The Life of Buddha in Indian Art

Siddhartha, better known as Gautama, the Buddha, was also called
Sakyasimha, the Lion of the Sakyas’ and Sakyamuni, ‘the Sage of the Sakyas’ as
he was born in the Kshatriya clan of the Sakyas, of which his father Suddhodana
was the chief.  The latter’s capital was
Kapilavastu (variously identified with Piprawah, District Basti and Talaurakot,
District Taulihawa , Nepalese Terai). 
Before his birth, his mother Mahamaya or Maya had a dream in which she
dreamt of a white elephant entering her womb. 
The Brahmins interpreted the dream as the conception of a son destined
to become either a universal monarch or a great enlightened person.  On the eve of her confinement, Mayadevi
proceeded to her native place, Devahrada, but on her way she delivered a son in
the grove of Lumbini (Rummindei, District Bhairhwa, Nepalese Terai). 

Tradition has it that the child was delivered by the deity Indra with Brahma.  There is no agreement
about the date of his birth, the generally accepted date being   566 to 563 B.C.E.

Mayadevi died seven days after Buddha’s birth and he was reared by
the affectionate Mahaprajapati Gautami, who was both his maternal aunt and
step-mother.  The sage Asita predicted
the future glory of the child.

From his childhood Gautama exhibited a contemplative nature.  At the age of sixteen he married his
beautiful cousin, Yasodhara or Gopa, daughter of Suprabuddha (variously known
as Dandapani) and sister of Devadatta after proving his superiority over others
in learning archery and other princely accomplishments.

This stage of his life has been delineated briefly in the sculptures
which are being displayed at this exhibition, namely Maya’s Dream, the birth of
Siddhartha and the prediction of sage Asita.

Life scenes of the Buddha

The Buddha’s life as a theme has been presented through five main events in his life beginning with the birth and ending with his death. The other three are his renunciation of the world, his defeat of Mara and his enlightenment and his dharmachakra pravartana or preaching the First Sermon. The vertical relief presents these events beginning from the bottom.

1. The bottom panel depicts four events starting from the right:
a) The birth: Mayadevi is seen holding the branch of a tree as the nimbate child is being received by Sakra; on her right is her sister Mahaprajapati;
b) In the centre the two Nagas, Nanda and Upananda, are anointing the child as he is about to take the first seven steps;
c) At the bottom extreme left is seen the great departure – Prince Siddhartha riding his horse Kanthaka out of the palace;
d) The scene above shows the Prince cutting his hair with a sword as a token of renunciation.

2. The second panel depicts Mara with his three daughters and other members of his retinue attempting to distract Siddhartha from his penance while the latter invites the Earth to witness his attainment of bodhijnana; the female figure below his seat is mother Earth and the snake next to her is Kala, who came to wish the sage as he meditated.

3. The third panel depicts the nimbate Buddha seated in pralambapada on a lotus in dharmachakra mudra delivering his sermon in the deer park at Sarnath. He is flanked by Vajrapani and Maitreya.

4. The topmost panel depicts the mahaparinirvana, the great demise of the Buddha. His body is laid on the couch which is surrounded by mourning devotees.

While individual scenes from the Buddha’s life were depicted separately, it was during this period that such a sequential presentation was introduced by the Sarnath (Benaras) School.

A crucial moment arrived when he was barely twenty-nine years of age.  The sights of an old decrepit man, a sick man and a corpse on three successive occasions in the course of his drive through pleasure gardens made him realize the miseries of existence and the fleeting character of worldly pleasures.  On seeing the serene face of a hermit on the fourth occasion, he decided to renounce the world.  In the stillness of night he bade a silent farewell to his sleeping family and left the palace quietly on his horse Kanthaka, accompanied by his charioteer Chhandaka in order to find a solution to the problem of human suffering.  The incident is known as the Great Departure (Mahabhinishkramana). He cut off his hair, discarded his royal attire, took the robe of a recluse (sramana) and became a homeless wanderer engaged in a quest for truth and liberation from the cycle of rebirth. He made a seat under the pipal tree (ficus religiosa) which afterwards came to be known as the Bodhi tree and sat on it, determined not to rise till the attainment of enlightenment (bodhi).  He discovered the Truth he was seeking and became Buddha, the Enlightened. The representation of the enlightenment and the incidents connected with it form favourite themes for the Buddhist artists of all schools.  In Buddhist iconography,   the peculiar posture of touching the earth became one of the special hand gestures of the Buddha.  It is termed as the bhumisparsa mudra (earth-touching gesture).

The Great Departure

Prince Gautama decides to renounce all worldly pleasures including his wife Yasodhara and son Rahula in quest of Supreme Knowledge, and this event is known as mahabhinishkramana (the great Departure or Renunciation). The prince mounts his favourite horse Kanthaka, whose hooves are supported by the yakshas on their palms to avoid noise. The royal groom Chhandaka holds a parasol over his head and Vajrapani (yaksha in attendance) holds his thunderbolt. The prince’s way is obstructed by Mara or Kama, who is seen holding a sword, and behind him stands a hallowed god with folded hands. The three figures of the upper-half corner may be the retinue of Mara of whom one holds a sword and other, a lady, probably Rati, who may also be identified as the presiding deity of the capital city of Kapilavastu.

After reaching his goal of attaining
enlightenment, the Buddha, the Enlightened one decided to preach his Dharma
for the salvation of mankind and proceeded to Rishipatana, where his five former
companions were residing.  He went to
them and delivered his First Sermon, known in the Buddhist terminology as dharma
chakra pravartana (setting the Wheel of Law in motion).  He gave an exposition of the Four Noble
Truths, namely, duhkha (suffering), samudaya (the cause of
suffering), nirodha (the removal of the cause) and marga (the way
leading to the removal of the cause). The Buddha had a number of powerful rivals.  He was challenged by the leaders of six
prominent sects of the period.  But
legends tell us how easily he established his superiority over these powerful
enemies by his miraculous powers.

First Sermon

The long frieze displays one of the five greatest events in the life of the Buddha – the First Sermon (dharmachakra pravartana) delivered by the Buddha at the Deer Park of Sarnath after his enlightenment at Bodhgaya. The Buddha sits cross-legged on a pedestal that bears a wheel on a pillar and below it two deer seated back to back indicating the site of the great event. Wearing a garment covering both shoulders (ubhayansika sanghati) the Buddha raises his right hand in the abhaya (granting protection) pose and the left supports the hem of the drapery.

Out of his five disciples three are seated to his right and the two to his left. Like their Master they wear monk’s robe and have thick kusa grass seat. The scene is witnessed by some noble men and divine beings who hold their hands clasped in adoration or carry lotus and other flowers for worship. The bearded Vajrapani is seen, thunderbolt in hand (damaged) in the background.

Miracle at Sravasti

The unique circular slab represents the miracle performed by the Buddha at Sravasti. The miracle, described in the aggikhandpama sutta was a double miracle of walking in the air while emitting alternately flames of fire and waves of water from the upper and lower part of his body. Here the Buddha is shown seated in meditation with flames coming out from his body.

The celestial figures hold umbrellas over his head. The sculpture is edged with flames. Two lotuses issue forth from the two sides of the Buddha. The one to his left shows the Dipankara Jataka with the Buddha standing and a kneeling figure spreading his hair near his feet. The one to his right represents the episode of the offering of a handful of dust by a little child to the Buddha.

Indra’s visit to Indrasala cave

According to Buddhist legends in the course of his journeys in the Magadha country, the Buddha lived sometime in the Indrasala Cave on Vediyaka hill near Rajagriha, where Sakra, the king of the heaven came to see him. He was accompanied by the Gandharva Panchasikha. At that time the hill-top shone and looked as if it was all ablaze.

Finding the Buddha deeply absorbed in meditation he asked Panchasikha to approach him and propitiate him with music. The divine musician picked up his lyre and began to play on it. He sang a hymn in praise of the Buddha and finally announced the arrival of Sakra. After they had met and exchanged greetings, Sakra placed a few problems of philosophical import before the Buddha, solutions of which were readily furnished. He then returned in grateful satisfaction after having duly adored the Buddha.

In this panel the Buddha is shown as seated inside the cave and haloed Sakra is shown approaching him with hands joined in adoration. His attendant, Panchasikha is seen announcing his presence. Two other defaced figures appear behind Sakra.

At the age of seventy-nine the Buddha in the
company of his faithful disciple, Ananda, visited a large number of places in
and around the present day Bihar and eastern
Uttar Pradesh.  At long last he reached
the suburbs of Kusinagara (Kasia, District Deoria, U.P.), the capital of the
Mallas.  Ananda, at his bidding, spread a
couch between two sala trees on which the Buddha is said to have laid and passed away.  His last words were ‘Decay is inherent in all
living beings.  Work out your own
salvation with diligence’. The Mallas cremated his body with ceremonies
befitting a universal king (chakravarti). 
On hearing the news, seven claimants, Ajatasatru of Magadha, the
Lichchhavis of Vaisali, the Sakyas of Kapilavastu, the Bulis of Allakappa, the
Koliyas of Ramagrama, a Brahmin of Vethadipa and the Mallas of Pava sent
messengers for portions of bone relics in order to erect stupas over
them.  

Mahaparinirvana

Of the five episodes in the Buddha’s life, which are graphically represented in sculptures, the mahaparinirvana (the great decease) is the last one. The present relief shows the Teacher’s body lying on a couch and surrounded by grief-stricken disciples like Ananda (standing at his feet), Mahakasyapa and Subhadra along with Vajrapani. Others are seen mourning the lord’s demise.

According to the Chinese traditions, Vajrapani as Guhyapadi Malla holding the adamantine vajra (club) was a devout attendant of the Buddha. In the Ambattha Sutta of the Dighanikaya, he, as the chief of the yakshas, was present at the time of the Buddha’s death.