104

fiyured 88, 105 (Sanchi).
214 and
n.
1,
215, 217,
(Sanchi).
213
1-
P acock
INDEX
Perfections ot Buddha.
Persepolitan columns
Persian. See Iranian.
309
figured
Su Paramitft. xxv (Gandhira).

stCipa
POrana KAcyapa
(AjanU).
164 and n.
Purojava. See Herald.
Peshawar, Kanishka
excavated
at,
Purse
Pishi. See
129.
figured 139-40 (Gaul), 141-142 (Gandh4ra), 145-6 (Gaul and GandhJra),
Kanishka's winter capital 129.

in, 48.
246
(Boro-Budur), xxiv, xxv,
xlviii
Physiologus, Unicorn story
(GandhAra).
Purusha, golden, on
Rajoharana.
Brahmanic
altars 8
Pigeon,
jitaka.
Buddha's
life
as.
See
Kapota-
and n.
i.
Purushapura. See Peshawar.

Quail, Buddha's birth as. See LaUikika-jitaka.
Pilgrimages, four great, as aid to explanation of Buddliist art 10.
four places of, 148.
signacula from, 11.

Hdriti's
PiNGALA,
youngest son, 279284.
Quan-Am, the Annamese, 287-8. Queen figured 227-8, 235 sqq. xxxviii and
;
figured XLV-L.
XXXIX (Boro Budur).

iden-
Pitchers figured 96 (Sinchi).
Pleyte, C.
jM.
Boro-Budur sculptures
by.
Railing figured 94, 98 (Sanclit).
tified
214
at
and
n.
2,
216
at
Barhut, remains of, in Calcutta
n. I.
Museum
statue
Pond
57.
Buddha
Boro-Budur
dis-
stiipa
surrounded by, 3 3, 65 (Sdnchi).

at,
cussed by, 257.

figured xxviii
RJjagriha, Bimbisara king of, 232 sqq.
(Gandhir.i),
xxix
elephant tamed
nath).
150, xix (Sar-
(Amaravati), xliv (Chandi Mendut).

Portico figured in Great Miracle 171-179
(Barhut).
figured loi (Sinchi).
importance
of, in
early
Buddhism
trapezoidal, figured
xxv (Gandhlra).
Portrait statues of
Buddha, supposed, 82figured xxi(Ta-
Ram,
149 and n.
2.
See also Antagiri.
83, 259-
Rajoharana figured 163 (Ajantd).

story of (Barhut). See J.itaka.
Prabhutaratna, Buddha,
t'ong-fu).
Rama
at
represented as brother of Siti 45.
Prddakshind arrangement of bas-reliefs
Ramagr^ma, Anoka's attempt upon Buddha's relics

at,
Boro-Budur 214-5.
Prasenajit figured
n.
I,
figured 79 (Sdnchi).
25.
in
Great Miracle 164

174
(Ajanta),
Anoka's
visit to,
171,
179
Katna-cankrama. See Cankrama.
(Barhut).
Ratnasambhava
car-
figured 256-7 (Boro-Bu-
sandal-wood statue of Buddha
dur).
ved by, 24
Preaching, Buddha's
n.
I.
first.
See Dharniaca-
kra-pravartana.
image in Batavia Museum 267. Rawak, sculptures of, 172 n. 1. Relics, Buddha's. See Buddha, relics of.
Bheims, people of
(in
symbolized by wheel 90 (Sanchi). Prince, figure of, 6 (Sanchi and Barhut).

Processions of kings figured 80 (Saocht).
La Fontaine),
50.
Rice, bunches of, gathered in Java 228.
Riches, god of. See Kuvera, Pancika.
Promenade.
Promenades,
Pruning-bill
218.
See Carikrama.
RiDDHiLA-MATA figured XXIV and

174 (Gandhara).
.ascetic
Tiishis
xxviii,
four. See
Buddha.
Brahm.Tn
borne by
Risbyafringa jdtaka figured 47

tree,
(Barhut),
Pundarika
symbolizing Qikhin, figu-
red 104 (SJnchi).
74 n. 2 (Sanchi).
story located in
Gandhara 123.
310

Sdnchi
stCipa
ART,
&
by Archsological
hishyafvinga-jdlaka narrated 47-8.
repaired
River figured 98-100 (S4nchl).
Rocks figured xxix, xxxvn and XL (BoroBudur), L (China).
Department 64.
sculptures, aesthetic value of,
81.
Roruka, kingdom of Rudriyana 232 sqq.
seven
traditional
Buddhas
188.
tradi-
localized
by
E.
Huber 238
91
n. 2.
figured
on
the, 72.
at,
Rosaries figured
xxxvn (Boro-Budur).
of, figured
Shaddanta-jJtaka
Royalty, insignia
(SAnchi).
Sandal-wood statue of
Sinka(;ya,
Buddha,
at,
RuDRAYAKA
story narrated in the Divyi-
tions relative to the, 24 n. i.
vadina, analysed
251-2.
by E. Huber,
Devavatara
149-50,
177
XIX (Sarnath).
Sarnith,
story figured 23 1-40 (Boro-Budur),
Buddha
figures from, date of, 116.
xxxvit-XL (Boro-Budur).
Riirti-Jiltaka figured
sculptures from, Essay VI, xix.

in
40 (Barhut).
97 (San-
Satakani mentioned
Sanchl 4, 67.
Satire against
inscription
at
Sacrifice, instruments of, figured

chl).
women
46.
Saw employed
Sad-dharma-pundartka associated by Wouk'ong with the Gridhrakflta 149 n. 2. S4gala, capital of Menander, 127.
Sahri-Bahlol,
excavations
at,
xiii,
inShacldanta-jataka 193.
figured XXIX (Barhut and Amaravatl).
Scarf
worn by Gandharvas
in
85.
Sculptures
the
round found almost

reliable than texts 186.
of,
xiv,
only at S^nchi 66.

Indian,
XLvm.
more
photographs
Tutelary Pair from, xltiii. Samhadhi. See Bodhi.
of, xiii.
of Sanchi, ssthetic value
81.
of Sanchi,
in, 81.
observation of
nature
Sinchl
stfipa. See
Essay
III.
railings decorated with, 10.
bibliography of the, 83-4.
passim.
Bodhi figured on the, 102. Buddha figure wanting on

the,
1
Seat figured xxvil-xxviii.
Seleukos, Gandhira ceded by,

dragupta 121.
Serpents figured 107 (Sdnchi).
Shaildanta-jdtaka. Essay VII.
to
Can-
17.
Buddha
represented by
Cai'i-
krama on the, 19. Buddha represented only by symbols on the, 15.

Buddha's Conception figured
chronology
196.
figured
of,
versions of the,
39
(Amarivati,
Barhut,
on
the, 93.
Buddhist Heavens figured on

the, 71.
GandhSra), 40 (Ajaiila), 74 n. a (Siiichl), xxix (Barhut and

Amardvati),
Hill, Ajanti).
xxx
(Karaniar
date of the bas-reliefs of, 190. described by Captain Fell 63.

description of, 64.
inscriptions
ler
narrated in the Kalpadrumiva-
dina
and SfltrJlainkJra
198-
studied by Biih-
66
n. i.
oil the,
11.
199 n. I. Shorca Robusia. Sec (^dla.
Kinnaras figured
monks
76.
not
figured on
the,
Siam, Buddha type not original in, 115. Siddhartha Bodhisattva figured xxvii
(Gaiidhdra), xxxvi (Boro-Budur).
photographs
of, vii-x.
Signacuh
in the,
11.
in th.' British
and Cluny
Museums
relics not discovered
64.
Sikri, statue
of Hiritt from, xlvii.
INDE.X
Simhdsana. Bodhi represented by, 148 n.
2.
511
See also Aniaravati
Shlpii
Barhut,
Boro-
Buddha represented
by, 19.
176,
Budur, Sanchi,
figured 168 (Western India),
SuBHADRA, conversion
dhAra).
of, figured
iv(Gan-
XXXVII (Boro-Budur).
formed of superposed animals xxi

(Ajatita).
sister
Sudhana-Kumdra figured xxxv (Boro-Budur).
SiTA represented as
of
Rama
45.
legend
of,
217-224.
of,
SiVALi, story of, 52.

Slab, rectangular, figured 93 (Sanchi).
SuNDARi, assassination
200.
183.
Siitrdlaiikdra, chapters in the,
number
of,
Sleeves of tunic xlvii (GandhAra).
Smallpox, Deity
of. see Hariti.
infants protected
by amulet against,
fragment of the, discovered 207.

Shaildanta-jitaka in the, 188, 1945,
122.
Sophocles, Lateran, and figures of Christ and Buddha, 136, xvi. Speyer, J. S., Maitrakanyaka-avadana at
Swan,
196, 198, 199, 200.
Twin
Miracle according to the, 155.
as decoration 85 (Sincht)
xv.
Buddha's birth
of,
as. See Hainsa-jJtaka.
Boro-Budur explained by, 215, 243-4.

Spoon,
sacrificial,
figured 98 (Sauchi).
Swat River, Naga dha 122.

Symbols 14 on
converted by Bud-
Spooner, D.
coins
B.,
Buddhist punch-marked
coins), 69 (Sinchi).
tabulated
and
discussed
Ta-che-lu-Juen, date of the, 190.
xiii,
by, 14, 21 n. 2.
excavations at Sahri-Bahlol by,

XIV, XLVIII.
Shaddanta-jataka in the, 188, 191196.
Kanishka
stilpa
explored by, 129.
Takht-i Bahai, Great Miracle
figured at,
Stag, Buddha's birth as. See Ruru-jitaka.

Statf of
mendicant figured xix (Sirnath).

figured
Tara
172 n.
photograph
figured
of, xii.
Standard-bearer
on
capitals
of
Tao-tii. figured L (Chins^f?^
gate 86 (Sanchi).
on the Chandi Mendut 265.

in Batavia
Stein, M. A., excavations in Chinese Turkestan by, 285.
60.
image
Museum
267.
T.^ran.\tha on the Vajrisana statue 259-
Hariti painting discovered and des-
cribed by, 285-6.
Ti-t'ong-fu, caves of, date
of,
115.
in,
n.
I
photograph communicated by, xlv.

51-^;
Taivii,

XXI.
166
7,
Stele from S.irnAih.
Essay VI.
164
Stool figured 144 (Gaul and India),
Taurine symbol. See Nandipada.

amulet case, 122.
visits
(AjariU), 272-5 (Central As a).
5(!i/>a,
Aôka form of, 1 3 coins marked with,

figured
1
Taylor, General,
14.
l
Sanchi Stilpa 63.
Taxila, Heliodoros
native
of
See Helio-
89, 9J, 98 n.
(Sanchi), iv-xix
doros.
237-259 (Boro-Budur),
Teaching, gesture
of,
xxiv (Gandhara).
(Amaravatl), xix (Sarnath).
Temiya-jdiaka narrated 56.
gate of.
Su
Toraiia.
Throne.
Tibet,
Sii Siinhasana.
origin and parts of, 55.
Thunderbolt figured 91 (Sanchi).
prominence
tecture 10.
of,
in
Buddhist archi-
Buddha type not

wheel symbol
original in,
115.
paintings from, XL.

in, 26.
structure of, 33-4.
symbolizing
Parinirvana
18,
73,
spell
See also Lamaist images.
104
(of
seven
I,
last
Buddlias),
TiSHYARAKSBiT.^, wife of Aijoka, cans a
(SanchI),
II,
i78(Barhut).
upon the Bodhi
tree 108.
?12

railing, 33-4.
Torana, gate of Stilpa
Unicorn, story
of. Sc^Rishyajrifiga-jataka.
See also Gate.
Upananda.
Woodpecker, story
See
Nanda.
Tortoise,
Antelope,
of, 40.
Vpardja. See Viceroy.
Town
as decoration 85 (Sanchi).
figured
gate of, figured
259 (Boro-Budur). iii (Gaudhara and
Uposhadha, father of Mandhatar, 226-7. Vrnd on forehead of statues 119, 177. figured i77-8,xxiv XXV (Gandh.ira).
Amaravati). of Hell 246-7 (Boro-Budur).

personification
III
Uruvilva figured 95 Budur).

Ushnisha,
(Sanchi), XL (Boro-
on crown of Buddha, figured

figured in Great
of,
figured
174-5,
119.
(Gandhara and Amaravati),

Ka-
Utpalavarna
174.
Miracle
xvn (Gandhara).
See also Qravasti, Kapilavastu,
pitha.
Vaijali, importance of, in early

xliii (Java)
Buddhism
Trailokyavijaya figured
statuette in Batavia
Museum
267-8.
149, n. 2.
monkey's offering
XIX (Sarnith).
at,
figured 150
Tree, coins marked with, 14.
figured
15-90 (Sanchi), xxix (Bar-
wood
near, 228.
hut),xxxv XXXVII (Boro-Budur),

XLiv (Chandi Mendut).
miraculous, in legend of Buddha 72.
See
also
Vairocana
figured 256-7
(Boro Budur).
xxvii (Gan-
Vajrapani figured 174.

dhara).
in, iv,
Bodhi
Ficus,
tree,
Qala,
Cam-
See also Trailokyavijaya.
paka,
gapushpa,
Pundarika,
Jambu, Mango, NaNyagrodha Patali

,
Vajrdsana statue of Mahabodhi 259-66.
Vajrasattva
267.
statue
in Batavia
Museum
Shorea
Udumbara.
the,
Tsa-pao-tsang-hing, date of the, 190.
Vase figured xxiv (Gandhira), XLiv (Chandi
Shaddanta-jataka in
194-196.
187-8,
Mendut).
lottery, figured
88 (Sanchi).
Tumulus,
dhara).
funeral. See StCipa.

sleeves, xlvii
(Gan-
two-handled,
figured
on painting
Tunic figured with
from Central Asia 274.
n.
Sec also
Alms-Vase.
Turban figured 175

(Gandhara).
Turfan,
2; xxiv-xxv-xxvi
Vessels in clouds figured 238 and n. (Boro-
Budur).
figured
Madonna
heaven,
the, 92.
on
painting
irom. See Ydr-Khoto.

Tushita
Viceroy figured 91 (Sinchl). VigvABHU symbolized by Qk\i tree

(Sanchi).
104
Buddha's descent from
Vi(pvAKARMAN
in Great Miracle 171.
figured 91 (S4ncht),
xxxiv
Fifvantara-jdtaka figured 74 n. 2 (Sinchi).
(Boro-Budur).
Tutelary Pair in Gaul and India. Essay V.
(Gaul),
xviii
located
in
Gandhara
xii,
I2j.
ViDHURA, Buddha's
Vidifi,
birth as. See Vidhura-
figured
XVII
jitaka figured 55-57 (Barhut).
(Gandhdra).
column of Heliodoros
ivory-carvers of, 67.
at,
82.

Udayaka
tue of
reason for worship
of,
143-4.
Village
relative positions of, 144.
Vihdra, stele in form of, xxv(Gandhira).

life
of Kaucimbt, sandal-wood sta-
ViPAC-YlN
(SJnchl).
symbohzed
by
Bignonia
104
Buddha carved by, 24 n. i. Udumbara tree symbolizing Kanaka-muni

104 (S4nchl).
Virgin Mary suckling

liest
Jesus, date of ear-
representation of, 277-9.
INDEX
Virgin Mary, Oriental
types of, 276.
3n
associa-
costume
in
art
Wou-k'ong, Saddharmapundartka
ted with Gridhrakuta by, 149 n. 2.

tlie
VoGEL,
}.
Ph., identifies with Kuvera

in the
god
n. 2.
Tutelary Pair 141 and
YAgoDA
Yahha
figured
xxxvi (Boro Budur).

iii,
figured 220 (Boro-Budur),
iv
Lokapjilas identified by,
173 n. i.
xil,
(Gandhara and Amaravaii).
photographs communicated by,
nature of the, 141, 280.
xin and XLVii
Yakshini figured 70-1, 89-90 (Sinchl
and
Barhut).
Water- vessel figured 175 (Brahma's emblem), xix (Sdrnath), xxvii (GandhAra)-
Yama, kingdom
of, figured 91 (S^lnchi).
Yamaka-prdtihdrya confused with the Great

Miracle 156-8.
Wheel, coins marked with,
14.
of the
Law
figured 15, 88, 89,
90
described 152.
(Sanchi).
hackneyed by use 155-6.

in
symbol
in
1, 11,
IV (S4nchi),
Gandhara 153.
duction), Jitaka-tnala, Sutralai'ikara,
XIX (Sarnath), xxviii
(Barhut).
Mediaeval
narrated by the Jataka book (Intro-
Gandhara,
India and Tibet, 26.
Mahavarnsa,
Mahavastu,
symbolizing
First
Preaching
19,
Woman,
73,
248
n. 2.
bivyivadana, 155-9. why not preferred to Great Miracla

in stele
Great Miracle 178, 180

i
from Sarnath 153-6
(Barhut), 180 n.
(Sanchi).
Yar-Khoto, Madonna figured on painting

from, 271.
Yav.miajjhaka, suburb of Mithila, 51.
Wise man, Buddha's
birth as, 44.

as, 46.
Buddha's birth
praise of, 49.

satire against, 46.
Yl-TSING, H4ritt image described by, 281.
Sec
reports
Mdla-Sarvastivadin
in
pre-
Woodpecker, Antelope and Tortoise

Kurunga-miga-jataka, 40.
dominance
253-4-
Malay Islands
Worship, forms
chi).
of,
depicted
80
(San-
Yokepole figured 96 (Slnchi),xxix (Atnaravati).
utensils of, figured xxxviii (Boro-
YzERMAN.J. W., primitive
plinth of
Boro-
Budur).
Budur
siitra
as originally planned, discovered
Wou-k'ong,
n. 2.
Mahaprajiiaparamita
by, 208 n.
1,
215.
by,
associated with Jetavana by, 149
Kinnara-jataka identified
n. 2
242
ADDENDA AND CORRIGENDA
p. 5,
1.
22
1.
:
For
:
earthy
read earthly .
P. 8, n.
P.
For krilya
read a krityd .
.
10, n.
1.
For mta
:
read sulta
P. 20,
15
I,
5
:
Insert
2
:
comma
after there .
read
P. 21, n. P. 26,
1,
1.
For
groupe
group
For
:
has
read had .
I.
1.
22
14
For
For
I
at read
a
in .
".
is
P. 30,
I, 1.
owe however read For 6d. rwi ed.

c(
owe, however
P. 31, 1. 11-17 Need an ahogether correct one
it
?
be stated that this too iuramary view of karma

If
not
we
judge from the numerous

less
^-iirmri-tales,
things were
supposed
to be
:
niuch more complicated and
mathematical.
P. 33,1. 21
1.
1
For
For
For
was preeminently
read u par excellence

.
was
29
I
:
harmikd read harmikd

Indian literature not
if
P. 36,
in
read not in Indian literature .
P. 37,
))
1.
15
For
or
read u or,
if .
1. 1.
1
16
Insert
20
21
Insert
comma before comma before
in .
under
For For
whom
who
read
which
.
1.
1.
25 6
1.
:
read
which
a
P. 40,
For ne birth read

2
:
rebirth .
.
n.
11,
1.
For
Saddanta read Shaddanta only
falls
P. 43,
P. 46,
8-9
16 18 21
:
For
to
them
.
.>.
read falls to
them only
For
For
these
read
the above .
1. 1.
1.
1.
with read in
read
v.
For
a at
from
P. 47,
>i
8 22
23
Dele comma.
Omit
:
back
1.
1.
1.
For comma read full
slop.
P. 48,
26
12
Omit
Read
c<
back
. .
P. 49,
P. 52, P. 56,
marriageable
1.
28
}i
:
Omit
one
".
1.
For Semiya
Saddanta
read
Temiya
.
.
>>.
P. 58, n.
P. 66,
1.
For
;
read Shaddanta
16
2
:
For coins read
coigns
<(
P. 68,
P. 69,
1.
For
;
confreres read
<i
confreres .
<<
1.
1.
25
For For
according to read
from
.
.
29
:
only serve read serve only

explicit
la
P. 70, n.
more
statement of the point here mooted will be found in

I,
Les Images indienies de

1913,
p. 131-4).
1.
Fortune (Mimoires conceinant I'Asie Orientals,
Paris,
P. 74,
II
After
1.
school
insert in
order
. .
n. 2,
For
Saddanta
read
Shaddanta
ADDENDA AND CORRIGENDA

P. 76,
1.
I
315
26
2
:
Read
Read
:
explain each other by their propinquity .
P. 77,
<
in order to pay . this read the .
1. 1.
18
For
For
For For
:
P. 87,
P. 97,
23
observe
read obverse .
1.
1. 1. 1.
30
23 25
buffalos
read buffaloes .
P. 98,
fagot read u faggot .

buffalos read u
((
P. 107, P. 116,
For
For
buffaloes
'<.
24
:
south-west
the
>>,
read south-east ".
P. 119. n.
These Notes on
ancient Geos;raphy of Gandhdra have since
been
translated into
English by Mr. H.
Hargreaves and published
in Calcutta (1915)
under the care of the Archsological Survey ot India.

P. 129.
1.
30
The
it
:
casket
is
not ni.ide of gold but
of
an alloy
in
which copper
predominates
P. 140,
1. 1. 1.
-.
liad
been simply gilded.

for
5-6
Read occurrence .
Instead of u or four read
P. 143.
P. 144,
PI.
32
15
:
our
Read paraphrase
1.
XVIII
(text opposite),
I
:
11
Read Volkerkunde
P. 151, n. 1,1. P. 153, P. 154, P. 158,

1. 1.
Read
ibid. .
21
For
For
besides read a
(I
indeed
23
I
:
they
read these .
read
I.
For
1.
eye witness
:
eye-witness
.
.
P. 160, n.
P. 162, n.
>>
I,
Read which (unfortunately broken)
I, 1.
1.
1.
For
;
motifs
read v
motif .
n. 2,
II
5
:
For For
:
do
read to .
Read
:
We
P.
164, n.
I,
1.
1. 1.
9
12
I
:
rarety read u rarity .

".
.
P. 165, n.
2,
Read carved
P. 167, n. 2,
Read provenance
.
P.
i'i5,
1.
For
1,
on
For
read concerning
P. 189, n.
)>
I,
Buddha
read
Bauddha
n.
n. 2,
1. 1.
1.
Be/ore u question insert a.
P. 190,
13
5
:
Dele comma.
i'
P. 196,
P. 201,
PI.
Insert u elephant's before

:
teeth
1.
II
For
FausboU
1.
read Fausball .
XXX
1.
(tent opposite),
12
Read
panel
16 17 19
II
:
Read represented
just .
1.
1.
Read
P. 205,
Before 2
:
Progo
insert
the .
.
P. 215, n. 2,
P. 216,
P. 221,
1.
11. 11.
For
For
:
Gronemann read Groneman Then read Then again .

II
1-2
For
5
:
begins by presenting read

read in .
first
presents
P. 241, P. 244,
P. 251,
P. 253,
4 and
For on
1.2: Read
1.
1.
identification .
8
13
For
:
on
read in .
For
a this read
the .
3i6
P. 267,
P. 271,
1.

19
1
:
For
:
u rarety
>>
read rarity
11.
1.
1. 1. 1. 1. 1.
1-2
:
Omit commas.
read
P. 274,
P. 275,
For partners
:
playmates
10 7
7
:
For
on
read in .
<c
P. 279,
For
rarety read
n
rarity
>'.
P. 283, P. 284, P. 285,

P. 286, P. 287,
PI.
For u suckles
:
read
sucks
15
For suckle
read
suck .
16
II
Omit comma.
For For
1.
1.
hangs
in folds in
read
c(
descends sinuously to
.
30
consequentially read
1.
consequently
n
XLIX
(text opposite),
For
pl.
wood-cuts
2,
read wood-carvings
the
These two
resting
statuettes
and the one on
L,
have since been published, with three

Alice
others belonging to her father's collection, by Miss
GErrY
c;
in her
very inteat
b.
and
finely illustrated
pll,
book on The Gods of Northern Buddlnstn (Oxford,
Clarendon Press^ 1914),
XXVI XXVII
;
XXIX
and
XXXII
a and
r--.
ANGERS. IMPRIMERIE A. BURDIN.
GAULTIER ET THIaBERT S".
University of California Librafy
Los Angeles
Arts Libbry /
UCLA
2000
RESERvis FALL
2 Hour Loan
OCT
8 2002
|JIK
3 1158 00432 1922
S.WuM,H..vrAa,r.
D 000 754 594
-î::ill;il|iii
Universi
South
Libi

The Beginnings of Buddhist Art

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f

THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES

AND OTHER ESSAYS INDIAN AND CENTRAL-ASIAN ARCHAEOLOGY

OF THE DNIVERSITY OF PARIS

AUTHOR AND TRANSLATED BY

WITH A PREFACE BY THE LATTER

MASTER OF PENETRATING AND CREATIVE CRITICISM

BRANCHES OF SANSKRIT LEARNING

limited circle oj scholars

Indian Art and

Grseco-Buddhist Art of Gandhdra, have fully established his position

leader in this sphere.

edition of his essays

dispersed in various serial

periodical publications, will therefore be sure

The translators do not disavow a hope that

not only to those readers, chiefly in the East, to

a rather wider public in England and which in Paris attended

Toucher's lectures, they would regret ijthe

growing appreciation of Oriental

Buddhism jor veyed

Buddhist monuments that are here sur-

subject of vast extent.

that the study of it is still at

the stage of discovery.

any part without evoking

ponses from distant

and unexpected quarters.

we fix upon some well

defined topic, relating,

Central Asia, China or Japan of

centuries later, even if

not to continue ourflight to Java in the

in the twelfth. The reader will find in these pages

abundant examples of such

The first essays reach back by a highly

and probable hypothesis

give us the measure of

Sdnchi and Barhut. Already we

some traces of foreign influence, from

Achxmenids. Soon an abrupt irruption of Hellenistic art

creates a repertory of religious composito

Buddhist propaganda carries

Central Asia, the

genetic connection between the

Europe and Asia

strikingly exemplified in the case of the

and most curiously

in that of the ^Tutethe

lary Pair' , found throughout the zuhole Buddhist sphere

the highest degree of interest for the case

'Madonna' group {Essay IX). which

ultimately derived, in all

from ancient Egypt has ended by conquering

Tins splendid generalisation cannot fail

the Asiatic side, in inspiration for future researches

of art that feeling of

and sympathy between India and Europe,

palmy days of Vedic

studies, but latterly has been

where religious art and archeology are

literature and literary history cannot be far

the predominantly narrative character of the bas-reliefs

be said that, apart from purely decorative figures