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PLATE 1.
1739, BODHISATTVA SlDDHABTHA, pp. 9, 11, 27, 69* 77, 101.
HANDBOOK
TO THE
Sculptures in the
Peshawar Museum
BY
H. HARGREAVES,
Superintendent, Archaeological Survey of India, Frontier Gircle r
and Honorary Curator, Peshawar Museum*
REVISED EDITION
CALCUTTA: GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
CENTRAL PUBLICATION BRANCH
1930
To
D. BRAINERD SPOONER,
" These to his memory
since he held them dear."
PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION
So great was the demand for Dr. Spooner's Hand*
book to the Sculptures in the Peshawar Museum that the
edition published in 1909 was out of print in 1918.
A re-issue of the original handbook would not, how.
ever, have met the needs of visitors, for in the interven-
ing years the sculptures had doubled in number. More-
over, new legendary scenes required explanation and,
in the light of increasing knowledge, reliefs of which the
purport was once doubttul had become readily recogniz-
able. A revised edition was, therefore, called for one
which should deal with the enlarged collection and, at
the same time, embody the results of later discoveries
in this field of Buddhist art.
Although the matter is largely new, and a chapter
has been added on the History and Art of Gandhara,
the general arrangement of the first edition has been pre-
served and it is hoped that this volume will, like its pre-
decessor, provide visitors to the Museum with a handbook
sufficiently explanatory of the sculptures while avoiding
the excessive details of a catalogue.
Without the whole-hearted co-operation of M. Dilawar
Khan, the former Custodian and present Curator of the
Peshawar Museum, the completion of the Handbook,
after my transfer from Peshawar, would have been impos-
sible and for this and assistance in countless directions
I am his most grateful debtor.
U PREFACE.
My obligations to previous writers on this subject are
those enumerated in the Bibliography and the Preface
to the First Edition, but to the list of these names I would
add that of the late Dr. Spooner himself, the first Curator
of the Peshawar Museum, to whose memory this volume
is dedicated as a debt of gratitude by his friend, colleague
and successor.
H. HARGREAVES.
PESHAWAR,
December 30, 1928.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST HANDBOOK
THIS Handbook has been written entirely for the
use of residents in Peshawar and other visitors to the
Peshawar Museum. It does not claim to be a catalogue
of the sculptures, but is merely a popular guide-book
that shall explain the sculptures to those on the spot
and, it is hoped, make them more interesting. Contro-
versial matters have not been altogether excluded, for
it has been felt that possibly visitors would like to know
the nature of the problems involved in the study of this
school of art ; but tedious archaeological arguments
have been avoided, and the specialist will observe that
such new theories as are advanced here and there are
merely stated rather than developed. The author hopes,
however, that all controversial points have been duly
indicated as such.
A word as to the arrangement of the sculptures may
be appropriate. Each of the larger collections has been
sub-divided into groups according to subjects, and these
groups arranged in the cases in systematic sequence.
All the sculptures in the Museum, furthermore, have
been numbered consecutively, beginning in the right-
hand gallery upstairs. It is hoped that this classifica-
tion will facilitate the study of the collections.
My great obligations to M. Foucher, the well-known
French archaeologist, call for cordial acknowledgment.
His brilliant work, " L'Art Greco-Bouddhique du Gan-
dhara", has been constantly referred to, while the
iii
IV PREFACED
second part of the Introduction is little more than a com-
pilation from his pages. I am also indebted to the
Reverend Samuel Beal, whose interesting work, " The
Romantic Legend of Sakya Buddha ", has been most
helpful in the interpretation of new sculptures; and
particularly to Mr. Marshall, the Director General of
Archeology in India, who has very kindly consented to
edit this Handbook for me.
D. B.
PESHAWAR,
November 11, 1909.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER, PAGE.
L History and Art of Gandhiira 1
II. Introduction to the Buddha Legend 10
III. The Sculptures 48
APPENDIX. EXCAVATIONS IN GANDHARA 109
BIBLIOGRAPHY Ill
LIST OF PLATES
PLATE
1. Bodhisattva Siddhartha. (No. 1739.) Frontispiece.
2. (a) Miracle of Sravasti. (No. 1527.)
(6) Yakshas and garland. (No. 508.)
3. Ascetic Buddha. (No. 799).
4. (a) Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. (No. 200.)
(5) Four-armed HaritL (No. 1773.)
(c) Bodhisattva Maitreya. (No. 1866.)
5. (a) Submission of the Naga Apalala. (No. 28 L.).
(6) gyama Jataka. (No. 1891).
6. The Temptation A
First Sermon B.
Unidentified Scene 0.
Devadatta's Assassins
No. 1844.
D.l
Mahaparinirvana E.J
7. Haritl and Panchika. (No. 241).
8. (a) Icthyocentaur. (No. 14 L.).
(6) Frieze of standing figures. (No. 24 L.).
(c) Pipal leaves with tendrils. (No. 15 L.).
9. (a) Buddha with crystal urqa. (No. 1430.)
(6) Koyal female bearing miniature shrine. (No. 1427,)
10. Kanishka Eelic Casket.
vii
Handbook to the Sculptures in the
Peshawar Museum.
CHAPTER I*
HISTORY AND ART OF GANDHAKA.
HISTORY.
The greater part of the sculptures in the Peshawar
Museum have been recovered in excavations l carried out
by officers of the Archaeological Survey of India in the
Peshawar valley, 2 a region known anciently as Gandhara.
From the 6th century B.C. Gandhara formed part of the
Achsemenian Empire having been conquered in the reign
of Cyrus. In the Bahistan inscription of Darius (c. 516
B.C.) the Gandharians appear among the subject people
and distinct from the Indians, the people of the Indus
valley, referred to in another inscription of Darius, but
little is really known of the history of Gandhara until
Alexander the Great overthrew the last Achaemenian
king and succeeded to his dominions.
When in the cold weather of 327-326 B.C. the forces of
Alexander the Great entered the Peshawar Valley
Gandhara was under the rule of a raja named by the
Greeks, Astes, whose capital was Pushkaravati, the
modern Charsada, 3 on the Kabul river. Alexander*
1 A complete list of these excavations with bibliographical references is given
in the Appendix.
2 The remaining sculptures have reached the Museum from various sources
bat all emanate from the same region or the adjoining hill country.
8 For an account of excavations at Charsada in 1903, c/. A. S. /., W02-3,
and ior the antiquities recovered see Cases 25-29 and adjacent Table Cases in the
upper left gal&ry of the Museum,
2 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
constituted the lower Kabul Valley and the recently
conquered hills a special satrapy under a governor,
Nicanor, and in the capital Pushkaravati left a Macedonian
garrison under an officer named Philip. With Alexander's
death at Babylon in 323 B.C. effective Macedonian rule
ceased in India and by 317 B.C. the last Greek garrison
had departed. Thus Greek rule in Gandhara lasted less
than ten years and its effects were short-lived.
Alexander's death was followed by a long struggle
between his generals. The eastern portion of the empire,
which in theory included the Indian dominions, fell
eventually to Seleucus Nicator who, in 312 B.C., founded
the dynasty known as the Seleucid kings of Syria. But
when Seleucus, emulating Alexander, attempted to invade
India he was checked by an Indian ruler, Chandragupta
Maurya. Political relations between the two were settled
by a treaty which fixed the Hindu Kush as the limit of
the Seleucid kingdom and gave Gandhara to the Maurya
ruler whose capital was at Pataliputra, the modern Patna.
Thus, for the first time, Gandhara became part of an
Indian empire.
Proof that Gandhara formed part of the Maurya
dominions is afforded by the Rock Edicts of Asoka still
preserved at Shahbazgarhi, some ten miles to the east of
Mardan. The Singhalese chronicle, the Mahdvamsa, also
records the name of the Buddhist apostle Madhyantika,
who, sent by Asoka, converted the people of Gandhara
and Kashmir (c. 256 B.C.).
After the death of Asoka, c. 231 B.C., the empire of
Magadha began to break up and Gandhara as one of the
most distant provinces was able once again to assert her
independence, but only to fall a prey to Bactrian Greek
invaders from the north-west.
It will be recalled that the Seleucid empire extended
to the Hindu Kush. About 250 B.C. two parts of this
empire became independent kingdoms, namely Bactria
under Piodotus and Parthia under Arsaces, Parthia
HISTORY AND AKT OF GANDHARA. 3
grew gradually at the expense of Syria and lasted until
226 A.D. and in the reign of Mithridates I, 171-138 B.C.,
extended as far east as the Indus.
Bactria, 1 the north-west region of present day Afghanis-
tan, was a stronghold of Hellenic culture, its rulers a
military aristocracy, thoroughly Greek in sentiment and
religion, ruling over a helot population. Diodotus, the
son of the founder of this kingdom, was deposed by one
Euthydemus whose son Demetrius carried his arms across
the Hindu Kush and conquered the upper Kabul Valley
and Gandhara 2 (c. 190 B.C.).
Tta family of Demetrius was driven out of its posses-
sions in Bactria, the Kabul Valley and Gandhara by
a ruler Eucratides. Princes of the house of Eucratides
continued to rule until about 135 B.C., when they, in
turn, were expelled from Bactria by the $akas, a Scythian
tribe from Central Asia. They were also deprived of
Gandhara by these same Sakas about the beginning of the
1st Century B.C. but continued to rule in the upper Kabul
Valley until about 50 A.D. when Hermaeus, the last
Greek prince, was succeeded by the Kushans, a branch
of the Yeuh-chi, another Scythian tribe. Thus for a
hundred years Indo-Greek kings ruled in Gandhara and,
in the Kabul Valley, for nearly a century longer. From
coins we know the names of thirty-five Indo-Greek kings
and three queens who ruled in the Punjab and in north-
west India, but we possess practically no other informa-
tion concerning them.
The Sakas who superseded the Greeks in Bactria in
135 B.C. and occupied Gandhara towards the beginning
of the 1st Century B.C. had themselves been driven out
of Bactria by the Yeuh-chi, another similar race from
north-west China. The passes of the Hindu Kush being
closed to them they appear to have travelled by way of
Sistan ($akasthana) into the Indus Valley. In so doing
1 The modern Balkh preserves the name.
8 His conquests also included part of the Punjab.
4 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
they seem to have mingled and intermarried freely with
the eastern branch of the Parthians who are known as
the Pahlavas and whose rulers bear Parthian names.
Both Sakas and Pahlavas ruled in north-west India
and coins of the Saka rulers, Maues, Azes and Azilises, are
frequently recovered at Taxila and in Gandhara and an
inscription of a Pahlava ruler, named Gondopharnes,
recovered at Takht-i-Bahi and dated in the 26th year
of his reign and in the year 103 of an unknown era l is
preserved in the Lahore Museum.
But Gandhara had not yet come to the end of its in-
vasions. The Yeuh-chi, who had driven the Sakas from
Bactria, were sufficiently powerful to force the parses of
the Hindu Kush, to conquer the Kabul Valley and about
50 A.D. to overthrow Hermaeus, the last prince of the
house of Eucratides. The principal tribe of the Yeuh-chi
was the Kushans and their ruler Kujula Kadphises
extended his conquests to Gatidhara and his successors to
the Punjab and even into the basin of the Ganges.
Of these Kushan rulers the greatest and most power-
ful was Kanishka who made Purushapura, the modern
Peshawar, his winter capital and extended his conquests
from the borders of China to those of Bengal. Then,
and for the only time in its chequered history, Gandhara
ceased to be a frontier. 2 Under Kanishka and his succes-
sors Huvishka and Vasudeva it enjoyed its period of
greatest prosperity and it is to this era that, with one
exception, 3 all the ancient monuments of Gandhara, from
1 If, as generally accepted, the era is the Vikrama Sam vat which began in
58 B.C., then Gondopharnes began to reign in 19 A.D. and was still reigning in
45 A.D.
8 Chandragupta Maurya's kingdom is said to have extended to the Hindu
Kush but Asoka's Rock Edicts at Shahbazgarhi seem to indicate that Gandhara
was actually a frontier as the seven similar edicts are all found on the borders of
the Maurya kingdom.
It is true that for some periods Afghanistan formed part of the Moghul
Empire but it was held with difficulty at id Gandhara was in reality as much
a frontier then as it is to-day. Attock, the ferry station on the Indus, established
and fortified by Akbar in 1581-83 was so named because it was the north-west
limit (fitak) of his empire.
8 The A6oka Eock Edict of Shahbazgarhi, c. 256 B.C.
HISTORY AND AKT OF GANDHARA. 5
the stupas of the Khyber to the ruined walls still visible
in the high banks of the Indus at Hund, are to be assigned,
and it is religious foundations of Kushan date that have
yielded most of the sculptures in this museum.
Kanishka is said to have been converted to Buddhism
and the Buddhist texts make of him a ser< ad Asoka
and of Gandhara a second holy land of Buddhism.
Although the Buddha in all probability never travelled
west of the present United Provinces we find that before
the 5th Century numerous sites in Gandhara were definitely
associated with, and owed their fame to events connected
with the Buddha in his last or previous existences, 1 while
the sanctity of Peshawar was assured by Kanishka's
great stupa reputed to enshrine relics of the Buddha,
and by the Patrachaitya wherein was preserved his pdtra
(begging bowl).
It was from the site of Kanishka's stupa that Dr. D. B.
Spooner recovered by excavation in March 1909 these
same relics 2 of the Buddha and the bronze reliquary in
which they had been enshrined, and it is Kanishka himself
whom we see in the centre of the casket between figures
of the sun and moon, PL 10.
After the death of Vasudcva, c. 225 A.D., the Kushan
power declined, though it survived in the Punjab until
the middle of the 5th Century. Of the history of Gandhara
during this period we know little until about 400 A.D.
when it was visited by the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim,
Pa Hian. From his description of the stupa of the Eye
Gift " adorned with silver and gold "and his statement
that some seven hundred priests still served the Patra-
chaitya at Peshawar it is clear that Buddhism was
1 The stupa of the " Eye gift " to mark the spot where the Buddha, " when
he was a Bodhisattva, gave his eyes in charity " was located at Piushkat avail,
the scene of the Visvantara Jataka at Po-lu-sha (^hahbazgaihi), the wito of the
conversion of the Yakshi llaritl, some 50 li to tho north-west of Pushkaravati,
and the scene of the JSyania Jataka " fifty li or so " still further to the north.
8 The relics were presented to the Buddhists of Burma and havo been re-
enshrined at Mandalay. The casket is preserved in tho Pc^ha\.ar Museuia and
a plaster cast is exhibited in the Central Hall.
B
6 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
relatively vigorous and flourishing. But when in 520 A.D.
Song-yun, another Chinese pilgrim, reached Gandhara
he records, " This is the country which the Ye-tha des-
troyed.. . .since which event two generations have
passed." These Ye-tha or White Huns, a barbarous horde
from Central Asia, swept down into India towards the
end of the 5th Century carrying fire and sword every-
where in their train, obtained possession of the Kushan
dominions and eventually overthrew the great empire
of the Guptas.
Song-yun speaks of the Ye-tha king (Mihiragula),
whom he met in camp, as cruel and vindictive, practising
the most barbarous atrocities, worshipping demons and
opposed to the law of the Buddha. Nevertheless he still
records the existence at Po-lu-sha (Shahbazgarhi) of
beautiful images " covered with gold sufficient to dazzle
the eyes " and, within the temple, paintings of the
Visvantara Jataka so vividly lifelike as to bring tears to
the eyes of the barbarians. But he was the last to see
the glories of the Buddhist shrines of Gandhara, for some
fifteen years later Mihiragula destroyed sixteen hundred
of its religious establishments, killed two-thirds of the
inhabitants and reduced the remainder to slavery.
From this calamity Gandhara never recovered and
when a hundred years later Hiuan Tsang, the most famous
of the Chinese pilgrims, passed through Gandhara the
traces of this devastation were still clearly legible on the
face of the desolated land. He found it without a king
and a dependency of Kapisa 1 and not only depopulated
but more than half ruined by the evils of war. He
mentions some fifteen religious establishments among
those still occupied, but of the rest records with pathetic
brevity, " There are about one thousand sanghdrdmas 2
which are deserted and in ruins. They are filled with wild
1 The IJapiSa of Hiuan Tsang is tho present Afghan Kohistan
* Buddhist monasteries.
HISTORY AND ART OF GANDHARA. 7
shrubs and solitary to the last degree. The stupas are
mostly decayed/' 1
But the worst invasions were yet to come and
Grandhara under the rule of Turki Shahiya kings of Kabul 2
and of their successors the Hindu Shahiya rulers of Ohind
(Hund) still remained Indian in manners and language
until the beginning of the llth Century when the Muham-
madan invasion swept away the last traces of Indian art,
language and culture.
ART.
The school of art which arose and flourished in
Gandhara was not the first to arise on Indian soil.
Long before we have the Ancient Indian School re-
presented by the sculptures of the Bharhut stiipa, 3 the
railings of Bodh Gaya, 4 the gateways of Sanclii, 5 the
fayades of the rockcut temples of Orissa 6 and the Konkan, 7
and the pre-Kushan sculptures of Mathura. 8
Now these works of the Ancient School show a con-
tinuous development from the rudimentary technique of
most of those of Bharhut, through the more developed
style of the reliefs on the Bodh Gaya railing to the masterly
execution of the best sculptures of Sanchi.
The school of Gandhara, on the other hand, though
later in date is not a natural continuation of the Ancient
Indian School but exhibits clear evidence of Hellenistic
influence, displays a greater mastery over technical
difficulties and introduces new and foreign motifs,
Beal, Buddhist Records, Vol. I, p. 98.
2 The Turki Shahiya kings of Kabul boasted their descent from the Kushan
king, Kanishka.
c. middle of 2nd Century B.C.
Early 1st Century B.C.
8 Latter half of 1st Century B.C.
c. 1st Century B.C.
f Latter half of 1st Century B.C.
Middle o2 2nd Century B.C. onward.
B2
8 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
Nevertheless, like its predecessors, it still remains at the
service of Buddhist piety and the monuments to be adorned
by the reliefs and images, the legends to be illustrated, the
ends to be served are still Buddhist.
Thus though the form be strongly Hellenistic, the
matter is Indian and consequently we find many old
motifs of the early school retained practically unchanged.
Some are, however, modified and a few entirely trans-
formed. To the already numerous Indian or Indianized
motifs atlantes, fantastic creatures, griffons and the
flora and fauna of India, the new school brought the vine,
the acanthus, Cupids and garlands, 1 PL 2 (6), fabulqjis
creatures such as the hippocampus and triton,*PL 8 (a),
marine divinities, the gods of Olympus and all the en-
tourage of Dionysus, while to the architectural details
of the ancient school, railings, bead and reel and saw-
tooth mouldings, horse-shoe arches, trapezoidal door-
ways, merlons and Indo-Persepolitan pilasters, the
Grseco-Buddhist sculptors contributed Indo-Corinthian
pilasters, acanthus capitals, PL 8 (6), modillion cornices
and foliated mouldings, PL 5 (a).
But the greatest contribution to Indian art resulting
from this union of Hellenistic genius and Buddhist piety
is the figure of the Buddha, PL 2 (a), PL 3, PL 9 (a).
In the earlier sculptures of the Ancient Indian school
illustrating events in the last existence of the Buddha,
the Master is never represented, his presence in any scene
being indicated by some sacred symbol. His riderless
horse with umbrella depicts the flight from the palace, 2
an empty throne under a tree the Enlightenment ; 3
but Gautama himself never appears and it was the Hel-
lenistic artists of Gandhara familiar with the comprehen-
sive pantheon of Greek art who first attempted to portray
1 The amorini, PI. 5 (a), lose their classic form and in No. 241 , PL 7, appear
as Httle yakshas while in PI. 2 (6) the ankle ted figures are possibly no longer Cupids
but the yaksha otfspring of Pailchika and Hariti bearing a long flexible purse.
s lntrod. ia
1 Jntrod. 19,
HISTORY AND ART OF GANDHARA. 9
the Master. 1 That this product of Indo-Greek ateliers
failed ultimately to satisfy Indian ideals lessens in no
way the credit of the achievement of the Grseco-Buddhist
artists, for whatever may be thought of the later develop-
ments of the Buddha image in India proper there can
be no doubt that it originated in Gandhara and that it
is not only the oldest in the world but also the source from
which the artists of Central Asia and the Far East drew
their inspiration. This alone invests it with great his-
torical interest and importance for it can hardly be con-
tested that the Buddha figure is Asia's greatest artistic
success.
Closely connected with the figure of the Buddha are
the Bodhisattvas, 2 PL 1, PL 4 (a), (c), another contribution
of the school of Gandhara to Indian art.
The artists worked not only in stone, 3 but also in
stucco, terracotta and clay and it must not be forgotten
that these images were invariably embellished with poly-
chrome and gold. Evidence of this is furnished not only
by Song-yun's account of the dazzling images of Po-lu-sha
but by 108 M, 4 943 M (a), (6), (c), 5 No. 227, and
Nos. 1797 and 1809. 7
We have already seen that Buddhism reached Gandhara
about 256 B.C. and that froinc. 190 B.C. to c. 100 B.C. the
1 The priority of tho Girauo-Buddhist imago of the Buddha is no longer un-
challenged and Dr. A. K. Coomaraswamy in the \\orks detailed in the Bibliography
advances the claim of the Mathura Buddha figure, if not to priority, at least to
equal antiquity.
2 The term Bodlusattva is tho designation of any person, human or divine, who
has reached that stage of development which assures his becoming a Buddha,
In history only one Buddha is known, namely Gautama himself, who ceased to
ba a Bodhisattva on attaining Buddhahood. But the Buddhists have evolved
a theory of countless others, among the best known of whom are Avalokiteavara,
Maitreya, Manjusrl and Vajrapam.
8 The stone used for most of the sculptures is a variety of greyish blue schist
which varies considerably in fineness, some of the most beautiful and seemingly
early friezes being executed in a close-grained homogeneous stone lending itself
to the execution of reliefs rivalling in delicacy those of workers in ivory
* Table Case A.
6 Table Case M,
Case 11.
7 Case 76.
10 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAB MUSEUltfL
country was ruled by Indo-Greek princes. This period
would seem to have been peculiarly favourable to the rise
of the school of Grseco-Buddhist art. But when we
examine the coins of these rulers it is Greek gods and
goddesses we see occupying the place of honour on the
reverse and the same is true of the coins of their Saka-
Pahlava successors. But Hellenistic culture must even
then have been making itself felt in Gandhara though its
art, apparently, was not yet devoted to the service of
Buddhism. 1 Still it is not until the time of Kanishka
that the Buddha figure appears on a coin. The conven-
tionalization of the Buddha figures on the Kanishka
casket, PI. 10, makes it plain that the origin of this image
must be assigned to some pre-Kanishka date and con-
firmation of this is afforded by the gold reliquary from
Bimaran which likewise bears representations of the
Buddha and which is said to have been found along with
coins of Azes. 2 It therefore appears as if the school of
Gandhara sprang into being between the passing of Indo-
Greek rule and the coming of the Kushans, that is during
the Saka-Pahlava supremacy in the 1st Century B.C.
Nevertheless it must not be forgotten that the vast
majority of the sculptures in the Peshawar Museum
have been recovered, not from Saka-Pahlava monuments,
but from the ruins of religious establishments assignable
with certainty to Kushan times.
The sculptures themselves do not, as might have
been expected, afford much assistance towards removing
the uncertainty as to their date for, unfortunately, among
the many thousands of Gandhara sculptures we possess,
few are inscribed, still fewer are dated and none of these
in any known era. A recent acquisition No. 1944, 3
1 No Indo-Greek city site in Gandhara has yet been excavated. It is such
sites which may be expected to yield the earliest efforts of the Gandhara School.
To this early period such sculptures as Pigs. 129-131 of A. G.-B. G. might well
be assigned, and, perhaps, No. 1938, Menander's wrestlers (Case 85).
2 These coins do not, of course, prove the casket to be of the time of Azes
though the presumption is not unwarranted, as it was a contemporary coin that
was found with the Kanishka reliquary.
* Central Hll,e/. p. 51.
6ISTO&Y AND AKT OF GANDHlRA. 11
however, dated in the year 89 seems, on paleeographic
grounds, to be referable to the Kanishka era and may with
some confidence be assigned to between 166*216 AJX 1
The composition and style of this relief point to a period
when the school was in full vigour and prove that, long
after Kanishka, the artists of Gandhara could, at least
in stone, execute works of considerable merit. Still
neither the dated inscriptions nor considerations of style
enable us to determine with any approach to certainty
the chronological sequence of the sculptures. As a
general rule the earlier ones approximate more closely
to Hellenistic work but the compositions are frequently
eo complex that certainty can rarely be reached.
Nos. 14 L, 24 L and 15 L, PL 8, are probably early
products of the school ; No. 1739, PL 1, No. 1527, PL 2 (a),
No. 200, PL 4 (a), Nos. 1866, PL 4 (c), 28 L, PL 5 (a), and
1944 of the school in its full vigour ; and No. 1773,
PL 4 (6), in its decline ; while Nos. 1440, 87 L and No. 403
appear to mark its complete decadence.
The interest of the works of this school, however, is
by no means limited to their religious and aesthetic aspects,
important as are these to the students of Buddhism and
of the history of art. They throw a flood of light on the
life of this doubly classical land of Gandhara during some
five centuries, and place at the disposal of the Indianist
a comprehensive dictionary of antiquities illustrated by
contemporary artists. The costumes of all classes from
princes to paupers, the furnishing of houses, weapons of
war and the chase, armour, articles of toilet and jewellery,
litters, howdahs, carts and carriages, horses and harness,
tools, agricultural implements, cult objects and musical
instruments are all depicted. We are shown the people
at work, play and worship, engaged in acts of devotion,
marriages, cremations, donations, sports and visits of
ceremony and we are not left ignorant of the appearance
1 For this reading and date I am indebted to Dr. Steu Konuw The date of
Kaniehka is itself a matter of controversy.
1 2 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
of dancers, musicians, travellers, ascetics, wrestlers,
bravoes and robbers. The forms which gnomes, dryads,
water spirites and demons assumed in popular imagina-
tion are all depicted as well as the battlemented and
guarded city walls and gateways which defended the
people from their more substantial and mundane enemies.
These sculptures come also as a welcome corrective
&nd addition to the Buddhist canonical books, revealing
more precisely the form Buddhism took in Gandhara.
The abundance of images and particularly those of Hariti
and PaiicLika prove that the Buddhism of the texts did
not hold the field unchallenged. The common need of
the heart for objects of devotion and the still more human
desire for children and riches were met by these 'images.
The numerous monuments and their wealth of sculpture
are evidence, too, of the prosperity of the country and the
opulence of its inhabitants who, if we may believe the
inscriptions, were not less mixed in race than the sculp-
tures themselves in style, for if the Sadhakamitra of
No. 280 and the Dharmapriya and Buddhapriya of
No. 1944 are Indians the Menander of No. 1938 l and the
Agesilaos of the Kanishka relic casket at least can clearly
claim Greek descent.
The school enjoyed an exceptionally long life and
though we know comparatively little of its earlier works
we are fully informed from Kushan times. The highest
artistic development seems to have been reached in the
2nd Century A.D. and this was followed by a very long
period of prosperity marked by the production of count-
less sculptures of a uniform level of mediocrity, the art
of the studio being replaced by the craftsmanship of the
workshop. A very long and slow decline succeeded,
evidenced by loss of technical skill, monotonous repetition
and weakness of composition, but stucco continued to be
used with considerable vigour until the end of the 5th
Century A.D,
I * 0/ P* 47 and footnote.
HISTORY AttD ABT OP GANDHARA. 13
Buddhist art in Gandhara received its first blow
in the early part of the 6th Century at the hands of the
ferocious White Hun ruler, Mihiragula. After the passing
of the White Hun domination Buddhism again revived
and in the neighbourhood of the larger towns some of
the monasteries and stupas appear to have been restored. 1
Some ancient images and reliefs from the ruins were
brought into use and stucco work again adorned the
bases of stupas, but life had departed from the art as
indicate only too plainly such figures as Nos. 840-1,
843, 876. 2 Nevertheless Buddhism lingered on in
Gandhara until the Muhammadan invasion (1021 A.D.),
but by that time the greater part of the monuments
were already hidden under their ruins awaiting the spade
of the excavator, to the success of whose efforts the collec-
tion bears ample witness.
1 Stein, A. S. I., 1911-12, p. 101.
2 Table Case L.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
CHRONOLOGY.
Birth of Siddhartha Gautama founder of Buddhism .
Death of Siddhartha Gautama
Gandhara, a part of Persian Empire
Alexander invades Gandhara
Death of Alexander
Alexander's last garrison leaves India ....
Seleucus, successor of Alexander in Western Asia, checked in
India by Ghandragupta Maurya. Gandhara becomes part
of Mauryan Empire .......
Asoka Maurya sends Buddhist Missionaries to Gandhara.
His inscription at Shahbazgarhi .....
Bactua becomes independent under Diodotus
Demetrius of Bactria conquers the Kabul Valley, Gandhura
and the Punjab
Heliocles, King of Bactria, driven across the Hindu Kush by
the Sakas .........
&akas invade N. W. India and later obtain possession of
Gandhara .........
Rise of the Gandhara School ....
Pahlava dynasty ruling in N. W. India
B.C.
c. 663
483
568321
827326
323
317
305
c. 256
e. 250
c. 190
c. 135
c. 100
First Century B.C.
c. 50
A.D.
Gondopharnes, Pahlava king ruling in Gandhara. Takht-i-
Bahi inscription of year 103 21 50
Conquest of the Kabul Valley by the Kushans and extinction
of Greek rule north of the Indus c. 60
Kushan power extended over N. W. India . . . . c. 76
Kanishka, Kushan King. Grseeo -Buddhist art seems to have
flourished greatly in his reign as a result probably of his
conversion to Buddhism and the increased material pros-
perity of the country. Buddha image first appears on his
coins but is already conventionalized .... c. 120
Fa Hian, Chinese pilgrim, visits Gandhara . . . 400
Song-yun, , 520
Mihiragula, the White Hun King, destroys sixteen hundred
stupas and monasteries of Gandhara and slays two -thirds
of its inhabitants 530540
Hiuan Tsang, the most famous of the Chinese pilgrims, visits
India 629645
Muhammadan invasion of Gandhara ..... 1021
15
CHAPTER II.
INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHA LEGEND.
To the student of Buddhist sculpture, the enquiry
as to how far the various legends connected with the
life of Gautama Buddha are historical, is not one of im-
portance. It is the legends alone that can explain the
scenes represented in the sculptures, and for this reason
a brief account of the Buddha's life, as it is known and
believed in by his followers, is a necessary introduction
to our subject.
The exact date of the Buddha's birth is not known.
His death, according to Dr. Fleet, took place on tlie 13th
of October, 483 B.C., and, as he is said to have been 80
years of age at the time, it is probably a close approxi-
mation to the truth to date his birth in 563 B.C. The
legend has it that this event was not only attended by
countless supernatural phenomena, but also presaged by
divers dreams and visions. Siddhartha himself, they say,
was resident in the Tushita Heaven when the time
approached for him to be reborn on earth, and he long
deliberated as to who were worthy of being his parents,
and ultimately decided to be born of Maya, the queen
of King Suddhodana, the ruler of the Bakya clan whose
capital was Kapilavastu in the present Nepal Terai.
Accordingly, he descended from heaven and entered the
right side of the queen under the form, as it seemed to
the sleeping Maya, of a white elephant with six tusks.
Here he reposed until the hour of birth arrived. When
the time came the queen was disporting herself in one
of the royal gardens outside the city, known as the Luin-
bim, and the miraculous event itself is said to have taken
place as she stood beneath a sal tree.
From the place of his birth he was brought back to
the capital amid the rejoicings of the people, and the
16
INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHA LEGEND. 17
astrologers were set to cast Ms horoscope. Noticing
that the infant's body bore the 32 major and the 80 minor
marks of a " Great Being ", x they seem to have been
in doubt as to whether he would become a Universal
Monarch or a perfect Buddha, the saviour of the world,
for the marks of both are the same. But when the Rishi
Asita, who was attracted to the spot from a great dis-
tance by visions with which his miraculous power gifted
him, came and beheld the child, he pronounced him to
be indeed the Bodhisattva, that is to say, the future
Buddha. The royal father, however, does not seem to
have been attracted by the prospect of his son and heir
abandoning the throne and going forth as a humble
mendicant to lead the life of an ascetic, and, therefore,
exerted himself to attract the prince to worldly things
by indulging him in every form of luxury and pleasure.
Pie was early married to Yasodhara, having established
his right to win her by excelling all the rival Hiikya youths
in a series of games and contests arranged for that pur-
pose, and he lived with her and the other ladies of his
household in the utmost happiness until early manhood.
His father, however, remembering the prophecy that
he would renounce the world, kept him almost a prisoner
within the palace walls.
When, in the fulness of time the hour for the Great
Renunciation drew nigh, the young man, being impelled
thereto by the gods, prevailed upon his charioteer Chan-
daka to take him without the enclosure on a pleasure
trip. Then it was that the gods, in order to set his mind
on spiritual things, showed him the spectacle of an old,
decrepit man in the highway. This was succeeded by
a second vision of a man sick and worn with pain, and
then by a third vision of a loathsome corpse. Touched
to the heart by those pitiful spectacles the young prince
demanded explanations, and, learning thus the truth of
1 Of these physical characteristics of the Buddha the sc ilptures show but
one the urna, the whorl of luminous hair between the eyes, usually represented
as a raise' 1 mole-like projection. Cf. No. 239 in the vestibule and PI. 9 (a).
18 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
Old Age, Sickness and Death, was plunged in grief and
meditation, until a fourth vision, that of a holy ascetic,
opened his eyes to the path he should follow to obtain
freedom from these ills. Meanwhile the king, terrified
by the pensiveness that had come upon his son, redoubled
his efforts to divert his attention from the grim realities
of life and to keep him closely confined within the palace.
But the gods so filled him with a feeling of satiety and
disgust for worldly things, that, with their assistance,
he fled in the night leaving his wife, his home and the
throne that might have been his.
This is the Great Kenunciation, so often sung in Bu<3-
dhist story and so often depicted in the various schools
of Buddhist sculpture. From this time forth he lived
for several years as a mendicant seeking the way of sal-
vation by fasting and mortification of the flesh as the
Brahmans both of those days and of our own times do.
But after many enquiries into the various systems of
belief then prevailing, and after long trial of the many
forms of asceticism common to the Hindus of his time,
he abandoned their methods in despair, It was not
long after this that the secret of salvation flashed upon
him, as he sat in meditation beneath the Bodhi tree at
Bodh-gaya, and he attained to that enlightenment by
virtue of which he ceased to be a Bodhisattva and became
a perfect Buddha.
Almost immediately after the Enlightenment the
Buddha proceeded to Sarnath near Benares, where in
the Deer Park of that place he preached his first sermon
and thus entered on his ministry. This incident is the
so-called " turning of the Wheel of \he Law ", and is
naturally a very favourite subject for representation by
Buddhist artists.
With this brief sketch of the early years of the Buddha's
life, we may pass on to those particular legends connected
with the great Teacher which are illustrated by sculp-
tures now in the Peshawar Museum. In the fallowing
INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHA LEGEND. 19
brief list the sculptures illustrative of each legend are
mentioned at the end of each paragraph, and conversely
the paragraphs themselves are referred to in the detailed
description of the sculptures.
1. Diparikara-Jataka. It is not easy to become a
Buddha, the texts inform us, indeed, such a position
is to be attained only after a long series of existences
and the display of the most heroic virtues, and from
such a probation even Sakya Muni himself was not exempt.
The stories of his previous lives as given in the Buddhist
Birth Stories (Jdtakas) enumerate some 550 incarnations
as bird beast and human being. The Peshawar collec-
tions contain no representations of jdtakas depicting the
Buddha in animal existences. The one most commonly
represented is the Dipankara-jataka. The Buddha in
the reliefs is, therefore, not the historical Buddha Gau-
tama but the earliest of his twenty-four predecessors,
a Buddha named Dipankara. Once when this Buddha
Dipankara was about to visit a certain town, news of
his coming reached a young ascetic named Megha or
Sumati. This pious youth, anxious to pay his respects
to the great Teacher, and having just won a certain sum
of money by his display of Vedic knowledge, hastened
to the town to purchase some flowers to cast in worship
before Dipankara. Now it so happened that the king
of the country anxious to pay homage to the Buddha
had ordered that all the flowers available should be
reserved for him. Sumati thus found himself in diffi-
culties. However, he chanced to meet a maiden, carry-
ing a water jar, who had been so fortunate as to obtain
seven lotuses. Five of these he purchased from her,
on condition that in all future births she should be his
wife. The purchase of these flowers from the maiden
is the first act of the drama represented by the sculpture
wherein the youth and the maiden are seen standing
to one side bargaining. Having completed this purchase,
the youth turns and prepares to cast the flowers before
20 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
the Buddha, who has meanwhile arrived on the scene.
The flowers, however, when thrown, do not fall to the
ground but remain suspended about the Buddha's head,
as is plainly shown in the sculpture No. 439. Impressed
by this miracle the youth prostrates himself in adoration,
at the same time letting down his long hair and spread-
ing it as a carpet before the feet of the Buddha. Touched
by this act of devotion, Dipankara Buddha then addresses
the young man and prophesies that in due time he will
attain to enlightenment and become a Buddha. By a
further manifestation of miraculous power, the youth
is then mysteriously raised up into the air, where he
again kneels and continues his adoration of DipankarJL
(135, 247, 439, 781, 783, 810, 816, 1122, 1379, 1554, 1852.)
In the sculpture all these various acts are represented,
being grouped together into one composition. The young
ascetic, it should be remembered, was destined later to
become the Gautama Buddha of history, while in the
maiden, Buddhists see Yasodhara, Siddhartha's youthful
bride, whom he abandoned in the Great Renunciation.
2. Syaina-Jataka. In this existence the future
Buddha was born as Syama, a model of filial piety and the
sole support of his aged and blind parents who lived as
hermits in a remote part of the Himalayas. One day
when drawing water he was struck by the arrow of the
king of Benares who was hunting deer in the forest, but
was afterwards miraculously restored to life. (1891.)
Only four scenes of the story are depicted in the
relief, No. 1891, PL 5 (6) : (A) the slaying of Syama, (B)
the hermitage with the two leaf -huts of the father and
mother, (C) the king leading the blind ascetics to the
body of their dead son, and (D) the parents in grief kneel-
ing by the dead body. In the third scene the blindness
of the parents is most cleverly suggested.
Hiuan-Tqang, who was in India in 629-645 A.D., men-
tions in his description of Gandhara a stupa ahput ten
INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHA LEGEND. 21
miles from Pushkaravati (Charsada) which was then be-
lieved to mark the site of this edifying story, and it is
not impossible that the mound known locally as PeriUno-
dheri, near the large village of Gandheri may conceal
the remains of that monument. ~
3. V&vantara-J&taka. The most famous of all the
Jatakas is that which recounts the penultimate existence
of the Buddha, when born as Prince Visvantara, the son
of the king of Sivi, he realized on earth the perfection
of charity. As the country of Kalinga was suffering
from famine consequent on a prolonged drought, the
ki^g in desperation sent some Brahmans of his court
to beg from the ever charitable Visvantara a miraculous
white elephant which had the power of producing rain
whenever desired and was naturally one of the most
valuable state treasures. Visvantara without hesitation
presented the elephant to the Brahmans and for this
more generous than diplomatic act he, on the angry pro*
tests of his father's subjects, was banished from the
kingdom, and with his faithful wife and two young children
left for the distant jungle appointed as his place of banish-
ment. (1366.)
Even on the road to exile he gave away in alms, first
his horses and then his chariot. Later, in the jungle
a wicked Brahman begged from him his children and
finally The King of The Gods ($akra), in disguise, ob-
tained from this monomaniac of charity even his wife !
All, however, ends happily and the prince and his
family are finally reunited at his father's court.
In No. 1366 which appears to depict the first scene
of the story, we see the elephant of state on the left and,
in the centre, the princely Visvantara in the act of pre-
senting it to an aged Brahman and ratifying the gift
in the orthodox way by pouring water on the recipient's
hand. The figure on the extreme right with ^rms thrown
up in consternation may well be one of the dismayed
22 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
populace whose later anger resulted in Visvantara's
banishment.
The story is of special local interest as by the sixth
century it had been located in Gandhara and the Chinese
pilgrims Song-yun, 520 AJD. and Hiuan-Tsang, 629-645
A.D., both found that every one of the numerous Buddhist
religious foundations in the neighbourhood of Po-lu-sha 1
was reputed to recall one or other episode of this edifying
legend.
4. Queen Maya's dream. The sculptures portraying
this scene are meant to illustrate the conception of the
Buddha. Originally the whole incident was felt to^Jbe
only the dream announcing to Maya the approaching
conception of the child. But having been so often re-
presented in sculpture, the belief seems to have grown
that the incident was a real one. The child is seen des-
cending from the Tushita Heaven in the form of a white
elephant, which according to the story ought to have
six tusks. His divine character is shown by the halo
which surrounds him. Maya, the queen, is represented
as lying asleep, and owing to the fact that in the story
the elephant can only enter her right side, where he re-
mains during gestation, the queen's head is regularly
placed to the spectator's right, so that her right side
is rendered accessible to the approaching elephant. A
curious exception to this otherwise universal rule in Gan-
dhara is seen in sculpture No. 251 when the sculptor
having placed the head to the left, has been forced to
draw the queen with her back to the spectator to avoid
breaking with the tradition. When other female figures
are shown standing to right and left, they are understood
to be palace guards in attendance on the sleeping queen.
(138, 154-A, 251, 350, 566.)
5. Interpretation of the dream. As was only
natural, the queen demanded of the astrologers some
1 The modern Shahbazgarhi about ton miles cast of Mardan in the Peshawar
district and the site of one of the eight recensions of ASoka's Rock Jjdicts,
INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHA LEGEND. 23
interpretation of this extraordinary dream, and this is
the incident depicted in sculptures Nos. 147 and 251.
The king and queen are shown seated side by side turn-
ing attentively toward a Brahmanical figure on the left,
who remains seated before them as he expounds the
meaning of the dream and foretells the birth of the won-
derful child. The various texts are somewhat confused
on the point, but it seems probable that the Brahman
in question is the Rishi Asita. Sometimes one or more
guards or other palace attendants figure in the composi-
tion, but they are not essential and their presence or
absence appears to be determined by consideration of
rpace. (147,251.)
6. The birth, bath and seven steps, The repre-
sentation of the birth of Prince Siddhartha, is naturally
one of the commonest of all subjects in Buddhist art.
The Queen had gone to the Lumbim garden with her
ladies, and was there disporting herself, when the ap-
pointed moment came. The sculptures show her stand-
ing in the centre of the composition, with her right hand
upraised and clutching a branch of the sal tree which
represents the garden. She is supported by her sister,
Mahaprajapati, while attendants varying in number are
clustered behind them. Meanwhile the divine child is
shown issuing from the right side of the queen (in har-
mony with the legend of the conception). In reverent
attitudes Brahma and Indra stand to receive him. ^ It
is Indra with the high headdress, who actually receives
the child in his outstretched arms, while Brahma, who
is distinguished by his coiffure, looks on in adoration.
(32-L, 127, 359, 643-M, 1241, 1242, 1374, 1900, 1903,
1936.)
According to some texts no sooner is the Bodhisattva
born than he takes seven steps in the direction of each
of the cardinal points and it is in this act he is shown
in No. 1374. Other texts state that the newly born
infant is first bathed by the two naga-rdjas, Nanda and
c 2
24 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
Upananda, who holding themselves in the air create two
streams of water, hot and cold, for this purpose. It is
they whom we see in the unique relief No. 1900, and
from whose mouths pour the cleansing streams.
In Gandhara reliefs the bathing of the Bodhisattva
is, however, usually assigned to Indra and Brahma or
to human attendants, as in the fragmentary right panel
of No. 1903. The left panel of this relief shows the
closed litter in which Maya and the child are brought
from the Lumbini garden to the capital, Kapilavastu.
7. The Horoscope. The story of the Horoscope,
when the Eishi Asita foretold to the king and queen t]j
wonderful nature of the child that had been born to them,
differs in sculptural representation from the scene of the
Interpretation of the Dream in one detail only. The
composition is the same, but in the sculptures of the
Horoscope the seated Eishi holds the child on his lap.
The prophecy, which the Eishi is understood to be making
to the royal couple, was unfortunately ambiguous. It
so happens that the physical characteristics of a Buddha
such as the little whorl of the luminous hair between
the eyes, etc., are the same as those of a mighty emperor
or " Universal Monarch ". The Eishi himself declared
that the child would become a Buddha, but the thought
was repugnant to the royal father, who did his utmost
to prevent this consummation. His hope was that,
despite the prophecy of the Eishi, the child would grow
up to be that mighty monarch which the peculiar marks
on his body indicated equally with the Buddhahood.
But the gods through pity for mankind thwarted the
loving but selfish aspirations of the father's heart, and
aided the prince to overcome all obstacles and become
the perfect Buddha. (131, 643-M, 675, 1541, 1726.)
8. The writing lesson. One of the incidents in
the childhood of the prince Siddhartha, frequently re-
3resented in the Buddhist sculpture, is that of the child's
writing lesson. Having been sent to school with
INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHA LEGEND. 25
the other noble children of the Sakya clan, the young
Siddhartha gives evidence of his miraculous powers by
enumerating and demonstrating his knowledge of more
systems of writing than were known even to his guru,
the learned Visvamitra. In the sculptures, the child is
shown seated with a writing board on his knees, while
the other scholars and the guru arc grouped around.
(131, 151, 347.)
9. The wrestling match and martial exercises.
The Buddhist books unfortunately give varying and
confused accounts of the several physical exercises prac-
t^ed by the young prince. In some they appear as part
of his youthful training, in others it is stated that this
side of his education had been so neglected that the
father of Yasodhara raised objections when Suddhodana
first sought his daughter in marriage for his son Siddhartha.
But despite this handicap the Bodhisattva declared him-
self ready to compete with all comers in any branch of
sport. Elaborate games were, therefore, instituted and
the Bodhisattva, of course, easily defeated all other com-
petitors. In fragment No. 143 is seen one of the events,
a wrestling match and in No. 1408 we see the Bodhisattva
engaged in archery and tug of war. The presence of
a figure with a sling seems to indicate that slinging also
formed part of the contest. (30-L, 143, 1408, 1899,
1902, 1906, 1938.)
10. The slaying of the elephant. Naturally, King
Suddhodana was overjoyed at his son's splendid victory
in these contests, and ordered that the great elephant
of state should be sent to bring the young prince back
from the field. But this aroused the jealousy of the
future Buddha's wicked cousin, Devadatta who, with a
single blow, felled the elephant as it was issuing from the
city gate. Nanda, Siddhartha's half-brother, seeing the
huge carcase blocking the gate dragged it a little aside,
that traffic might not be obstructed. Later, when the
Bodhisattva himself arrived on the scene, he picked up
26 SCULPTURES IN THE PESftAWAR MUSEUM.
the huge creature with one hand and hurled it over the
seven walls and moats of the city, in order that the de-
composing mass might not infect the town. Of. No.
1906. (142, 1906.)
11. The marriage of Siddhartha. No very detailed
reliefs depicting the marriage of the Bodhisattva have
ever been recovered but in No. 701-M, there is a summary
version of the ceremony, the essential rites of which are
union of hands, the circumambulation of the sacred fire
and the aspersion of water. In No. 701 -M, the bridal
couple, hand in hand, stand on either side of the fire
which is flanked by water pots, a single female with palm-
like fan and one drummer serving to indicate the mar-
riage party. Even though the ceremony must have been
one familiar to those whom these reliefs were intended
to edify, the absence of the officiating Brahman is some-
what surprising. In No. 250, only the left half of the
scene is preserved and here the female attendant acts
as train-bearer to the bride. Though the bride is mis-
sing in No. 1905, her long train, the fire and the water-
pots leave no doubt as to the purport of the relief. (250,
469, 701-M, 1905.)
12. The first meditation of the Bodhisattva
Siddhartha. On a certain day the prince was taken
by his father to see a ploughing match, where in the
enclosed space the half -stripped men and the straining
oxen were labouring strenuously before the assembled
crowd. As the sun increased in strength, the sweat ran
down both men and oxen, and for a few moments they
ceased from their labours. In the meantime various
insects came forth from the ground and flocks of birds
descending in multitudes devoured them. Seeing the
tired oxen, their necks bleeding from the yoke, the men
toiling beneath the midday sun and the birds devouring
the helpless insects, the heart of the Bodhisattva was
filled with grief. Retiring from the enclosure he found
a secluded place near a jambu tree and dismissing his
INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHA LEGEND. 27
attendants sat down beneath its shady branches and
through the love and pity produced by his reflections
was wrapt in a state of unconscious ecstasy. (1739.)
Later, when Suddhodana missing his son sent men
to search for him, the prince was found lost in medita-
tion, the shadow of the tree still shading him, though
the shadow of the other trees had failed not to move
with the ascending sun. The king summoned to the
spot, beholding this sight, was filled with awe and bowed
down at the feet of his son. It is probably his figure
which we see at the lower left corner of the pedestal.
In No. 1739, PI. 1, the ploughing scene is relegated to
the extreme right of the pedestal, while the left is occu-
pied by two adoring donors before an incense burner.
13. The Cycle of the Great Renunciation. The
moral of the sculptures portraying the life of voluptuous
ease which the young prince led in his early years, is to
show how great was the sacrifice he made in abandoning
all that was his and in wandering forth alone to seek
salvation. The prince is usually represented seated on
his couch with Yasodhara, his chief queen, by his side,
while numerous other ladies are grouped around, usually
holding a variety of musical instruments. This is the
first scene in the so-called Cycle of the Great Renuncia-
tion. The story is then developed by representing the
satiety and disgust which came upon the prince. After
seeing the visions of old age, sickness and death which
the gods contrived for him, followed by the vision of the
holy mendicant, his heart was filled with a great sorrow
for mankind, and a great yearning to find deliverance
for all men from this hideous chain of birth and rebirth
with its attendant suffering. At this point the gods
arranged that he should awake one night and behold the
ladies of his palace in the repellent abandon of satiated
sleep a scene which is also represented in Gandhara
art, spmetisncs in a very realistic way. This decides the
question for Siddhartha. He arises from his couch and
flees, the gates of the closely guarded palace being mira-
28 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
culously opened for him by the gods. In the sculptures
representing this flight from Kapilavastu, the young
prince is shown mounted on his faithful horse Kanthaka
with the groom Chandaka in attendance. That no noise
may occur to alarm the guards, the horse's feet are up-
held by Yakshas, a sort of gnome in Buddhist story,
while in some compositions the Evil Spirit, Mara, bow
in hand, is shown pleading with the prince to abandon
his intentions, for which purpose he offers him the so-
vereignty of the world, as in the Temptation in Chris-
tian story. The female figure on the right in No. 572
is the City Goddess, or N agara-devatd of Kapilavastu
a conception traceable directly to Hellenistic art. (33-L,
134, 154- A, 343, 345, 457, 572, 784, 1265, 1267, 13V7, 1718,
1774, 1882, 1907, 1908, 1914.)
14. The cutting of the hair. There is no sculp-
ture in this Museum, nor indeed any sculpture so far
known in Gandhara, which illustrates this incident in
the Buddha story. But the legend may be mentioned
here with propriety as explanatory of sculpture No. 163.
The Bodhisattva, having fled a certain distance from
the royal capital, dismounted from his horse and pre-
pared to send it back to the city. He felt it necessary
to abandon also his princely dress and jewels. How
these were given to the groom, and an exchange of gar-
ments effected with a hunter who chanced to appear at
that moment, wearing a cloth of that reddish yellow
colour associated even to-day in India with mendicants
we need not detail here as none of these incidents are
as yet included in this collection. The cutting of the
hair, however, is more important. All the texts agree
that he drew his sword with his right hand, seized his
long locks with his left, and cut them completely off
with one stroke. 1 The Bodhisattva, then cast both hair
1 Despite this the Gandhara Buddha is never depicted with shaven head
although his monks are so represented. This seems to indicate that the Buddha
image is due to artists better acquainted with the gods of Olympus than Buddhist
texts and more careful of aesthetics than of orthodoxy.
INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHA LEGEND. 29
and turban into the air where they were seized by the
deities of the Trayastrimsa Heaven, who bore them off
to their own abode as objects of worship. It is the royal
turban, worshipped of the gods, which appears on Nos.
163 and 437. (163, 437.)
15. Farewells o Kanthaka and Chandaka.
Among the Seven Jewels which are naturally possessed
by all Universal Monarchs and therefore by all Buddhas,
three are especially important, to wit the " Jewel of
Women", the "Jewel of Horses", and the "Jewel of
Parinayakas ". In the case of a Universal Monarch this
word parindyaka is interpreted to mean " leader of an
army ", In the Buddha story, however, it means nothing
more than leader of the horse afore-mentioned. The
three jewels in the case of Gautama, therefore, are :
Yasodhara his wife, Kanthaka his horse, and Chandaka
his groom ; and the fact that the two latter at least were
born simultaneously with Siddhartha himself is quaintly
called to mind by sculptures of the infant colt and the
infant groom, now in the Calcutta and Lahore Museums.
The touching closeness of relation between Siddhartha
and his horse is thus established, and it is not surpris-
ing that even the latter was deeply moved when the
moment came for Chandaka to lead him back to the
city, leaving the young prince to wander alone as a humble
mendicant. The incident, which is perhaps as human
and touching as any in eastern story, is depicted in sculp-
ture No. 354. According to the tiuddkachanta, the
grief-stricken horse is kissing his master's feet and bath-
ing them in tears. The sorrowing groom stands near by,
holding the princely jewels which Siddhartha has just
entrusted to him. (354.)
16. The six years o austerities. The Peshawar
Museum is fortunate in having a sculpture representing
this period of Siddhartha's life, as, apart from bas-reliefs,
only one other image of the emaciated Buddha is known.
The event illustrated by this sculpture, No. 799, PL 3,
30 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
has been already referred to in the Introduction. (799,
1413, 1841, 1911, 1912, 1913.)
17. Hymn of the Naga Kalika. After subjecting
his flesh for six years to all the austerities prescribed by
Hindu ascetism, the Bodhisattva lost faith in these
methods, and to the disgust of the five disciples who
had attached themselves to him, partook of food and
proceeded to enter on a more rational course of contem-
plation. Having refreshed himself and recovered from
the rigours of his previous penances, he is said to have
removed from that place toward a certain pipal tree,
the tree under which the Truth was destined to be mani-
fested to him. For this reason it is now known as the
Bodhi-tree, and what is said to be a descendant of it is
still worshipped at Bodh-gaya. In his progress toward
this spot it so chanced that he passed the abode of Ka-
lika, the king of the Nagas. Perceiving the effulgence
of the Master's body, Kalika and his wife Suvarnapra-
bhasa issued forth, and after uttering a hymn of praise,
pronounced the prophecy of his approaching Enlighten-
ment. As is usual in the representation of these serpent
deities, the Naga and his wife are shown in the sculp-
ture with the lower portion of their bodies concealed
by a railing, which is understood to surround the tank
in which they lived. They are further distinguished
from ordinary mortals by the cobra's hood or hoods
which rise from behind the neck and arch over, some-
times quite covering the head. (455, 792, 1887.)
18. The approach to the Bodhi-seat. After receiv-
ing the prediction of the Naga Kalika the Bodhisattva
continues his march to the Bodhi-tree. On the way he
meets a grass cutter named Svastika who presents him
with a bundle of soft, green grass. It is this which he
accepts in the scenes on the right of Nos. 1723, 1840, and
later strews on the Bodhi-seat. In No. 787 we see the
seat prepared and the expectant Earth goddess is depict-
INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHA LEGEND. 31
ed a mi-corps before the throne. The amorous couple to
the left appear to be Mara and his daughter. (787, upper
panel, 792, 1723, 1840, 1884.)
The identification of the male figure arising from the
throne is uncertain. It does not appear to be the spirit
of the Bodhi-tree such as is seen in the pipal foliage of
No. 1884 but seems to correspond to the naked figure
with bow seen in No. 1884 and to the kneeling figure of
No. 1840.
19. The Temptation. The attainment of Supreme
Enlightenment on the part of a Buddha is manifestly
a psychological experience of which sculptural represent-
ation is impossible. The importance of the event to
the whole Buddhist world, however, was such that sculp-
tures, which should at least call it to mind, were impera-
tively demanded, and these artists had to supply. To
do so, they had recourse to that incident which was most
closely associated with the Enlightenment in time, namely
the Temptation of Gautama by the Evil Spirit, Mara,
for just before the supreme moment, as the Bodhisattva
sat beneath the Bodhi-tree, Mara fearful lest the Buddha
might accomplish his ends and thus not only save him-
self but open up the path of salvation for countless others,
approached him and tried to persuade him to give up
the quest. He is said to have tempted him with the
lust of power, and the lust of pleasure, commanding his
own daughters to disport themselves before him, cf. No.
353 ; but the Bodhisattva rose superior to his wiles.
Thereupon Mara summoned his demons and made a
furious and appalling assault upon Gautama, seeking to
dislodge him from the seat. But Gautama merely touched
his right hand to the ground and called upon the Earth
goddess to bear witness to his right to remain where he
was, by virtue of his acts in previous existences, cf. No.
1844, PL 6(A), and ultimately the hosts of Mara the
Evil One were forced to retire discomfited. It was in
the course of the succeeding night that the moment of
32 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
supreme Enlightenment ensued, and Siddhartha passed
from the state of being a Bodhisattva to full and perfect
Buddhahood. (128, 343 (?), 352, 353, 355, 1232, 1723,
1844, 1904.)
20. The offering of the four bowls. Some time
after the Enlightenment, the Buddha we may now^call
him so for the first time arose from the Bodhi-seat~and
betook himself to a neighbouring grove, where he fell
into an ecstatic trance which lasted for seven weeks,
while he " enjoyed the beatitude of Deliverance ". At
the end of this period the Guardians of the Four Quarters,
realizing that the trance was at an end and that he would
be in sore need of food after this prolonged fast, appfoa-
ched his seat, each with a golden bowl, for they knew
that, having no begging bowl, he could not receive the
food that the gods were contriving for him. But the
Buddha refused to accept the golden bowls, as they were
of precious materials and unsuited for a religious men-
dicant. The guardians then offered a whole series of
other bowls of less and less valuable materials. All were
refused, until they offered four bowls of stone. These
he could accept, but in order that no one of the Guard-
ians of the Quarters should be honoured by the accept-
ance of his bowl to the sorrow and chagrin of the remain-
ing three, he was pleased to accept all four, which were
straightway moulded into one by his miraculous power. 1
In No. 1545 we see the four Lokapalas, from one of whom
the Buddha has already accepted a bowl. (437-M, 1545,
1922, 1934.)
Parallel groovings appear on the bowls of Buddha
images to mark the four-fold origin. Cf. No. 208 and
the alms bowls in the Table Cases.
It is of interest to note, furthermore, that the Buddha's
Begging Bowl represented on sculpture No. 171-A is
supposed to have been preserved in Peshawar, at what
* A small steatite plaque No. 437-M depicting this icene will be found in Case
B but is not' of the Gandhora school.
INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHA LEGEND. 33
was called the Patrachaitya or Hall of the Bowl. This,
as M. Foucher has shown, stood originally at the place
now known as Panjtirath, where are the modern Hindu
burning grounds.
21. The offering of the two merchants. On the
pedestal of the Emaciated Gautama from Takht-i-Bhi,
No. 799, is the only representation so far found in Gan-
dhara of the story of the two merchants. When the
time arrived for the Buddha to wake from his seven
weeks' trance after the Enlightenment, a caravan of
merchants happened to approach the grove wherein he
sat. This was the caravan of the merchants Trapusha
and Bhallika of Orissa, who being cautious men had
placed two bullocks at the head of the caravan to go on
before and give warning of approaching danger. On
nearing the grove these bullocks suddenly showed signs
of fear, and refused to advance. Nay, they even lay
down, while the other bullocks also stopped and paid no
heed to the blows of their drivers. It was even found
that the wheels of the wagons had become mysteriously
fixed. At this juncture a stranger, the Genius of the
grove in bodily form, appeared before the terrified mer-
chants and told them of the Buddha's presence and his
need of food. Thereupon they approached his seat under
the spirit's guidance and made him offerings of honey-
comb and wheat, which he received in the four-fold bowl
he had just accepted from the Guardians of the Heavenly
Quarters. The accuracy with which the story is told on
this pedestal is remarkable. Every detail of the legend
is faithfully and cleverly depicted. (Pedestal of No. 799.)
22. The first sermon. The time had now come for
the Buddha to enter actively on his ministry. Mention
has already been made of the five disciples who attach-
ing themselves to him during his asceticism deserted him
in disgust when abandoning his austerities he struck out
a path for himself. These erstwhile disciples, on leaving
34 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
him, had betaken themselves to the famous Mrigadava
or Deer Park at Sarnath, near Benares. The Buddha,
therefore, having decided to address himself first to them,
proceeded to Benares, and it was in the Deer Park that
lie preached the First Sermon, or for the first time " Turn-
ed the Wheel of the Law ", as the event is described by
Buddhists. In the older school of Indian sculpture,
where the figure of the Buddha is never depicted, the
incident can only be represented symbolically, and the
symbol chosen is naturally the wheel. Such symbolical
representations also occur in Gandhara, but usually the
Buddha is himself shown in the sculptures of this school,
seated in the midst of the famous " Monks of the Band
of Five ", as they are called. The symbolism has not
disappeared, however, for in almost all cases the sacred
wheel is shown, usually on the front of the Teacher's
Seat, and sometimes in connection with the trident or
trimla representing the three jewels of Buddhism, namely,
the Buddha, the Doctrine and the Community of Monks,
for it was on this occasion that the third jewel, the mo-
nastic order, came into being. The deer reclining on
either side of these symbols serve to remind the spec-
tator of the Mrigadava, the place where the sermon was
delivered. Cf.' No. 1844, PL 6(B). (129, 145 (?), 349,
455, 760, 762, 767, 772, 773, 786, 812, 920-M, 1250, 1252,
1781, 1844-B.)
33. Conversion of Kasyapa. Kasyapa of Uruvilva
was the eldest of three brothers, all famous Hindu asce-
tics, who dwelt with a vast multitude of disciples on the
bank of a river near the place where the Buddha had
himself practised austerities. After beginning his minis-
try at Benares he betook himself to Kasyapa's hermit-
age, intending to convert him and all his followers. But
this proved no easy task, and the Buddha was obliged
to have recourse to some five hundred miracles to effect
his purpose. One of these was the Victory over the
Serpent, which is represented in the sculptures mentioned
at the end of this paragraph. In one corner of the
INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHA LEGEND. 35
hermitage, so the story runs, was a fire temple in which
dwelt a particularly venomous serpent. The Brahmans
were so terrified of this monster, that they had aban-
doned the temple altogether and no one dared to approach
it. To impress them with his transcendental powers,
the Buddha craved permission to occupy this building.
Kasyapa, of course, refused, thinking that the Master
would certainly lose his life, but was forced to yield finally
to the Buddha although warning him that it meant
certain death. He, however, calmly entered the place
and took his seat. The details of the legend vary slightly,
but for our purpose it suffices to say that, as soon as the
Buddha had seated himself, his body began to emit so
dazzling an effulgence that the terrible serpent was over-
awed, until laying aside his anger, he crept meekly into
the Buddha's begging bowl. Cf. Nos. 1373, 1378, etc.
The Brahmans meanwhile, having seen the extraordi-
nary light issuing from the temple, concluded that the
place was on fire, and hastened thither with jars of water
to extinguish the supposed conflagration. Sculpture No.
136 shows them mounting on ladders for the purpose.
(136, 146, 149, 768, 769, 790, 1373, 1376, 1378, 1451,
1549, 1577, 1710, 1842, 1851, 1890.)
It is satisfactory to observe that in the end the Bud-
dha's heroic efforts were crowned with success, and the
whole community of the Kasyapas joined the newly found-
ed church.
For some unknown reason this legend appears to
have enjoyed exceptional local popularity and the Museum
possesses no less than fifteen reliefs or statuettes dealing
with the conquest of the snake, besides sixteen frag-
ments undoubtedly from these or similar representations,
including four small detached hands holding an alms-
bowl in which the snake lies coiled. Cf. Nos. 84-M,
742-M, 820-M, 1056.
24. The ordination o! Nanda. One of the most
extraordinary legends in Buddhist story is that of the
36 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
conversion of Nanda, a half-brother of the Buddha. The
latter is said to have led him away from his well-beloved
wife by the device of giving him his bowl to carry and
refusing to retake it until they reached the monastery,
where the young man was promptly shaved and ordained
as a monk, despite all his protestations. Of. No. 1892.
Thereafter he was to all intents and purposes a prisoner,
and his various attempts to escape are recounted by the
texts. One of these is illustrated by sculpture No. 152.
(152, 1892.)
Once while the Buddha was abroad, Nanda contrived
to steal out of the monastery and began to make Jiis
way stealthily through the surrounding grove of trees.
But the Buddha, although at a great distance from the
spot, perceived what was taking place, and flying rapidly
through the air, alighted some little distance in front
of the fugitive. Seeing the Master approach, the wretched
youth hid quickly behind a tree, but lo ! as the .Buddha
drew near, the tree was suddenly raised bodily into the
air, disclosing the unfortunate Nanda to his gaze. Need-
less to say, the young man was straightway marched
back to the monastery.
There may be a moral to this story, but it must be
acknowledged that it is somewhat obscure. Is it being
too charitable to imagine that the legend is meant to
portray the almost overweening love and pity of the
Buddha, who to save humanity was cruel to be kind ?
This interpretation would be easier, though, could we
see in Nanda any special need for the salvation forced
upon him. But no such need is apparent, and as the
story stands, he figures rather as a martyr to the cause.
25. Visit o! Indra. Once while the Buddha was
meditating in a solitary grotto on a hilltop in Magadha,
the desire arose in Indra to visit him, and he accordingly
despatched his harpist, Panchasikha, to announce his
arrival. The sculpture from Takht-i-Bahl representing
this scene, No. 787, shows the Buddha seated within
INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHA LEGEND. 37
the cave. The little lions beneath the seat, as well as
the other animals in the back-ground, indicate both the
wildness of the site and the peace which the Buddha's
presence caused to fall upon all creatures. The harpist
in No. 787 is shown at the (proper) right of the grotto,
while the kneeling figure at the Buddha's left is Indra
himself, distinguished in Gandhara sculpture by his pecu-
liarly high headdress. (787, central panel, 1909, 1942,
1944.)
26. Conversion of the Yaksha Atavika. The story
goes that a certain king of Atavi, in order to save his
own life, had promised the Yaksha Atavika, living in a
neighbouring forest, to give him one of his subjects daily.
The pact had been duly kept, and one by one the wretched
inhabitants had been handed over to the ogre, until there
was no one left to sacrifice except the young son of the
king, and orders were accordingly issued to have him
led away to the monster. But at this juncture the Bud-
dha, whose sympathy appears to have been somewhat
tardy in this case, betook himself to the ogre's abode,
and finding him absent, forced his way in and seated
himself on the throne. The yakslids fury on discover-
ing him there can be imagined, but was utterly futile,
and the conclusion of the whole matter was the conver-
sion of the demon. Thus, when the attendants arrived
with the young prince, the yaksha, instead of devouring
him, lifted him up in his arms before the Buddha and
made obeisance. This is the moment depicted in sculp-
ture No. 471. (471.)
27. The offering of the handful of dust. It was
a daily custom of the Buddha, who enjoined the same
upon his monks, to wander abroad at a certain hour
in quest of food, as the whole Order were dependent for
their sustenance upon the voluntary offerings of the
pious. Once, as the Buddha was going along with his
begging bowl, held out before him, he met two little boys
playing in the road. One was suddenly moved to make
38 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
an offering, but having nought else to offer reached up
to the bowl and dropped into it a generous handful of
dust. The Buddha was touched by this childish act of
piety, and some authorities assert he prophesied that
the boy would become a mighty Buddhist monarch in
some future life. In this way it is sought to identify
the child in this legend with the great Asoka. This
probably explains the frequency with which the scene
was sculptured. His companion is said to have become
a Minister during Asoka's reign. (150, 344, 433, 671,
759, 1554, 1708, 1776.)
28. The white dog which barked at the Buddha.
Once, while in the country of Sravasti (the modern
Saheth-Maheth in the United Provinces), the Buddha
went to visit a certain man named Suka, who was not
at home when he arrived. Now it so happened that
Suka had a white dog, which at the moment of his en-
trance, was eating out of a dish on the top of a couch.
For some reason the sight of the Buddha enraged the
dog mightily, and ho barked in fury. The Buddha
remonstrated, and told him that lie had fallen into that
estate because he had been so rich. Thereupon the dog
deeply mortified, crept away to a far corner. Suka,
returning, found the dog in this abject condition and
asked what had happened. When he heard the story
he hastened to the Buddha to demand an explanation.
But the latter suavely informed Suka that the dog was
his own departed father come back to life in canine form,
and bade him, as a test, demand of the dog where he
had buried his treasure previous to his death. The
bewildered Suka did as he was told and to his astonish-
ment the dog crawled under the couch and began to
dig. When the place was opened up, the treasure was
disclosed and the truth of the Buddha's words demon-
strated. (35 L, 794, 1417.)
29. The submission of the Naga Apalala. Apalala
was a Naga-raja, inhabiting the source of the Swat River,
INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHA LEGEND. 39
north of the modern Peshawar District. Periodically,
for his own ends, he used to flood the country, causing
the inhabitants endless suffering. The compassionate
Buddha therefore betook himself to the Naga's abode.
His attendant, Vajrapani, smote the mountain side with
his mighty vajra, and so terrified the Naga-raja, that
he issued forth from his pool and submitted himself to
the Buddha, who preached the Good Law to him. He
was converted and promised to desist from ruining the
country, but he pointed out to the Buddha that his own
nourishment depended upon these floods, as without
them he could not get the grain upon which he lived,
and so he was allowed to flood the land once every twelve
years. That is why floods occur in the Swat Valley at
intervals of just twelve years ! Cf. No. 28-L, PI. 5(a).
(28-L, 336, 428.)
30. Conversion o Aiigulimala. Ahingsaka, the son
of a Brahman of Kosala, was sent by his parents to the
University of Taxila where excelling the other pupils
he excited their envy. Determined to injure him they
went secretly to his professor, and accused Ahingsaka
of taking improper liberties with his wife. The professor
was not inclined at first to believe the accusation, but
his excited suspicions appeared to receive confirmation
on seeing that his wife spoke kindly to Ahiijgsaka, and
he determined to compass his pupil's destruction. As
this could not be done openly he informed Ahingsaka
that it would not be in his power to instruct him further
unless he destroyed a thousand persons and brought
their fingers to him as evidence of their death. Ahing-
saka replied that it was not customary in his family to
do evil to others, but seeing no other way of prosecuting
his studies he resolved, because of his love of learning,
to carry out his professor's orders. Going into a forest
where certain paths met he began to murder all who passed,
As he cut off and wore the fingers of his victims ho
received the name of Angulinidla. (158, 816- A, 1371.)
D 2
40 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
When he had murdered nine hundred and ninety-
nine persons his mother, hearing that the ferocious robber
was her son, immediately went to see him and remon-
strate with him. He was about to kill her to complete
his tale of victims when the Buddha, who recognised
that Angulimala had, from merit acquired in previous
births, sufficient virtue to enable him to enter the priest-
hood, set out to convert him. He arrived just in time
and, needless to say, succeeded in his mission.
In No. 1371 on the right is seen Angulimala with his
headdress of fingers preparing to slay his mother, then
on the left, having released her, he attacks with vigour
the Buddha whose gentle words, however, have sfrch
effect that the robber throws himself at the feet of the
Blessed One. His cruel sword and hateful coronet straight-
way fall from him and are displayed on the lower edge
of the panel.
Two scenes of this drama are also represented in relief
No. 816-A.
31. The nursling of the dead woman. A certain
king's senior wives being jealous of the beautiful youngest
wife, who was with child, bribed the palace Brahman
to inform the king that not only was the young wife
herself ill-omened but also that the child born of her
would cause the destruction of both the king and his
kingdom. To escape these threatened calamities and at
the same time to avoid shedding blood, the king immured
her alive in a tomb. However, owing to the merit ac-
quired by her and her unborn child in former births she,
after death, was not only delivered of a living son but
was able miraculously to suckle him. For three years
this child Sudaya remained within the tomb, until the
crumbling of the wall enabled him to free himself. For
three more years Sudaya lived in the jungle with the
birds and wild beasts as his only companions, sheltering
each night in the tomb. (1885.)
INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHA LEGEND.. 41
The Buddha filled with compassion for the child,
visited the spot and Sudaya despite his tender years
became a monk and later converted his father.
In the relief No. 1885 is seen the tomb with open
front whence projects the upper part of the body of the
dead woman, her left side being depicted as almost a
skeleton whereas the right breast is represented round
and full as if that of a living woman. The naked little
child standing with his back to the tomb is Sudaya, his
clasped hands expressing his adoration of the Buddha
who advances towards him followed by a youthful
Vajrapani.
32. The miracle of Sravasti. One of the acts
obligatory upon a Buddha is the confounding of the
heretics by the display of miraculous power. This in
the case of Gautama Buddha was performed at Sravasti
in the presence of King Prasenajit and of a vast con-
course of people, it consisted lirstly in a double miracle
of walking in the air while emitting alternately flames
and waves from the upper and lower parts of his body,
and secondly, in multiplying images of himself up to
the heavens and in all directions while he preached the
law. (85-L, 108, 158, 171, 280, 374, 375, 503, 847, 848,
1270, 1361, 1412, 1527, 1528, 1553, 1554, 1727, 1729,
1730, 1731, 1732, 1733, 1735, 1736, 1738.)
Representations of this double miracle of fire and
water are exceedingly rare in Gandhara but a recent
acquisition, No. 85-L, shows the Buddha in the air with
streams of water beneath his leet while flames issue from
his shoulders.
In contrast with the rarity of this scene of the double
miracle are the numerous representations of the second
exhibition of Buddha's power. According to one text,
" Brahma takes a place at his right and Indra at his
left while the two 'naga kings, iNanda and Upananda,
create a wonderful lotus on the corolla of wiiich the
Blessed One seats himself. Then by the force of
42 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
magic power above this lotus lie created another and on
this one also a Buddha was seated with his legs crossed
and thus in front, behind, at the sides ".
Eepresentation of this act of the Miracle of Sravasti
appears to have met with popular approval and the Mu-
seum possesses more than twenty reliefs illustrating this
legend, PL 2(a). In its simplest form we see the Buddha
in the preaching attitude seated on a lotus between Indra
and BrahnrI with a standing Bodhisattva on either side
and two smaller meditating Buddhas seated under sedi-
culoo on the upper edges of the relief. Cf. Nos. 158, 171.
Later the scene transforms itself into a kind of trans-
figuration where we see the Buddha in the midst of Boahi-
sattvas, ndgas, and Buddhas and other attendant figures
while legendary scenes and even stupas are added, so
that the composition becomes a very epitome as it were
of the repertory of the school. Cf. No. 1554.
33. Makandika offers his daughter to Buddha.
A wandering ascetic Makandika overcome by the Buddha's
personal beauty offers to him his beautiful daughter
Anupama. As the Museum contains several representa-
tions of this scene the legend appears to have been a
popular one, the self-control of the Buddha in refusing
so charming a girl proving no doubt most edifying to
the faithful. Makandika turning towards the Buddha
holds the shrinking and embarrassed Anupama by his
left hand, his right holding aloft the water pot, indica-
tive of his intended gift. (133, 802, 806, 1922.)
34. The invitation of Srigupta. Srlgupta, a wealthy
householder of Rajagriha and the follower of a heretical
teacher named Purana, wishing to destroy the Buddha
and his monks, invites him to his house to partake of
a meal. In the courtyard of the house he digs a ditch,
fills it with burning charcoal and conceals this under
a light covering and also poisons the food. The Buddha
knowing Srigupta's evil intent, but realizing he can be
converted to the right path accepts the invitation. By
INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHA LEGEND. 4&
the power of the Buddha the fiery ditch becomes a tank
of lotus flowers. Purana and his followers flee before
this manifestation of superiority, Srigupta confesses his
faults and becomes a follower of the Buddha, who fur-
ther shows his power by rendering the poisoned food
innocuous. In the fragmentary sculptures Nos. 82-L,
1079, 1849, we see lotus flowers supporting the feet of
the Buddha and of his entourage as they advance to-
wards the gateway of the house. (82-L, 770, 1079, 1849.)
35. The visit of the sixteen disciples of the
Brahman ascetic Bavari. To a Brahman ascetic named
Bavari living on the banks of the Godavari came another
Brahman demanding five hundred pieces of money. Not
obtaining these he cursed Bavari saying " May thy head
on the seventh day hence cleave into seven ". A
benevolent deity of the place comforts Bavari who at his
suggestion sends his sixteen disciples to the Buddha then
in a rock temple of Magadha. Each of the sixteen asks
a question of the Buddha who resolves all their doubts.
(238, 1151.)
36. Hariti and Panchika. Apart from images of
Buddha and Bodliisattvas none are so frequently re-
covered by excavation in Gandhara as those of Hariti
and her spouse Panchika. Hariti, a demon of the yaksha
class was in the habit of devouring the children of Kaja-
griha. To impress her with the enormity of her con-
duct, the Buddha hid under his almsbowl the most be-
loved of her five hundred offspring, and when the mother's
heart was grieved pointed out to her how much more
grieved were those who by her misdeeds had lost all tLeir
children. Thereupon she was immediately converted.
I-tsing tells us that her image was found under the porch
or in a corner of the refectory of all the Buddhist monas-
teries of India and that she was represented with a child
in her arms and three or four around her knees, Cf.
Nos. 241, 1416. This mode of representing her disguised
so well the horror of her real nature that she was invoked
44 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
not only to cure sick children but also to bestow off-
spring. She thus became the goddess of fertility in all
senses and that is why she is shown as in Nos. 78-M and
686-Mwith cornucopia. (76-L, 77-M, 78-M, 241, 282,
385, 686-M, 969-M ? 1093, 1096, 1101, 1151, 1243, 1244,
1299, 1416, 1773, 1779, 1843.)
There can be no doubt that the male figure on Hariti's
right in No. 241, PL 7, and on whose left knee she so
familiarly rests her right hand in Nos. 78-M, 686-M, if
not her spouse must have at least been considered so by
popular opinion. Formerly this figure was believed to
be Kubera, the Guardian of the Northern quarter and
the king of the yakshas, but in a text of the Chinese canon
it is definitely stated " Hariti is the wife of Panchika "
and it is Panchika, the genius of riches and the general
of Kubera that we see by the side of Hariti in such sculp-
tures as Nos. 78-M, 241, 686-M, 1093, 1299, 1416. His
lance indicates his rank as sendpati in the army of Kubera,
the purse marks him as the bestower of riches. In No.
78-M, the pedestal shows coins pouring from overturned
vases and the feet of both Hariti and Panchika rest on
piles of coins in No. 686-M. Cf. No. 282.
As children and wealth are the commonest wishes
of the human heart it is not surprising that the " Goddess
of Fertility " and the " Genius of Riches " should have
received the greater part of the devotion of the faithful
laity and that images of the Tutelary Couple should be
so abundant.
Later and more uncommon images of Hariti are seen
in No. 1773, PL 4(6), and in No. 1926.
37. Devadatta's attempts to kill the Buddha.
The Judas of Buddhist story is the Buddha's wicked
cousin Devadatta. This cousin could never endure his
kinsman's fame and success and is said to have done his
utmost to ruin him at all stages of his career. He is
even credited with having thrice attempted his life, once
1)V hiie^ assassins, cf. Nos. 1844-D, PL 6(D), 1850, again
INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHA LEGEND. 45
by hurling a huge rock down upon him, cf. Nos. 1898,
1918, and finally by letting loose a furious elephant.
This last attempt took place at Kajagriha, and the ele-
phant is shown in most of the sculptures just entering
the city gate. The attempt of course failed. The Buddha
simply laid his hand on the elephant's forehead and all
his fury left him. Cf. Nos. 145, 774, 1550, 1850, 1942.
(145, 774, 1550, 1844-D, 1850, 1898.)
38. The visit of the Naga Elapatra. A certain
bhikshu in the time of the Buddha Kasyapa destroyed
an eld tree for which action he was born later as a ndga
or water spirit named Elapatra. In the time of the
Buddha he inhabited a tank near Taxila and in order
to learn when he could again receive human form and,
by becoming a disciple, attain final deliverance decided
to visit the Buddha then at Benares. Various accounts
are given but one text states that extending his body
from Taxila to Benares his head reached to the spot
where the Buddha was while his tail was still in his palace !
Then he bent his head before the world-honoured one
who said " Welcome Elapatra ! It is long since I have
seen you. Welcome Oh, Naga Kaja." (1716.)
Another account says that using his magical power
Elapatra appeared first as a universal monarch, but when
reprimanded by the Buddha resumed his serpent form.
In No. 1716 we see the Buddha seated as in the First
Sermon with his five monks while before his throne is
a polycephalous snake whose lengthy tail runs along the
lower edge of the relief. Elapatra also appears as an
adoring, princely personage on the extreme left of the
sculpture but his real condition is indicated by the cobra
canopy over his head.
Hiuan-Tsang describes the tank of the Naga-raja
Elapatra as being 70 li north-west of Taxila and there
is no doubt that its position is marked to-day by the
tank of sacred fish at Hasan Abdal in the Sikh shrine
46 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
known as the Panja Sahib, an example of how sites re-
main sacred even when religions change.
39. Death of the Buddha. The Death or Maha-
parinirvana of the Buddha is said to have taken place
after a short illness at Kusinagara, which some would
identify with Kasia in the United Provinces, on the 13th
of October 483 B.C. For the exact determination of
this date we are indebted to the late Dr. Fleet. As
indicated in the sculptures some of the Buddha's followers
were present at his death bed. The number of these
vary in the reliefs and only one need be mentioned here,
namely, Ananda, the beloved disciple, the fainting figure
before the couch. Where royal figures are introduced,
they represent the nobles of Kusinagara, the so-called
Malla chieftains. Cf. No. 1844, PL 6. In 975-M we
have a very rare representation of the enshrouding of the
Buddha. (27-L, 130, 437-M, 697-M, 775, 975-M, 1319,
1844-E, 1846, 1883.)
40. Cremation of the Buddha Ananda is said to
have asked the Buddha what his wishes were in regard
to the disposal of his body, and to have been instructed
to leave the whole matter to the discretion of the leading
laymen of the neighbourhood. Thus it came about that
the noble Mallas were charged with the conduct of the
funeral. The same ceremonies were observed as were
performed at the death of a Universal Monarch. The
body was enveloped in five hundred pieces of cloth, and
placed in a coffin. This is variously described, but the
most accepted tradition, is that it consisted of two large
iron receptacles used for holding oil, and called in Sans-
krit taila-drom. This preserved the ashes and saved
them from becoming mixed with the remains of the fire
itself, for the body was of course cremated. In the
sculptures we see the blazing pyre and sometimes the
attendants engaged in pouring water on the flames to
extinguish them. (484, 697-M, 1319, 1901.)
INTRODUCTION TO THE BTJDDHA LEGEND. 47
41. Guarding and distribution of the Relics.
After the cremation the Relics were taken in charge by
the Mallas, and subsequently divided into eight portions
under the supervision of the Brahman Drona, then dis-
tributed among the eight communities whose claims the
Mallas respected, and who built stupas to enshrine them.
Sculpture No. 484 represents the division into eight parts,
while the guarding of the Relics previous to this sub-
division is portrayed in No. 1319. (484, 1319, 1846,
1894.)
It may be added that not one of these eight
original deposits has ever been found. It is believed,
however, that most of the original deposits were collected
in the 3rd Century B.C. by the Emperor Asoka, who re-
divided them into a multitude of small portions and
distributed them in stupas throughout his dominions. ]t
was probably from one of these later deposits of Asoka
that King Kanishka, in the second century of our era,
obtained those fragments which he enshrined in Peshawar
in a bronze relic casket and which were recovered by exca-
vation in March 1909, by the late Dr. Spooner, PL 10.
A plaster cast of this reliquary is exhibited in the Central
Hall. 1
42. The cult of the Relics. That the Relics so
carefully collected and protected became objects of wor-
ship, is nothing strange and calls for no explanation. The
cult is represented by Nos. 165 and 449, etc. (164, 165,
166, 396, 449, 1356, 1387, 1435, 1725, 1901.)
1 The casket bears inscriptions stating that it was made by Ageeilaos, the
superintendent of works at Kanishka's vihflra for the teachers of the Scirvaptivadin
school, with the pious wish that the gift might redound to the welfare of all
creatures.
CHAPTER in.
THE SCULPTURES.
Religious piety has in all ages impelled its votaries to
dedicate to shrines and temples memorials of all kinds
likely to advance their own merit or strengthen the faith
of others. That which in contemporary Christian art
expressed itself in frescoes and sculpture took in Gan-
dhara similar forms of which, however, only the more
durable sculptures now remain.
Scattered throughout the museum and arranged for
purposes of exhibition these give little indication of +heir
original purpose. The friezes formerly adorned the faces
of the smaller stupas, 1 or the risers of staircases ; the
images were placed in chapels or in niches in the veran-
dah walls of the monasteries, while the false niches, of
which so many fragments have been recovered, were
affixed to the domes of stupas appearing like dormer
windows. Cf. Nos. 633M, 1548, 1552. Modillion cornices
separated or surmounted the friezes, and acanthus capitals
were once part of Indo-Corinthian pilasters from the fronts
of chapels, and only rarely from columns. Atlantes,
lions and elephants were used to support cornices and
the stone umbrellas formed^ the crowning members of
stupas.
In the later period stucco was used abundantly for
the adornment of stupas and walls generally and in this
medium were executed not only endless Buddha and
Bodhisattva figures but also legendary scenes, specimens
of which appear in the collection. Cf. Cases 46 and 52.
1 A stupa of the Kushan period was a solid dome-like mass of masonry raised
on a square or circular plinth and erected to enshrine relics of the Buddha, or of
some Buddhist saint or to commemorate some specially sacred spot. In Burma
a stupa is commonly known as a pagoda, in Ceylon as a dagoba, and in Nepal
aa a chaitya. Cf. photographs 1443, 1469 in the revolving case at the end of the
gallery and No. 712 (Case 30) and No. 1846 (Case 77).
48
THE SCULPTURES. 49
Excavation has made it plain that reliefs and images
so multiplied that finally they invaded every corner of
the monasteries and when courtyards and chapels could
no longer contain them they displaced even the monks
from their cells! 1
Entrance Hall. The sculptures exhibited in the
Entrance Hall are principally from excavations at Sahri-
bahlol and Takht-i-Bahi ; but the four-armed HaritI,
No. 1926, is from the hamlet Harichand in the Charsada
Tahsil and the large standing Buddha, No. 1939, from
the village of Lahore, the ancient Salatura, the birth-
place of Panini. The two magnificent Buddha images,
Nos. 14-46 and 1447, flanking the arch were recovered at
Sahribahlol in 1909-10. The drapery, elongated lobes
of the ears and the so-called webbing 2 between the fingers
are all worthy of attention. Unexpected features in
No. 1447 are the light moustache and the indication of
the pupil of the eye. The hole in the forehead indicates
the position of the jewel which formerly marked the
urna. With these colossal images may be contrasted
the delicately featured Buddha No. 239, the urna here
being indicated by a raised, mole-like projection. The
elaborate coiffure of No. 1157, long curly locks bound
with a fillet of pearls, seems to indicate the Bodhisattva
Maitreya, the coming Buddha. The standing Buddha
with the begging bowl, No. 1163, was found at Takht-i-
Bahi along with No. 1164, the larger figure beside it.
When complete, the bowl of the former exhibited the
grooving to which reference is made in paragraph 20
of the Introduction.
Sahribahlol also yielded No. 242, the headless Bodhi-
sattva in the right hand passage. This is interesting not
1 Marshall--<M<Ze to Taxila, p. 110, PL XXIII.
2 The fingers are not entirely separated only the last joints being free. In
all probability this originally was merely a technical expedient to strengthen the
fingers but later appears to have been misunderstood and was taken to be one
of the physical characteristics of a Buddha like the urna (Introd. 7). The sculp-
tors themselves sometimes depict this " webbing " even where technical reasons
scarcely demand it, as in 820 M. (Case L.)
50 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
only for its general excellence but more particularly for
its drapery and the manner in which the upper shawl-
like garment covers but at the same time reveals the out-
line of the jewelled armlet on the upper left arm. The
precise form of this armlet is shown on the bare right
arm. With this image should be compared the headless
Bodhisattva figure, No. 1444, with the hands in dhar-
machakra-mudrd and the feet, crossed at the ankles,
resting on a small foot-stool. The large Buddha torso,
No. 240, and the larger standing Buddha, No. 239, both
from Sahribahlol, are among the best sculptures in the
Museum. In both cases the drapery and hair are excel-
lently rendered. The quietude and abstraction of the
expression are in marked contrast to the vacancy or smug
satisfaction which characterises some of the later images,
as Nos. 1876, 1440, 87 L, but the headless goddess, No.
1926, by the stairs on the left side, surpasses them both
in interest and is remarkable for its non-Indian costume
and for the fact that it has four arms, in which respect
it differs from all the statues in the Museum save No.
1773. There can be no doubt that this is intended for a
figure of Hariti (Introd. 36). The colossal stucco Bud-
dha head, No. 1910, was recovered in 1911-12 at Takht-
i-Bahi and traces of the feet of the image are still preserv-
ed there in situ. In all these colossal figures the modell-
ing tends to coarseness in marked contrast with Nos. 239
and 240.
Central HalL In the Hall the sculptures are placed
not only in Wall Cases described in detail below but in
three Table Cases L, M, N, against the walls and piers of
the side galleries and in the window openings. To the
right of the door is No. 241, the Tutelary Couple, one of
the best preserved reliefs in the Museum (Introd. 36),
PL 7. Though not of the best period the drapery and
the little yaJcshas on the pedestal still show some spon-
taneity, and considerable technical skill is displayed in
the modelling of the half averted faces of the protagonists.
THE SCULPTURES. 51
The opulent charms of the Goddess of Fertility find their
appropriate counterpart in the corpulence of Panchika
and the couple are the very embodiment of material
prosperity and accommodating benevolence.
Close to this is the fine relief No. 1944, depicting the
Buddha seated in meditation in a cave, receiving the
adoration of some divine or royal personages. 1 Of
particular interest is the dated Kharoshthi inscription
on the pedestal recording that in the year 89 a Buddhist
monk named Dharmapriya dedicatee! this sculpture in
honour of his teacher Buddhapriya and others for the
bestowal of health on his brothers. This date corresponds
to 2IC A.D. or, according to the more orthodox view,
166 A.D. From the modelling of the Buddha's face,
and the treatment of the hair and drapery it is plain that
this relief must be assigned to a period when the school
was in its full vigour, and is proof that long after the
time of Kctnishka the artists of Gandhara could, at least
in stone, execute works of considerable merit and employ
with peculiar appropriateness a great part of the repertory
of the school. Although the Buddha, Panchika, Vajra-
pani and the princely visitors arc all conventionalized,
skilful composition and the greatest technical skill are
still displayed, and it is impossible to deny the charm
and fidelity with which the artist has depicted the trees,
birds and beasts of the Buddha's sylvan retreat.
Buddha Images.* Standing against the walls and
piers of the side galleries of the Hall is an unrivalled collec-
tion of Gandhara images. These, with one exception, 2
are of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. The former are
placed in the right hand gallery or on stands in the Hall,
the latter in the left hand gallery. The monotonous
sameness of Buddha images is often remarked but a
careful examination of the Peshawar figures reveals
1 The relief appears to depict the Visit of Indra (Introd. 25), the harpist on
the left being PaSchasikha and the kneeling elephant Airavata,
2 No. 1427, the image of a royal female.
52 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
great diversity. From the nature of the case the garments
are invariable and the canonical postures are limited,
but the treatment of the hair, the features and drapery
bear witness to the versatility of the sculptors as well as
to the gradual decay of the school. The commonest
treatment of the hair is a naturalistic one, light wavy
strands over the high ushnlsha. Examples of this will be
seen in Nos. 1439, 1921, 1008, 1928, 1429, 1601, 1880,
506. In No. 1921 the artist, untrammelled by tradition,
has ventured to bind the base of the ushnlsha by a jewell-
ed band, in No. 1008 the ushnlsha is markedly unobtru-
sive. A less naturalistic but still pleasing treatment of
the hair is seen in Nos. 1430, PL 9(a), 1424, 1425
where the ushnlsha is treated schematically in little loose
curls. A later treatment destined to achieve world-wide
popularity in later Buddhist art is seen in Nos. 1877,
1431, 1878 and 1448, where the whole head is covered by
little snail-shell-like curls. In No. 1431 these, in keeping
with the canon, turn to the right, but in Nos. 1878 and
1448 the artist has been more careless or less orthodox.
But the greatest conventionality and decadence are seen
in Nos. 1871 and 1875 where meaningless crescents cover
the head. These two images found within a few miles
of each other possibly came from the same atelier.
The faces exhibit no less variety than the hair and
bear witness to the varying skill of the artists. The
serenity and charm of No. 1928 are thoroughly in keeping
with the character of the Buddha. Nos. 1439, 1921
while still artistic masterpieces exhibit that tendency
towards heaviness common to all the colossal images.
Cf. Nos. 1446, 1447. Nos. 1429, 1449, 207 are products
of the school at its best but Nos. 1452, 1880, 1877, 1878
mark a decline towards that final decadence to which
Nos. 1440 and 87 L are the pathetic witnesses.
The majority of the seated figures are in the preaching
attitude, but Nos. 1928, 1008, 1597, 1440, 1436 are shown
in meditation and one late statue, 87 L, in the reassuring
THE SCULPTURES. 53
attitude abhayamudra, in which posture were formerly
all the standing Buddha images in this gallery.
The pedestals are of great interest and the simhdsana
and reliefs worthy of study. Most of them depict donors
adoring Buddhas, Bodhisattvas or cult objects, but on
No. 238 the story of the Sixteen Brahman Ascetics (In-
trod. 35) is most graphically and artistically treated.
Usually the haloes are plain but on that of No. 238
can still be seen an adoring Indra and No. 1424 is orna-
mented with a narrow foliated band, close to and parallel
to the edge.
Image of Royal Female. But the most remarkable
figure in this gallery is No. 1427, a royal female bearing
a small shrine, PL 9(6). The face is broad and flat and
the chin somewhat heavy. Above a jewelled fillet the
hair is dressed high in waves, but below the fillet in little
schematic curls one of which falls in front of either ear.
The ears resemble those of Buddha and Bodhisattva
images, though the elongated lobes are missing. A
roughly cut dowel in the centre of the fillet seems to mark
the position of a lost ornament, possibly a medallion
resembling No. 221.
The figure is clad in a short-sleeved robe falling to
the feet. This is close fitting above the waist and ap-
parently of some light and diaphanous fabric but judging
from the drapery the skirt is of heavier material. A
scarf hanging on the left side passing round the left upper
arm and across the back and caught up on the left fore-
arm hangs in a graceful loop in front of the body.
Bound the neck is a flat jewelled torque with a circular
pendant. A long flexible chain, presumably of fine metal,
passing over the left shoulder falls almost to the right
ankle where the ends are joined by a jewel. Most of the
right arm is lost but the left displays a broad armlet of
nine parallel bands with edges of seeming pearls. A
heavy bracelet adorns the wrist and rings are worn on
54 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
the thumb and two fingers of each hand. In the hands,
fortunately preserved intact, is carried a small trefoil
shrine which must formerly have held an image or
reliquary. C/. Nos. 1364, 1391.
Beneath the feet the Earth Goddess with outspread
arms is seen rising d mi corps from acanthus foliage as
though supporting the figure, which is probably that of
a royal personage.
The feeble indication of the folds of the drapery above
the waist by incised lines would appear to assign the
image to a somewhat late date but the figure is redeem-
ed from mediocrity by the modelling.
Although this is undoubtedly a lay personage all the
conventions of the Buddha and Bodhisattva figures
appear in the treatment of the hair, eyes, ears and chin,
in the Praxitelean pose, the arrangement of the scarf
and in the representation of the Earth Goddess. It
seems unlikely, therefore, that any real attempt has been
made at portraiture.
Whether a halo decorated this figure is uncertain but
it is plain that something is missing on either side of the
head.
Bodhisattva Images. The Bodhisattva figures in the
left gallery include some of the most striking productions
of the artists of Gandhara. Freed from the academic
frigidity and restrictions of the Buddha image they were,
in the case of these transcendent beings, able to give rein
to their fancy and the sculptures bear witness to its exu-
berance in the treatment of the drapery, jewels and
coiffure.
Unlike the Buddha who wears the three monastic
robes the Bodhisattvas are clad in the two traditional
Indian garments, but these are draped in a way which
clearly betrays the hands of artists imbued with classic
traditions. A short skirt tied by an ornamental cord,
the* ends of which fall in front of the body, covers the
THE SCULPTURES. 55
lower limbs to the ankles. The archaistio and schematic
treatment of the points of the garment, noticeably so
in the standing figures Nos. 1872, 1866, PL 4(c), are features
of special interest. A long shawl-like garment passes
across the shoulders, is wrapped round the left upper
arm, thrown behind and hangs by the left side. The
other end usually falls in a graceful loop before the body
and is upheld by the right arm. All the standing Bodhi-
sattva images in this gallery wear sandals.
But it is in the jewels that the sculptors display their
greatest ingenuity. Eound the neck is usually a flat,
jewelled torque, a flexible amulet carrier passes over the
left oLoulder and under the right arm, and a second thick
flexible necklace hangs low on the client culminating in
front in the heads of two monsters contending for a jewel.
Generally there is also another flexible necklace which
passes over the left shoulder and right upper arm where
it is prevented from slipping by a large flat armlet. This
jewel-encrusted ornament is, on the left arm, covered
by the upper garment but its outline is cunningly reveal-
ed beneath the tightly drawn cloth. Earrings, some-
times of elaborate form, as in Nos. 1428, 1438 and heavy
bracelets invariably adorn these figures.
In the Maitreya images the hair, bound by a jewelled
fillet and falling behind the shoulders in wavy locks is
looped above in a manner reminiscent of the Apollo
Belvedere. Cf. Nos. 1422, 1866, PL 4(c). In the case
of the other Bodhisattvas the hair is almost entirely
concealed by an elaborate headdress ornamented by
jewelled dragons and other monsters as in No. 1438 or
by a plaque displaying a seated Buddha as in No. 1867.
Frequently a roughly cut wedge-shaped dowel in front
of the headdress marks the former existence of a sculp-
tured ornament such as No. 221 in Case 11 and Nos.
1099, 1137 in Case 44. An uncommon treatment of
the coiffure is seen in the beautiful Bodhisattva head
E 2
56 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
No. 1879 where the hair falls to the shoulders in graceful
curls.
The urna is usually a small raised projection but was
formerly marked by a jewel in Nos. 1604, 1879, 1438.
Figures with looped hair and holding a flask in the
left hand may with confidence be identified as the Bodhi-
sattva Maitreya. No. 1438 with a purse or loop in the
left hand is probably Avalokitesvara, but for want of
definite attributes the identification of Nos. 1869, 1605,
1600, 1435, 1925 remains somewhat doubtful.
Like the Buddha figures these Bodhisattvas exhibit
varying degrees of excellence. Among the finest are
Nos. 1868, PL 4(c), 1422, 1438, 1879, while Nos. 1867,
1866 seem to mark the school in its decline.
The pedestals of the standing Bodhisattva images
commonly show Bodhisattvas with donors, but those
which are seated exhibit more variety, Bodhisattvas in
two cases being replaced by cult objects, Maitreya's
flask in No. 1435 and an incense burner in No. 1870.
Table Case L. Excavations at Sahribahlol and
Takht-i-Bahi yielded the small sculptures in this case.
Elaborate compositions such as No. 1554 are the source
of the fragments 812 M and 848 M, the latter being the
front of a small chaitya or chapel. From Kasyapa scenes
come the alms bowl with snake, the Brahman ascetic
Kasyapa, 811 M, 820 M and the young Brahman 815 M.
The hand with looped purse (?), 818 M, is seemingly
from a figure of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara while
849 M and 850 M are the left hands of Maitreya images.
A lion fed by a little naked child, 822 M, is from the
front of the simhdsana (lion throne) of a seated Buddha
or Bodhisattva.
Attention may be drawn to the contrast between the
stucco figures 804-808 M from Takht-i-Bahi and the later
and decadent ones with protuberant eyes, 840-1 M, 843
M a?rd 876 M, recovered at Sahribahlol,
THE SCULPTURES. 57
Table Case M. In this case are miscellaneous sculp-
tures of considerable interest from various sources. Multi-
armed figures are rare in Gandhara but 942 M so depicts
Vishnu while in 676 M we have a Siva with six arms.
Although these are Hindu deities the material and tech-
nique prove them to be of the later Gandhara school.
The six-armed polycephalic Siva closely resembles the
images on the reverse of certain coins of Huvishka. A
goddess with goose, 941 M, is likewise seemingly a Hindu
deity but probably still later in date. Two scenes from
the Mahaparinirvana are shown in 697 M, and the Marri-
age of the Bodhisattva and the Life in the Palace in 701 M,
PfinrJiika and Hariti appear again in 686 M. The former
not only carries a purse but, like his consort, rests his
foot upon a heap of coins. A votive stupa is seen in
633 M. The head 969 M is, from its wild expression,
undoubtedly that of Panchika. With the stucco heads
in this case should be compared those from Chinese Tur-
kestan which clearly betray their indebtedness to the
school of Gandhara. Metal images of this school are un-
common but 695 M in copper repousse is one of the rare
examples. In 943 M (a), (6), (c) we have three fine speci-
mens of stucco heads still preserving traces of their original
colouring. The steatite plaque 715 M from Tordher is
not without interest and has its counterpart in 113M
in Case B.
Table Case N. The fragmentary sculptures in this
case were excavated at Sahribahlol and Shah-ji-kl-dheri
in 1910-11. In many cases, despite their fragmentary
condition, it is still possible to state with some certainty
the compositions of which they once formed part. The
two right hands 740 M, 741 M are from small Bodhisattva
figures, the snake in the alms bowl 742 M comes from a
Ka^yapa scene such as No. 1373 or No. 1549, as does
also 725 M. Some representation of the unidentified
legend in No. 1844 (C) may have been the source of the
figure with bowed head, 726 M, while the head of the
Brahman ascetic, 728 M, is probably that of K?.'yapa,
68 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
though it could possibly have come from such a sculpture
as No. 1373. From some forest scene as No. 1151 or
No. 1944 comes the damaged peacock, 739 M, and the
Bodhisattva, 723 M, seated in pensive attitude is from
a composition of the nature of No. 1150. Panchika,
721 M, is from a representation of the Tutelary Couple.
Of. 241.
Want of space has made it necessary to exhibit sculp-
tures in the four window recesses of the side galleries
of the Central Hall.
Windows in Right Gallery.
1. Three friezes, Nos. 1421, 1423, 1426, recovered at
Sahribahlol in 1909-10 seemingly illustrate one story.
This has not been identified with certainty but may be
that of the man who kicked his mother and was con-
demned in consequence to bear on his head a burning
wheel. Cf. No. 1714.
2. A beautiful frieze, No. 1418, though classic in
feeling betrays the country of its origin. The vine may
be an importa.tion but the seeming cupids are more pro-
bably yakshas and the animals are certainly Indian.
For want of confirmative details it is impossible to re-
cognise with certainty in No. 1432 a scene from the Vis-
vantara Jataka, though this identification has been sug-
gested.
3. No. 1904 shows two scenes, one Mara's Attack
(Introd. 19), the other unique and unidentified where
the Buddha appears to be addressing some mutilated
persons. In the circular frieze No. 1899 are seen wrestl-
ing, archery on foot and on horseback, representations
of the Bodhisattva's Martial Exercises (Introd. 9). Cupids
and garlands appear in No. 1419, and a Buddha of the
late period in 87 L. A unique figure, a haloed but seem-
ingly lay personage bearing a bowl or lamp, is seen in
74 LV
THE SCULPTURES. 50
4. The torso 76 L is from a relief of the Tutelary
Couple such as No. 241. The head shows considerable
individuality, the deep set eyes with marked pupils giv-
ing it a strong and virile appearance in keeping with
Pafichika's character as sendpati. No. 1937 is part of
the acanthus capital of an Indo-Corinthian pilaster and
No. 1928 is one of the most beautiful Buddha figures in
the collection. In no other image in the Peshawar
Museum has the artist so successfully realized the peace
and serenity of Buddhahood.
Windows in Left Gallery.
1. Among the numerous reliefs in this window are
two recovered at Jamalgarhi in 1921-22. No. 1885 shows
two scenes in one panel, that to the left being one of the
rare representations of The Nursling of the Dead Woman
(Introd. 31), the other still awaiting identification. The
companion relief, No. 1884, depicts The Approach to
the Bodhi Tree (Introd. 18) with the tree goddess and
Mara and his daughter clearly recognizable but the naked
figure issuing from the throne remains unidentified.
2. Many of these reliefs are fragmentary but in No.
1887 is seen the Naga Kalika (Introd. 17) and No. 1894
shows the guardians of the relics outside the gates of
Kusinara (Introd. 41). The death of the Buddha appears
in 1883 and several events in the Syama Jataka (Introd.
2) are represented in No. 1891, PL 5(6). No. 1893 re-
sembles in certain details the First Meditation of the
Bodhisattva (Introd. 12) and may be so interpreted.
3. Several events anterior to the Enlightenment are
seen in the reliefs in this window, the Martial Exercises
and the Hurling of the Elephant in No. 1906 (Introd.
10), the Marriage of Bodhisattva in No. 1905 and the
Flight from the Palace in Nos. 1907 V 1908, while a scene
from the later career of the Buddha appears in No. 1909,
a representation of the Visit of Indra (Introd. 25). '
60 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
4. No. 1881 is a small and smiling Bodhisattva
and No. 1451, one of the many KaSyapa scenes, while No.
1882, a small false niche, is devoted to events in the
cycle of the Kenunciation, (a) Life in the Palace, (6) The
Sleep of the Women, (c) The Departure from Kapilavastu.
In the last scene the horse Kanthaka is unusually well
preserved and Mara clearly recognizable. In the Offer-
ing of the Four Bowls, No. 1934, which seems to be late
in date, the Lokapala who has just handed his bowl to
the Buddha is dressed in Kushan costume.
Case 1. Case 1 contains a miscellaneous^assortment
of stucco fragments from Sahribahlol. The majority
are heads, either of Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, Nc^. 15
and 17 being especially noteworthy for the delicacy of
their modelling and their apparent closeness to the Helle-
nistic prototype. But of greater interest is the headless
figure of a warrior, No. 13, wearing a skirt of imbricat-
ed mail and bearing in his left hand a curiously shaped
shield resembling the Boeotian shield of the Greeks.
The lions originally formed part of the ornamentation
of small stupas and separated the superposed friezes
precisely as do the elephants in Photographs 1443, 1469,
exhibited in the revolving frame at the end of the upper
gallery.
Table Case A. Exhibited in this case are frag-
mentary stucco and stone sculptures from Sahribahlol,
together with a few of the heavy nails with which the
larger stone sculptures were originally held in position.
The fragment 70 M is from a representation of the Dipan-
kara Jataka and 68 M, 79 M, 83 M, 84 M, 88 M are all
details from Kasyapa scenes. A Hariti with cornucopia
is seen in 77 M while she and her spouse Panchika appear
together as the Tutelary Couple in 78 M. The base of
this sculpture is worthy of attention as it depicts over-
lapping coins falling from overturned jars, an appro-
priate detail in representations of these deities of Abun-
dance and Fertility.
THfi SCULPTURES. 61
Of the other miscellaneous objects the most interest-
ing are two copper spoons, 103-4 M, found in the monastic
quadrangle at Sahribahlol and a small fragment of a
halo, 108 M, consisting of a thin stucco facing, on a
stone backing, and preserving traces of the original
brilliant colouring of its ornament of radiating golden
rays on a bright red background. The plaster cast of
one of the stucco friezes on a little stupa recovered at
Sahribahlol was taken as a precautionary measure and
it is fortunate this was done as the ignorant and intolerant
peasantry of the neighbourhood subsequently demolish-
ed every particle of ornamentation on this monument.
C^ses 2-3. In order to appreciate the historical
position of the Gandh&ra school and to ascertain precisely
what it has contributed to Indian art, it becomes neces-
sary to analyse the sculptures and to separate the archaic
or indigenous elements from the newer importations or
creations. An attempt has been made to do this in the
classification of the sculptures in the upper galleries of
the Museum, but it is obvious that such can be only
partially successful. The majority of the sculptures are
highly complex, and partake of the characteristics of,
or at least show elements appertaining to both the new
and the older periods. Sculptures of this kind which
do not illustrate entirely either the one or the other,
but which, on the other hand, do directly illustrate the
life or the cult of the Buddha, have been qlassified,
according to the subject represented, as either Legendary
or Devotional, while single images of Bodhisattvas or
of the Buddha have been collected into homogeneous
groups. But, wherever the fragmentary nature of a
given piece or its inherent simplicity has rendered such
a classification practicable, it has been designated as
either archaic or newly introduced.
In pursuance of this plan, therefore, those stone
fragments from Sahribahlol which show artistic motifs
found on Indian monuments older than the Gandhara
school have been grouped together in Cases 2-3. The
62 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
modillion cornice represented by fragments Nos. 39 and
44 is not itself such an archaic element, as such modillions
appear in Indian art for the first time in Gandhara, but
the narrow line of sawtooth ornament above these modil-
lions is an archaic element and explains the inclusion of
these stones in this section. Nos. 40 and 41 show the
ancient Buddhist rail device surmounted by merlons.
Rails of this type were commonly built around stupas
in India proper and very highly decorated, as those will
remember who have seen the beautiful rails of Amara-
vati, but in Gandhara they have been rarely found save
as a decorative motif. Cf. Nos. 1780, 1784, 1790. Nos.
45, 46 and 47 are good examples of the Assyrian honey-
suckle. This, although obviously of foreign origin, was
a very early importation into India, and is accordingly
included among archaic elements, although not itself
indigenous. The idea of decorating windows, balconies
and small arches with figures of parrots as seen in Nos.
37 and 49 is also very ancient. Fragment No. 56 shows
an exceedingly common decorative device, kneeling figures
under ogee arches separated by pilasters of Persepolitan
type, where the capital is formed by animals reclining
back to back and supporting the architrave. The ele-
phants in Case 3, Nos. 79, 80 and 81, represented as
kneeling, with upraised trunks, were placed originally
in the same way as the lions' heads described in Case 1.
A good idea of the ornamental effect of this device can
be gathered from the plaster cast of the little stupa frieze
in Case A, but here the elephants are portrayed picking
up sheaves of grain and not with uplifted trunks. No.
97 is an inferior example of a full blown lotus frieze, of
which many beautiful specimens have been found else-
where. The archaic bead and reel motif occurs on frag-
ment No. 106, the stone being otherwise unadorned.
No. 107 is a small piece of one of those stone umbrellas
which were placed, one above another, over the dome
of a stupa to form the hti. For stupas surmounted by
umbrellas see Nos. 672 M, 1554, 1846, 1852.
THE SCTJLPTtTRES. 6&
Case 4. Of all the new additions to Indian art due
to the Graeco-Buddhist artists the most important is
the figure of the Buddha himself, No. 121, and closely
connected are the representations of the various Bod-
hisattvas, two of which are included in this case in order
to emphasize the fact that their appearance in Indian
art is due to the school of Gandhara. A definitely foreign
motif is seen in No. 109, which shows a very graceful
scroll of vine leaves with bunches of grapes. Although
at least one occurrence of a bunch of grapes is known in
archaic Indian sculpture, the vine itself is not indigenous
to India, nor can its use as a scroll or border be traced
in older Indian art. No. Ill shows a modillion cornice
similar to those in Case 1, but here both the modillious
themselves and their little Corinthian capitals are of Helle-
nistic origin. The winged marine monster of No. 112 is
also borrowed from Greek art, as is the device of little
Erotcs carrying a long garland shown in fragment No.
115. The elaborate stone No. 116, shows an arrange-
ment of concentric arches with decorated lunulate inter-
spaces, which is itself of purely Indian origin, although
the decorative figures are largely foreign. Thus the
kneeling Tritons in the spandrels are essentially Greek,
both in their origin and their application to such a space,
though their adoration of the Buddha is an interesting
illustration of how the Gandhara sculptors harmonized
these foreign elements with their own conceptions. No.
117, showing the Buddhist rail, is of course as archaic
as No. 56 mentioned in Case No. 2, but the narrow border
of acanthus leaves preserved in this specimen is a new
motif and hence included in this division. The obviously
Greek origin of the Corinthian pilasters, Nos. 124 and
125, need hardly be emphasised.
Table Case B. The majority of the miscellaneous
sculptures in this case are not of the Gandhara School
but of later date. In 429 M we see the Buddha on a
lotus throne with a long stalked lotus on either side,
64 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
that on the left supporting a small Vajrapani, the one
on the right bearing a haloed worshipping figure. Al-
though this was found by excavation in Peshawar, the
material, style and technique proclaim it an importa-
tion.
Of particular interest is the Gandhara sculpture 427
M, the Buddha between two Bodhisattvas. That these
are not intended for Brahma and Indra is plain as these
two deities appear above the right and left shoulder respect-
ively of the Buddha figure. Indra's characteristic head-
dress is noteworthy as is also his thunder-bolt (vajra).
The Bodhisattva to the right is apparently Maitreya and
the one to the left, if not then designated Avalokites-
vara, is at least the figure destined to become so later.
Before the Buddha's throne is an adoring donor. An-
other Gandhara sculpture, No. 1942, shows in two panels
the Subjugation of the Elephant and the Visit of Indra.
A Tibetan Bodhisattva with sakti, 642 M, shows only too
plainly how far Buddhism in Tibet has wandered from
that of Gandhara.
Two small steatite sculptures in the style of the Ma-
thura School, a standing Buddha, 438 M, and a relief, 437
M, depicting the Offering of the Four Bowls and the
Mahaparinirvana are of interest on account of the con-
trast with their Gandhara prototypes and as evidence
of the movement, in early times, of cult and art objects
over considerable distances. With these may be com-
pared the two somewhat similar little figures, 689 M and
690 M. Metal images, like the Bodhisattva 663 M, said
to have been found in the Ghurband Valley above Swat,
are rare in the Peshawar Museum. The purpose of such
plaques as 113M exhibiting a couple in amorous dalli-
ance is uncertain but they are frequently recovered in
excavations. Cf. 715 M. The subjects carved thereon
are usually secular. In 975 M we have a very rare re-
presentation of the enshrouding of the Buddha (Introd.
39).
THE SCULPTURES. 65
Case 5. The significance of most of the scenes shown
in this case will be clear from a reference to the brief
sketch of the Buddha's life given in the Introduction
and the detailed legends.
The first four reliefs, Nos. 127-130, depict the four chief
events in the Buddha's life, namely his Birth, No. 127
(Introd. 6), his Temptation, representing the Enlighten-
ment, No. 128 (Introd. 19), his First Sermon, No. 129
(Introd. 22), and his Death, the Mahaparinirvana, No.
130 (Introd. 39). The symbolism on the front of the
Buddha's seat in No. 129 is interesting, representing as
it does the Wheel of the Law borne upon a trisula, 1 which
probably typifies the Three Jewels of the Buddhist world,
to wit the Buddha, the Doctrine and the Monastic Order.
The reclining deer on either side indicate that the scene
is laid in the Deer Park at Sarnath near Benares. No.
131 represents the Horoscope of Asita (Introd. 7), the
Rishi holding the infant Buddha on his lap being seated
at the spectator's left. The fragmentary scene to the
left deals with the adolescence of Siddhartha and includes
the Writing Lesson (Introd. 8) and riding upon a ram.
Cf. No. 151.
Of the three scenes in No. 133 only the centre one,
Makandika offering his daughter to the Buddha, has yet
been identified (Introd. 33). No. 134 represents the
Departure from Kapilavastu, when the young prince
abandoned his home to seek the way of salvation (Introd.
13). Two of the three scenes on No. 135 are unknown
but the one to the right is the Dipankara-Jataka (Introd.
1). No. 136 is a fragment from the legend of Kasyapa.
This scene, amusingly drawn, shows the young Brahmans
mounting on ladders, to extinguish the supposed con-
flagration with jars of water (Introd, 23). No. 138 re-
presents Queen Maya's dream typifying the conception
of the Bodhisattva, who is shown under the form of an
1 Cf. Foucher, Beginnings of Buddhist Art, PL I, where this is considered
as the taurine or nandi-pada symbol denoting the zodiacal sign Taurus (the Bull)
which presided over the Nativity of the Bodhisattva (Siddhartha).
60 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
elephant (Introd, 4). No. 142 is the slaying of the Ele-
phant by the Buddha's wicked cousin Devadatta (Introd.
10). The Wrestling Match, one of the contests arranged
in connection with Siddhartha's betrothal to Yasodhara
is represented by fragment No. 143 (Introd. 9). Of the
four scenes on No. 145, the two on the left are identi-
fiable, namely the Offering of the Handful of Dust (In-
trod. 27) and the subjugation by the Buddha of the furious
elephant which Devadatta launched against him (Introd.
37).
Case 6. The majority of the reliefs in this case are
fragments of false niches which were built out on the
dome of a stupa. The form of the complete niche is
that of the silhouette of a double-domed chapel, or the
same drawn in section, giving the trefoil arch. The
decoration, as can be seen from these fragments, con-
sisted usually of a series of legendary scenes arranged
vertically in the centre, with panels of smaller abbre-
viated legendary scenes at the sides. But the very
curtailed form of the latter makes it often impossible
to say to what legend the scene has reference. Thus
of such small scenes in this case only the second one on
fragment No. 150 can be identified tentatively as having
reference to the child's Offering of the Handful of Dust
(Introd. 27). But the presentation of the snake to Kas-
yapa is depicted in abbreviated form in the lowest panel
of No. 149 and again in the third panel of No. 146, where
the left hand of the Buddha is now lost (Introd. 23).
The female with mirror in her right hand and parrot on
the left wrist seen on the left of No. 146 is worthy of
attention. No. 151 is another representation of the First
Writing Lesson of the child Siddhartha (Introd. 8) and
the badly damaged fragment No. 154, which originally
formed the central portion of a false niche, shows scenes
depicting the voluptuous life of the young prince in his
palace, his abandonment of the same and his departure
from his home in Kapilavastu, in other words, the cycle
of the Great Renunciation (Introd. 13). But the most
THE SCULPTURES. 67
valuable and interesting sculpture in this case is No.
152 depicting the attempted escape, from the convent, of
Nanda, Buddha's half brother, whom he had converted
malgre lui (Introd. 24). Nanda's futile attempt to hide
behind the tree which rises from the ground, disclosing
him to the Buddha is amusingly rendered. The frag-
ment No. 153, actually part of No. 152, depicts the
Buddha in the air. Not only are his feet clear of the
ground but that he is high in the sky is certain from the
fact that he is level with the Sun God, who, on a small
raised medallion, is shown seated in a biga.
Case 7. This section of the Sahribahlol collection
contains those sculptures which are neither single Buddha
nor Bodhisattva figures and yet are connected with the
cult of Buddhism rather than with the story of the Tea-
cher's life. Thus Nos. 162-167 are portions of a frieze
depicting (1) the worship of the Buddha's turban. No.
163, (2) the cult of the Kelics, No. 165, and (3) the cult
of the Bowl, No. 171-A. The elaborate and ornamental
nature of the turban shown on fragment No. 163 is ex-
plained by the fact that it represents the headdress of
the prince Siddhartha, which was snatched up to heaven
by the gods as recounted in the Introduction (14). It
should be noticed that the Persepolitan pilasters and
the ogee arches in all these sculptures are archaic ele-
ments, familiar in Indian art long before the rise of the
Gandhara school. More interesting than these friezes,
however, are sculptures Nos. 158 and 171, each represent-
ing a seated Buddha figure with a Bodhisattva standing
on either side, apparently representations of the Miracle
of Sravasti (Introd. 32). In both Nos. 158 and 171 the
presence of Indra and Brahma behind the left and right
shoulders of the Buddha respectively should be noted,
Indra being characterized by the thunderbolt and the
high flat headdress, Brahma by his long hair.
On the base of No. 158 are three scenes, to right an
abbreviated representation of the story of Angulimala
68 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
(Introd. 30), to left the Subjugation of the Naga Apalala
(Introd. 29) and in the centre a seated Buddha with two
adoring figures on either side.
It was for a long time believed that the theory of the
Bodhisattvas originated very late in the history of Bud-
dhism, and it seemed at first doubtful whether they
could be traced at all in so early a school of Buddhist
art as that of Gandhara. But such sculptures as the two
under discussion prove that Bodhisattvas were known
to the artists of Gandhara, and the more these sculptures
are studied, the more probable it appears that the theory
had already advanced very far even in those early centuries.
The Bodhisattva figures thus furnish the student with
extremely interesting and valuable material, for among
the many problems connected with the Gandhara school,
few are more important than a correct differentiation
and determination of the Bodhisattva types. In later
Buddhist art, in Tibet, Japan etc., the various Bodhi-
sattvas are distinguished one from another by attributes,
but in the earlier school of Gandhara these are not always
constant. In sculpture No. 171, however, the standing
figure on the proper left of the Buddha holds a flask in
his left hand, while the one on the right holds in his up-
raised right hand a lotus flower now damaged. In later
art these are the attributes of Maitreya and Avalokites-
vara respectively, and it is safe to assume, therefore,
that these are the Bodhisattvas depicted here as well
as in the precisely similar sculpture No. 158. It is of
interest to note that in both cases Avalokitesvara wears
a high headdress while Maitreya has merely an elaborate
coiffure. This distinction is of importance when con-
sidering the sculptures in the next section.
Cases 8-9. These cases contain only fragments of
single Bodhisattva figures. The peculiar coiffure notice-
able in No. 184 seems to indicate that the figure represents
Maitreya. The absence of the flask here is immaterial
for this is an attribute especially of the standing figure,
THE SCULPTURES. 69
whereas in Tibetan art the hands of the seated Maitreya
are regularly shown in this position. The importance
of the headdress is thus made evident ; indeed it is special-
ly emphasized in one of the later Buddhist texts, and
from the analogy of Nos. 158 and 184 it seems probable
Maitreya is also represented by Nos. 175, 180 and 181.
The hand No. 185 is marked by the alabastron or unguent
flask as belonging to some Maitreya figure. Similarly,
fragments Nos. 172, 182 and 183 appear to be hands from
figures of Avalokitesvara, on the analogy of the left
hand of the figure of this Bodhisattva in No. 158. As
was noticed in connection with this figure and the one
in No. 171, Avalokitesvara is depicted as wearing a
high headdress. These sculptures are too small to permit
of much detail, but in general the headdress resembles
those in fragments Nos. 176, 179, 188 and 200, PL 4 (a).
These all show as a common feature a circular disc with
a tapering tenon. Its purpose is explained by the small
sculptured medallion No. 221 in Case 11 , which is mortised
to receive such a tenon. Cf. Nos. 1099, 1137. The fact,
furthermore, that these medallions show a seated Buddha
with his hands in the attitude of meditation or dhyana,
confirms the proposed identification of these Bodhisatt-
vas with Avalokitesvara, for in later art he regularly
wears in his headdress a small seated Dhyani-Buddha
AmitSbha. This would make it appear, therefore, that
this tiny Buddha is a representation of Amitabha. But
this divinity has hitherto been supposed to be a com-
paratively recent addition to the pantheon, and his
occurrence at so early a stage of Buddhism is not yet
established. The two Bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara and
Maitreya and the Bodhisattva Siddhartha, No. 1739,
PL 1, are the only ones yet identified with certainty in
Gandhara. 1 But the little head No. 192 in Case 9 has
so distinctive a pose and so individual a headdress, that
it seems probable that some other particular Bodhisattva
1 Unless wo identify the small Bodhisattva in No. 280 with Manjufri.
F
70 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
is intended ; and the striking similarity between this
and the one numbered 950 in the Takht-i-Bahi collection
(Case 39) is strong confirmation of this hypothesis. But
in our present ignorance of the emblems and attributes
associated with this type, no complete figure having yet
been found, it is impossible to determine its identity.
Of the other fragments in Case 9 the only one calling for
mention is the large and shapely hand, No. 190, with
the so-called webbing between the fingers. That this
is the hand of a Bodhisattva, and not of a Buddha, is
shown by the bracelet ; the Buddha himself, being a
monk, wears no jewels.
Cases 10-11. As Buddhism developed, the theory
of the existence of Buddhas in past ages of the world and
others still to come advanced along with the doctrine of
the various Bodhisattvas. But for a number of reasons
the historical Gautama has at all times towered fur above
the other Buddhas, so that, especially in the case of
early art, there is hardly any question of differentiating
Buddha images. They can all be identified with Gautama
with reasonable certainty, except where there are peculiar
reasons for supposing that some other Buddha is intend-
ed. 1 That the eight Buddhas were known to the artists
of Gandhara is proved by such sculptures as the one
pictured by Griinwedel on page 130 of his " Buddhist
Art in India", 2 but there is absolutely no evidence
to show that the worship of any of these as individuals
had advanced sufficiently in the Gandhara period to
warrant separate images. It is not strange, therefore,
that there should be a certain similarity between them,
since they all represent the one great Teacher. But
this similarity never extends to identity, and the careful
observer will notice a very pronounced variety among
the sculptures even in this Museum. Thus, to mention
1 Cf. the remarks above (Cases 8-9) concerning the figure on the medallion
No. 221 and also the Dlpankara-Jataka (Introd. 1).
* Of. also pp. 181 and 188.
THE SCULPTURES. 71
externals only, sometimes the figure is moustached (cf.
Nos. 223, 232, 233, etc.) ; sometimes it is clean shaven as
in No. 212 ; sometimes the right shoulder is bare as
Nos. 220, 227 and 234 ; or it niay be draped as Nos. 208
and 210. The hair may be naturalistically represented as
waved and brushed back from the forehead, which is
supposed to be the original Hellenistic treatment (cf.
Nos. 212, 226, 227, etc.), or it may be arranged sche-
matically in little curls as in figures Nos. 210 and 234 ;
the latter arrangement being more in keeping with the
canon, where this peculiarity of the Buddha is mention-
ed. As for the subtleties of facial modelling and ex-
pression, the variety is infinite. Cf. Nos. 207, * 209, 226
and 233 in the Sahribahlol collection. Between such
extreme periods as are represented by heads Nos. 207
and 226 on the one hand and Nos. 398, 403, 1440 on the
other, still greater divergences can be noticed. Indeed,
the more the figures are vstudied in detail, the more notice-
able are the differences, while that which is common to
all tends to fade into relative insignificance. 2
Of the fragments in the Sahribahlol collection in
particular, little remains to be said. The begging bowl
in the hand of the graceful figure No. 208 is interesting
as showing the grooving along the edge explained in the
Introduction. No. 210 is not a simple Buddha image
but from a Kasyapa scene such as Nos. 1376, 1577 (Introd.
23). The " webbing " between the fingers is again notice-
able in the case of the damaged hand No. 211, while the
unusual similarity between the heads Nos. 212 and 233
makes one wonder if they are by the same artist. The
two arms numbered 213 and 214, it will be noticed, are
not broken from their statues, but are separately carved
pieces originally added to the figures as a whole. No.
227 is quite iminjured save for the right knee, and is
one of the best pieces in the collection. The colouring
1 Now m the Central Hall.
9 Cf. p. 51 et 8eq 9
72 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
about the eyes is interesting as an indication of the well-
known fact that in ancient times these sculptures, like
those of Greece, were vivified and animated by painting
and gilding. 1 One can well imagine what a wonderful
difference it must have made, when they were all res-
plendent with gold and colour, with their haloes marked
out in a series of radiating rays of gold on a back-ground
of brilliant red, like the little fragment 108 M in Table
Case A. Their early worshippers would scarcely recognize
them in their present sombre garb.
Case 12. -The sculptures in Case 12 are a miscellane-
ous and unclassified collection presented to the Museum
by Major 0. B. Rawlinson, C.I.E. The findspots of the
several pieces are unknown, but the fragments are in-
teresting and valuable for their own sake. Thus the
well sculptured fragment No. 247, representing the DI-
pankara-Jataka (Introd. 1) is an excellent illustration
of the artistic method of the older, indigenous school of
Indian art. The various acts in the drama are all shown
simultaneously as parts of one composition, the same
figures being repeated as often as necessary to carry the
action forward. Gandhara art, itself, rarely represents
consecutive scenes in this way, more frequently depict-
ing the various episodes of a story in a series of separate
panels arranged in chronological sequence from right to
left. But in the older school these combined composi-
tions are frequent and it is probable that the retention
of this method in the portrayal of this particular scene
is due to some distinct tradition. Jataka scenes are
much commoner in the older school than in Gandhara,
and the representation of the Dlpankara legend may
have become stereotyped before that school arose. An-
other peculiarly interesting, and it is believed unique
composition, is that of fragment No. 251, representing
the dream of Queen Maya, the mother of Gautama. No
1 Song-yun (c. 520 A.D.) mentions beautiful images at Po-lu-sha as " cover-
ed with gold sufficient to dazzle the eyes." C/. 108 M in Table Case A and 943
M(a), (6), (c) in Table Case M.
THE SCULPTURES. 73
other bas-relief of this scene shows the queen with her
back to the spectator, but that this was necessary, once
her head was placed to the left, has been explained in
the Introduction. The chronological sequence running
regularly from right to left helgs very often to determine
the meaning of a fragment. Thus the scene to the left
of the queen's dream should represent some incident
subsequent to the dream itself. We see the royal couple
seated side by side, turned toward a figure on the left
now lost ; so that, in view of the position of the scene,
we can, despite its fragmentary condition, identify it
with entire confidence as the Interpretation of the Dream
(Introd. 5). The fragment No. 250 is from the left of a
relief depicting the Marriage of the Bodhisattva and
shows Yasodhara with train upheld by an attendant
about to circumambulate the sacred fire. Cf. Nos. 701
M, 1905. The last scene to the left represented the Life
in the Palace (Introd. 13). No. 259 where the Buddha
and his attendants stand on lotus flowers is probably the
invitation of Srigupta (Introd. 34). The little seated
Buddha in No. 260, on a background of acanthus leaves,
is a fragment of a large Corinthian capital, as can be seen
from No. 326. But perhaps the most valuable sculpture
in the case is the remarkable head No. 268. Portraiture
is extremely rare in Gandhara, but it seems probable
that we have here portraiture of considerable strength
and power. The incipient krobulos on the top of the head,
however, is difficult to explain. Cf. Nos. 1768, 1770.
Case 13. This case contains a miscellaneous collec-
tion presented by Mr. Pipon, I.C.S., and others. No.
269, a fragment from a sculpture representing the Miracle
of Sravasti was given by the late Sir Harold Deane,
K.C.S.I., and shows an unusually animated Naga figure
rising a mi corps from, out of the water. The flowers,
No. 274, from some large composition are worthy of
notice. No, 280 received from Mr. Wilson Johnston,
LG.S., is of special interest, being one of the few inscribed
74 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
sculptures n in -..the Museum. 1 The inscription, in the
Kharoshthi character, reads from right to left and is
damaged at either end but apparently refers to the gift
of a Buddha image by one Sadhakamitra. The language
of the inscription is a local form of Prakrit.
Case 14. The seven cases 14 to 20 contain the valu-
able collection presented to the Museum by P. J. G.
Pipon, Esq., I.C.S. They have been classilied on the
same principles as the Sahribahlol collection being divid-
ed into groups according to the nature of the sculptures.
Case 14 contains those fragments which illustrate chiefly
archaic elements in the art of Gandhara, whether truly
indigenous or of earlier importation. Among the latter
are the Persepolitan pilasters with animal capitals on
fragment No. 309, and the remarkable seated figure
No. 322, which was evidently winged. Figures of this
general type are called generically " Atlantes " in Gan-
dhara art, from their having been used to support columns
or cornices. Their application to this use was current
in the oldest known school of Indian art, and therefore
the present sculpture has been included in this section.
But it must be acknowledged that it is one of the most
distinctly non-Indian images in the Museum, and it
might perhaps have been included with equal propriety
among the newer foreign elements in Case 15. The
extraordinary way in which the hair and beard are re-
presented, in a kind of corkscrew curls, the floral wreath
about the head, and the singularly deep setting of the
eye, are all noteworthy features. Indeed, so far as the
treatment of the eye is concerned, this figure will com-
pare favourably with any other in the Museum. Not
only are the eyes more naturally sunken than in most
cases with the muscles of the eyebrows well advanced
over them, but the artist has even succeeded in represent-
ing a distant, dreamy gaze by his treatment of the upper
lids, all showing a grasp of the principles of plastic art
t These are Nos. 280. 347, 501, 628, 1944.
THE SCULPTURES 75
considerably in advance of what is usually met with in
this school ; and, be it added, hardly in keeping with
the anatomical defects of the sculpture. One of the
weakest points in Gandhara art is illustrated by frag-
ments Nos. 305 and 319 which are portions of an elephant
frieze. Almost every other object in this school is drawn
with greater fidelity to nature, but the elephant, possibly
because of its rarity in this part of India, is almost al-
ways as misshapen as the elephant of a Noah's Ark."
An example of the opposite extreme, of minute and care-
ful observation and accurate delineation, is afforded by
the plants represented in sculpture No. 1151, the bauhinia
foliage exhibiting great fidelity to nature.
Case 15. Of the sculptures in this section, illustrat-
ing foreign elements in Gandhara art, there is little to
say, since almost all represented here have already been
met with in the Sahribahlol collection. It is hardly
necessary to call attention to the large and beautiful,
sculpture in the centre of the case, No. 336. In the
main principles of its composition it resembles No. 116,
already discussed ; but in excellence of execution and
perfection of preservation, the present stone is greatly
superior. The legend represented in the largest and
lowest of the central scenes, namely the Submission
and Conversion of the Naga Apalala, is given in the
Introduction 29, of. 28 L, PL 5 (a). No. 330 is interesting
as having apparently formed part of a frieze of winged
sphinxes ; but it is too badly damaged to permit of
accurate judgment. Fragment No. 331 is believed to be
unique. It is manifestly a winged angel wearing the
long himation and the shorter khiton of the Greeks, and
represented as blowing a long trumpet. In other words,
it appears to be an altogether orthodox Christian angel,
so much so that it seems startingly out of place amidst
such purely Buddhist surroundings, though it should be
borne in mind that it is not more essentially Greek than
everything else in this case. After all, the differences
76 SCULPTURED IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
between it and the winged spirits hovering above the
Buddha's head in No. 374, for example, are not very
great ; for the nudity of the latter is quite as distinctively
Greek in origin as the costume of this draped angel. As
in the case of the little figure among the foliage of the
capital in fragment No. 326, its presence here and in
later European art can only be due to their both having
sprung in part from a common source, probably to be
sought for in the little known art of Asia Minor, which
Strzygowski has shown to be the source of many motifs
hitherto supposed to be of Roman origin.
Case 16. -The legendary scenes in this case are of
greater interest than the fragments in the two preceding
sections, but unfortunately all have not yet been identi-
fied. Among those already met with are the Queen's
Dream, No. 350 (Introd. 4), the Birth, No. 359 (Introd.
6), the First Writing Lesson, No. 347, which has an added
interest in that the writing board shows a few Kha-
roshthi characters supposed to have been written by the
infant genius (Introd. 8). No. 345 seems to depict Sid-
dhartha's departure from his home in Kapilavastu (In-
trod. 13) but certain of the features which usually dis-
tinguish that scene are here wanting. There is, how-
ever, no doubt, that No. 343 is from the left of a relief
depicting this scene and we see Mara on the right with
his army in the upper part of the relief while the dis-
consolate City Goddess, nagaradevatd, of Kapilavastu is
easily recognizable in the female with crenellated crown
on the extreme left. Cf. No. 572. The farewell of the
prince's horse Kanthaka at the moment when the Bodhi-
sattva dismounted after his flight from Kapilavastu is
seen in No. 354, the figure to the extreme right being
the grief -stricken groom Chandaka (Introd. 15). The
Temptation (Introd. 19) is rather sketchily represented
by No. 355 and with more detail in No. 352. No. 353
is a unique relief depicting with noticeable restraint the
Temptation of Lust by Mara and his three daughters
(Intaod. 19). Fragment No. 349 represents the First
THE SCULPTURES. 77
Sermon at Benares (Introd. 22) and No. 344, the Offering
of the Handful of Dust (Introd. 27). No. 357 shows the
Buddha and his monks as guests in the house of some
wealthy female who is about to make a donation as is
indicated by the water pot held before her.
Case 17. Of the devotional sculptures in this case
the only one calling for special mention is No. 374, the
fragment of a representation of the Miracle of Sravasti
on an unusually large scale (Introd. 32). The denizens
of the watery world and the deeply cut mass of the divine
flowers over the head of the Buddha are the most interest-
ing features of this sculpture. Cf. Nos. 158, 171, 1553,
1554.
Case 18. The sculptures here call for no particular
notice, though attention may be drawn to the well
executed group No. 375, showing a central Buddha with
a smaller Bodhisattva on either side. This attempt to
emphasize the superior importance of a given figure by
representing it physically larger than its surroundings
is a device familiar to early art in various parts of the
world but as the art of Gandhara is in no sense primitive
are we to see in this a case of artistic regression ? 1 Be
that as it may we notice in our sculptures an increasing
tendency to exaggerate the size of the principal figure
until finally the figure of the protagonist becomes as it
were an independent image. Cf. Nos. 1577, 1739, PL 1.
No. 380 again shows the City Goddess of Kapilavastu
and No. 384 a double-domed chapel of which structural
examples still exist at Takht-i-Bahl.
Case 19. The Bodhisattva images in the Pipon Col-
lection are remarkable for their manifestly late date, as
indicated by their comparative decadence. No. 393,
which may perhaps be a Maitreya, is a good example
of what Professor Griinwedel calls the " Indischer Typus ",
into which the Greek art of Gandhara degenerated. This
1 It must not be forgotten, however, that the stature of the ftaddha was ,
in any case, believed to be double that of an ordinary man.
78 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
is apparently a transitional form between tlie original
and essentially foreign ideal of this school and the later
idealized type of Indian art upon whose excellencies
certain critics so insist. But that either figure No. 393
or 398 marks a step forward in the representation of the
divine, as compared with the older figures in Gandhara,
is a theory which it would seem difficult to maintain.
Case 20. The Buddha figures in the Pipon Collection
are also unusually late and particularly interesting for
this reason, the extraordinary figure No. 403 being one
of the most marked instances of degeneration in the
Museum. Cf. No. 1440. The drapery has almost ceased
to have meaning, while the face itself is ludicrous, the
wide open eyes with their bulging pupils giving the figure
an expression of frightened surprise, far removed from
the meditative, almost divine quietism of the best pieces.
Another type of decadence is that shown in No. 407,
which, however, is not without its own merits, and is
probably much older than No. 403. The total effect,
aided by the canonical treatment of the hair, is curiously
that of a negro head. The same is true, in much lesser
degree, of the large mask No. 402, but perhaps this is
due in a great measure to the damaged condition of the
nose.
Case 21. The sculptures in this and the two following
cases were purchased locally in 1903 and include a number
of most admirable pieces. The very deeply and clearly
cut fragments Nos. 420, 421, 422 and 424 representing
for the most part Brahman ascetics, are particularly fine,
but the legends they recount have unfortunately not yet
been identified. No. 428 represents the Submission of
the Naga Apalala (Introd. 29), the Naga and his spouse
being the two figures with the snake-hoods, seen rising
from the tank at the spectator's left. No. 433 is another
relief of the Offering of the Handful of Dust (Introd. 27)
and No. 439 an admirably clear example of the Dlpan-
kara Jataka (Introd. 1). The miraculous suspension
THE SCULPTURES. 79
of the lotuses about Drpankara's head, and the sub-
sequent adoration by the youth from his elevation in
the air are quite distinct here, whereas they are lost in
the example of this subject in No. 247.
Case 22. Perhaps the most interesting relief in this
case is No. 457 showing the young Prince Siddhartha's
life in the Palace of Kapilavastu (Introd. 13). The^scene
is here placed on the right, indicating its precedence in
time to the scene on the left, the Great Renunciation,
where the yakshas supporting the feet of the horse are
especially clear. Sculpture No. 455 depicts the First
Sermon (Introd. 22), the scene to the right being the
meeting with the Nfiga Kalika. No. 449 shows the
worship of the Relics of Buddha subsequent to his crema-
tion (Introd. 42).
Case 23. The Cremation itself is represented by the
small fragment No. 484 which is here followed on the left
by the Distribution of the llelics (Introd. 40, 41). In
the latter scene the figure seated behind the table is the
Brahman Drona. No. 471 is apparently the story of the
demon Atavika, who having just been converted by the
Buddha abstains from devouring the child and presents
him to the Buddha (Introd. 26). But the most important
fragment in this case is No. 463, which is part of the edge
of one of the umbrella discs forming the so-called " hti "
above a stupa, the interest being due to the two heads
which appear to show portraiture superior to even that
of the remarkable head in the Kawlinson Collection.
Case 24. The sculptures in this case are from a
variety of sources. The two excellent Buddha figures
No. 489 and No. 490, together with the more debased type
No. 488 and the admirable standing image of Maitreya
Bodhisattva No. 495, were found by a peasant in the
Swabi Tahsil and purchased by Government. The in-
teresting winged Atlas No. 496 was recovered at Jamal-
garhi, as also the well preserved little group No. 497.
This represents Garuda, the king of the Birds, snatching
80 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
up a snake deity or Ndga by the snake-like projection
at the shoulder. This serpent-like portion is brought
round the right of the Garuda's head and caught in its
beak. The particular interest of the group, however,
is due to the theory supported by Professor Griinwedel L
that at the back of such representations of Garuda and the
Nagas or Nagis lay a memory of the famous group by
Leochares representing the eagle of Zeus snatching up
Ganymede to be the cup-bearer of the gods ; and the
general similarity in composition is certainly striking.
But, if the rape of Ganymede really does lie behind these
sculptures, they well illustrate the process of Indianiza-
tion to which such Greek motifs were subjected in Gan-
dhara, and show how these exotic forms were adapted
locally to the cult and service of the Indian faith. Sculp-
tures Nos. 491, 493, 494, 498, 499, 500 and 502 were
recovered at Rustarn by Mr. J. G. Hennessy and presented
by him to the Museum. The peculiar greenness of the
stone is noticeable. Fragment No. 499 is a particularly
striking piece, and really a very clever bit of composition.
It represents, in all, seven Niigas or Nagis, it is difficult
to tell which, all distinguished by serpents' hoods, and all
bearing what seem to be umbrellas. Those at the bottom
of the group rise, as usual, only half out of the water in
which they were supposed to dwell. This, itself, is a
common characteristic of such figures. Of. No. 269.
But that a precisely similar concealment for the bodies of
those above should have been effected by the judicious
utilization of the umbrella motif, whose introduction
may be due to the legend which the whole was meant to
portray, is very striking, and reflects considerable credit
on the artist's ingenuity. The small inscribed fragment
No. 501 was purchased from a peasant at Jainalgarhi.
The inscription, which is in cursive Kharoshthi, is incom-
plete but states that the image was a gift " in honour of all
beings ". Sculpture No. 503, the Miracle of SravastI show-
1 Buddhist Art in India, p. 108.
THE SCULPTURES. 81
ing a central Buddha figure with a Bodhisattva on either
side, and presented by J. A. 0. Fitzpatrick, Esq., I.C.S.,
is remarkable for depicting Avalokitesvara on the left of
the Buddha in the place of honour usually reserved for
Maitreya, here standing on the proper right. That the
sculpture is decadent and late is perfectly obvious, and
together with No. 848, might seem to suggest that, even
within the limits of Gandhara, the cult of the Bodhi-
sattva underwent a long course of development, long
enough to admit of Avalokitesvara coming to precede
the older Maitreya in popular estimation were not the two
Bodhisattvas found in the same positions in Nos. 1727
and 1729, the latter of which betrays no evidence of a
late date. In all probability these variations are due to
the forgetfulness of the sculptors or to a recognition of
the equality of Maitreya and Avalokitesvara. Similar
interchanges of position in the case of Indra and Brahma
are not unknown.
Cases 25-29. The excavations at Charsada and Raj-
jar carried out by Sir John Marshall, Director General of
Archaeology, and Dr. Vogel, in 1903, are described in the
Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey, 1902-03, and
reference may be made to that publication for a detailed
account of the sculptures and other antiquities then
recovered. The sculptural fragments in Cases 25-28 are
from the site known as Palatu Dheri, and those in Case 29
from Ghaz Dheri, both near Rajjar, just beyond Char-
sada. But the majority of the fragments show elements
and motifs already met with, and special reference need be
made only to the very beautifully sculptured legendary
scene No. 568 in Case 26, to the interesting fragment of
the Great Renunciation, No. 572, where the disconsolate
goddess of the city, the nagara-devatd, is particularly well
drawn (Introd. 13), and to the remarkable stone No. 602,
in Case 27, showing an empty seat or throne with a wor-
shipping haloed figure at either side. In the older school
of Indian art, where the figure of the Buddha is never
represented, such an empty seat with or without some
82 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAK MUSEUM.
sacred symbol would be the usual method of indicating
the divine presence, but in the art of Gandhara no such
symbolic portrayal is known. Fragment No. 602, there-
fore, is either a unique survival of the archaic school,
or what seems more probable, the stone throne for a now
missing Buddha figure such as No. 1760 or for an image
of gold or silver. No. 626, in Case 27 bears a fragmen-
tary Kharoshthi inscription from which it appears that
the lost image was the gift of a person whose name is
unfortunately obliterated. Tn Case 28 attention may be
drawn to tlie heads numbered 629, 631, 635 and 636;
and in Case 29 to the unusually delicate scroll in low
relief on fragment No. 657. Fragment No. 675 again
is an excellently sculptured relief showing two seated
royal figures while No. 677 is a large head belonging
evidently to the earlier period of Gandhara art.
Case 30. Cases 30-34 contain the stone sculptures
recovered in the excavations at Ta.kht-i-Bahi in 1908.
The work was largely limited to the lower court of the
many little stupas, between the upper court of the main
stupa and the monastic quadrangle and is described in
the Reports of the Archaeological Survey. 1 The monas-
tery at Takht-i-BahT is too well known to call for any
description here. But despite the interest that has
attached to it for so many years, no satisfactory identi-
fication of the site has ever been proposed. Tt was un-
doubtedly a very important centre of the Buddhist cult,
and was certainly occupied for centuries, apparently
throughout the greater portion of the Gandhara period,
as is witnessed by the wide range in artistic execution
noticeable in the sculptures. But the only definite date
so far recovered in connection with the site is 47 A.D.
(according to Professor Griinwedel), this being the equi-
valent of the date occurring in the important inscrip-
tion from Takht-i-Bahl, containing the name of the Par-
thian prince Gondopharnes, to whose court the Apostle
'Appendix*
THE SCULPTURES. 83
St. Thomas is reported to have gone by divine command. 1
Takht-i-Bahi was excavated in 1871 by Sergt. Wilcher
with a company of Sappers and Miners, and has been
exploited more or less constantly ever since. It is, there-
fore, truly astonishing that the excavations of 1908 and
1911 should have been so productive.
The Takht-i-Bahi sculptures have been classified like
the other collections in the Museum. Case 30 contains
fragments illustrating chiefly archaic elements in Gan-
dhara art. The most conspicuous piece is the remark-
ably fine Atlas No. 694. Like the large figure in Case 14,
this is meant to be winged, the wings being in very low
relief in the background. The strong and forceful head,
with the curiously oblique eyes, is noteworthy. Indeed
the whole figure conveys most admirably the impression
of strength and strain, and must be acknowledged a very
clever and successful piece of work. Another interesting
stone is No. 685, with its graceful foliage in low relief
a very uncommon if not unique design. The Assyrian
honeysuckle motif is shown on No. 687. No. 712 is parti-
cularly interesting, for it gives an excellent idea of what
an ancient stupa was like. We must restore the hti
surmounting the whole, but when that is done we have a
perfect model of the stupa in ancient Gandhara, though
on the actual monuments the minute decoration on
No. 712 was replaced by bas-reliefs and other sculptures.
Case 31.- Among the fragments showing newly in-
troduced elements is No. 721, an excellently preserved
specimen of considerable excellence of the so-called Tch-
thyocentaur, a marine monster not known originally to
Indian mythology, cf. PI. 8 (a). The delicately curved
fragment No. 736 showing the familiar motif of the gar-
land-bearing Erotes represents the second or upper dome
of a double-domed chapel, originally forming the upper
portion of fragment No. 735, where it was in position
directly above the Buddha's head, the whole composition
1 For the legend c/. Smith, Early History of India, (3rd Edition), p. 231.
84 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
having been a model of such a chapel with the image in
position. Cf. No. 384.
Case 32. In this case are Legendary Scenes, a num-
ber of which are unfortunately in a very fragmentary
condition. The Dipankara-jataka (Tntrod. 1) is repre-
sented by No. 783 and by the smaller fragment No. 781.
Several pieces of the First Sermon occur, Nos. 760, 762,
767, 772 ; but the only complete sculpture of this legend,
No. 786, is in the next case (Introd. 22). No. 774, which
is from the right central portion of a false niche, shows
fragments of four legendary scenes, the only recognisable
one being the third from the bottom, portraying the
subjugation of the elephant which Devadatta hoped would
kill the Buddha (Tntrod. 37). No. 775 is a very stiff
representation of the Mahaparinirvana (Introd. 39). The
fainting figure in the foreground is Ananda, the Beloved
Disciple of Buddhist story. The most interesting stone
in this case, however, is No. 769, the right hand side of a
very large pedestal originally supporting a standing
Buddha figure, as may bo inferred from the unsandalled
foot partly preserved. This was not, however, a simple
Buddha image. From the presence of the four small
feet it is plain that it formed part of a legendary scene,
the Presentation of the Snake to Kasyapa. Cf. Nos. 1549,
1710. The composition originally resembled Nos. 1376,
1378, 1451, 1577, 1842. The scenes on the pedestal
are appropriately connected with the same story, the one
to the right showing the Buddha seated in the temple,
the snake about to creep into the alms bowl resting on
the steps, and the young Brahmans endeavouring to put
out the fire, cf. No. 136 (Introd. 23). The scene to the
left is incomplete, but it shows the fire temple before the
arrival of the Buddha who was doubtless depicted on the
missing left portion of the pedestal.
Case 33. The Legendary Scenes in this case are
much better preserved, and present us with a number of
subjects not met with hitherto in the Peshawar Collection.
THE SCULPTURES. 85
The first one in the case, No. 784, is the Departure from
Kapilavastu (Introd. 13). No. 786 is the First Sermon
(Introd. 22). Of the three scenes in No. 787 the upper-
most is the Buddha's Approach to the seat beneath the
Bodhi-tree at Bodh Gaya (Introd. 18), The central one
is Indra's Visit to the Buddha, the kneeling figure on the
right with high headdress being Indra (Introd. 25). The
lowest scene of all is yet unidentified as are also Nos. 780
and 790, but 792 is clearly another version of the Approach
to the Seat of Wisdom, showing the Naga Kalika
and his wife Suvarnaprabhasa singing the hymn of praise
in honour of the Buddha (Introd. 17). The two figures
on the left are seemingly Mara and his daughter looking
towards the Bodhi-tree. Cf. No. 353. There are really
parts of two scenes in No. 792. These are not separated
in the usual way by pilasters, but marked by the direction
the figures face. The scene to the right on fragment
No. 794, is the story of the White Dog which barked at
the Buddha (Introd. 28), the fragment on the left being
a merely decorative composition showing the eight
Buddhas. 1 Nos. 795 and 807 are evidently parts of one
and the same frieze, but the fragments do not fit together.
The subject is not definitely known. One of the most
striking exhibits in the Museum is No. 799, PL 3, an
image of the Ascetic Gautama. Only one other similar
statue is known, namely, that discovered by Sir Harold
Deane, K.C.I.E., at Sikri, and which is now in the Lahore
Museum but the subject is occasionally represented oil
bas-reliefs and in miniature. Cf. 1911, 1912. The ema-
ciated figure is meant to recall the six years of fasting and
austerities which Gautama underwent as an ascetic
subsequent to the Great Renunciation, and prior to the
attainment of Enlightenment (Introd. 16). When he set
out to follow the, religious life he naturally adopted the
methods current among his people and it was not until
Jbe had proved these to be fruitless, that he struck out the
1 GriinwedeJ, Buddhist Art in India, pp. 181, 188.
86 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
path for himself , which eventually led him to that supreme
knowledge by virtue of which he is called " the Buddha,"
i.e., the Enlightened One. The relief sculptured on the
pedestal of this figure is elsewhere unknown in Gandhara
sculpture ; it represents, appropriately enough, the second
long period of fasting which Gautama underwent, namely,
the seven weeks' fast immediately following the Enligh-
tenment. The story so graphically represented is that
of the two merchants Trapusha and Bhallika (Introd. 21).
Case 34. The Legendary Scenes in this case are badly
damaged and call for little remark. No. 81 6- A B is
the most important as it shows the general size and shape
of a false niche, or rather of the upper or crowning por-
tion of the same. The reliefs arc in a deplorable condi-
tion, but the main scene is recognizable as the Dipankara-
jataka (Introd. 1). The fragment No. 81 6- A, depicts
an abbreviated version of the Angulimala legend. Cf.
No. 1317. The little circular medallion No. 810, it may
be noticed, originally formed part of another Dipankara-
jataka scene, and shows the youth Megha or Sumati in
the air worshipping Dipankara Buddha.
Cases 35-36. These cases contain the Devotional
Sculptures of the Takht-i-Bahi Collection. A number of
the fragments, especially in Case 36, seem originally to
have been part of one long composition (cf. Nos. 842, 844,
847, 858, 859. etc.) but it is impossible to restore the whole.
The most interesting of the group are Nos. 835 and 858.
Both show a seated Buddha in the centre, with hands
folded in the attitude of meditation, dhyana, and with a
number of smaller standing Buddha figures at an angle
on either side, while a noticeable feature of both is the
crescent moon above the central Buddha's head. Nos.
850 and 859, having a Bodhisattva with three radiating
figures on either side, are worthy of attention as the former
has a crescent 1 above the head and one of the radiating
figures bears a trident. Fragment No. 848 is another
1 The crescent moon is associated with AvalokiteSvara in later art.
THE SCULPTURES. 87
very valuable and suggestive stone for like No. 503 it
shows Avalokitesvara on the left of the Buddha, whereas
in most of these compositions of the Miracles of Sravasti
this, the place of honour, is usually given to the Bodhi-
sattva Maitreya. The sculpture is very late, and this in a
way strengthens the possibility that the change in posi-
tion may correspond with a change in the popular esti-
mation of Avalokitesvara, but, it is impossible to deter-
mine the question at present. Cf. Cases 70, 71. The
fragment, however, is a good illustration of how very
valuable archseologically a sculpture may be, even when
distinctly inferior in execution or beauty. Nos. 848 and
830 are the only Gandhara images hitherto known depict-
ing the Buddha seated in European fashion. 1
Cases 37-39. The Bodhisattva fragments from Takht-
i-Bahi show a remarkable range and variety. The deli-
cately carved head No. 886, with its extraordinary head-
dress adorned with double-tailed Tritons and such an
uncouth figure as No. 909, for instance, or No. 925 in Case
38 hardly seem assignable to the same period and point
to a protracted occupation of the monastery of Takht-i-
Bahi. But apart from such evidences of decadence as is
afforded by the ugly and meaningless arrangement of the
drapery in figure No. 920, or the grotesque lack of propor-
tion in No. 911, this case presents few features worthy of
remark.
The pose of the seated Bodhisattva No. 938, with the
right knee raised, is relatively uncommon, but not un-
known. Cf. No. 887. The majority of the images,
unfortunately, lack their attributes (cf. Nos. 957, 958
and 959), but where they are preserved, as in Nos. 905
and 913, they support the theory already stated that the
figure with the loop of hair to the right is the Bodhisattva
Maitreya. The form of the headdress, makes it highly
probable that Avalokitesvara is the divinity represented
1 A relief Q. 50 Indian Museum, Calcutta, shows the Buddha similarly
seated while an attendant washes his feet.
02
88 SCULPTURED IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
by Nos. 886, 896, 903, 938 and possibly 944, although, it
cannot be definitely affirmed. That No. 958 represents
Maitreya is practically certain despite the absence of the
alabastron ; while the similarity of head No. 950 to the one
numbered 192 has been noted together with the possibi-
lity that both represent some particular Bodhisattva
not yet identified.
Cases 40-43. That the excavations at Takht-i-Bahi
yielded a surprisingly large number of Buddha heads is
shown by the rich collection in Cases 40-43 where the
range is perhaps greater even than in the case of the Bodhi-
sattvas. The image No. 086 is certainly among the most
chaste and beautiful of those in the Museum, while none
is more feeble and insipid than the head No. 1030, or
coarser than No. 1074. Perhaps the best of the heads
are in Case 41, but Nos. 903, 906, 1049, 1053 and the
beautiful large mask 1068 are all interesting, and definitely
older than ^Nos. 970, 1030, 1045 and 1074. Another
certainly late production is No. 1043, one of the few
terracotta figures in this collection ; the material may
explain in some measure the deviation from the normal
type. Cf. No. 1635. Finally the interesting hand No.
1056 may be mentioned, with its begging bowl holding
the coils of a serpent. There are several stories recount-
ing the Buddha's victories over particular serpents but
from the popularity of the Kasyapa scenes this is probably
from such a sculpture as No. 1842.
Case 44. -The miscellaneous sculptures recovered at
Takht-i-Bahi in 1908 include a number of very interesting
fragments, but they do not appear to advantage when
massed in such numbers. No. 1093, the first in the case,
represents the Tutelary Couple (Introd. 36). Hariti
as a goddess of fecundity, has certain points in common
with the classical Ceres, or Demeter, and it is not sur-
prising, therefore, that the cornucopia should be asso-
ciated with her in Gandhara, as in No. 1096. She is,
however, usually distinguished, not by this exotic symbol,
THE SCULPTURES. 89
but by the presence of some of her very numerous off-
spring, little gnomes or spirits of the yaksha class of which
Panchika is the senapati. This more typical form is
illustrated by Nos. 241, 1093 and 1101. A classical
element of interest is shown in No. 1099, which, like the
smaller fragment No. 1137, depicts the King of the Birds,
Garuda, snatching up a snake deity or ndga, after, the
manner of the eagle of Zeus and Ganymede, cf. No. 497.
These two medallions have tapering mortices behind
like No. 221 and must originally have iittcd tenons in the
headdresses of Bodhisattva images. Other interesting
pieces are the medallion No. 1122, probably representing
the elevation and worship of the boy Suinati in the Dipan-
kara-jataka, and the very curiously bowed figure No.
1132. But the most valuable piece in this group, and
indeed one of the finest examples of Gandhara sculptures
in the Museum, is the largo composition in three pieces
numbered 1151-A, B, and 0. The general size and shape
of this sculpture are clear from the portions preserved.
The Buddha is seated in the centre, in what is intended
as a wild and mountainous spot, with numberless ascetics
or " Forest-dwellers ", and various birds and beasts as
his companions. Cf. 1944.
A few divine personages are present of whom Panchika
is still preserved on the right. Other small fragments of
this relief are Nos. 1118, 1133,* 1134, 1147 and 1148, but
it is impossible to restore them to their proper positions.
That the sculpture, as a whole, was most elaborate and
most beautiful is obvious. Nowhere are heads and faces
more successfully drawn, or limbs better proportioned
and more delicately modelled than in the figures of the
Brahman hermits along the base of this sculpture ; nor
does any other specimen of Gandhara art display a greater
naturalness in the depiction of animal life or a greater
fidelity to nature in the presentation of plant forms. The
astonishing realistic representation of the bauhinia foliage
above the ascetics on the extreme right is especially
noteworthy.
90 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
The story depicted is that of the sixteen Brahman
ascetics, who came to the Buddha to solve their difficulties
(Introd. 35). This legend is again found on the pedestal
of No. 238.
Case 45. The stucco fragments from Takht-i-Bahi
are singularly well preserved and in many instances of
exceptional delicacy and beauty. The great variety is
very noticeable, when, ^ here, the heads are grouped
together. The majority represent Bucldhas and Bodlii-
sattvas, but not all as is clear from the extraordinary
bearded head, No. 1190, and the heavily moustached one,
No. 1189, beside it. Such heads as 'Nos. 1189, 1190,
1197 and 1198 modelled to represent the face turned to
one side are clearly from some large composition. No
Bodhisattvas are definitely recognizable, with the excep-
tion of Nos. 1173, 1178 and 1204 which appear to
represent Maitreya. By far the greater number arc
Buddha heads, and special mention may be made of Nos.
1168, 1172, 1203, 1209, 1211 and also 1177 the last being
a good example of what Professor Griinwedel calls the
Hindu type.
Case 46. -But of even larger interest than the heads
are the other stucco fragments from Takht-i-Balu in Case
46. It is well known that little stupas and other build-
ings at ancient Buddhist sites in this Province were ela-
borately decorated with friezes a.nd other ornamental
work in stucco, but, actual legendary scenes in this medium
have on account of their relative frailty rarely been re-
covered. Here, however, we have stucco fragments
of legendary scenes executed on a fairly large scale. They
originally formed part of the ornamentation on the little
stupas in the central court of the monastery. The two
large pieces Nos. 1265 and 1267 at the bottom of the case
both depict the youthful Siddhartha's voluptuous life
in the palace before his renunciation (Introd. 13). Below,
we see the female musicians, the careful modelling of the
apparently nude figure in No. 1265 being especially note-
THE SCULPTURES. 91
worthy. Above, the young prince is shown rising from
his couch prepared to flee from his sleeping wife and
enter on his long search for salvation. Other familiar
scenes are the First Sermon represented by fragments
Nos. 1250 and 1252 (Introd. 22), the Birth by the
very interesting sculptures Nos. 1241 and 1242 (Inlrod.
6), and the Temptation (Introd. 19) by the curious frag-
ment No. 1232, which represents the torso of one of Mara's
demons with a diabolical face on the breast. Another
well executed fragment is No. 1249, depicting a mailed
figure drawing a heavy sword ; but whether this is Mai a
or not, it is impossible to say. Its smaller size, in any
case, precludes the possibility of its having formed pa/t
of the composition of which No. 1232 is a fragment.
Case 47. - This and the following case contain the
stone fragments recovered at Takht-i-Bahi in 1909, during
the clearance of the extreme eastern portion of the site
and of the outer face of the main wall on the south. Frag-
ment No. 1270 again shows the Buddha and two Bodhi-
sattvas, with Avalokitesvara occupying the position of
honour on the left. The curved stone No. 1278 is also
a valuable piece, showing an interesting series of standing
Buddha figures under rounded arches alternating with
seated Buddhas under the peculiar "fronton coupe " of
Takht-i-Bahi. Another instance of the same design is
shown in No. 1282. The apparently uninteresting frag-
ment No. 1283 is really one of the most valuable in the
Museum, as the back is definitely sculptured with the folds
of the drapery, thus unlike every other image in the
Museum being truly in the round. The unusual pose
of the Bodhisattva Maitreya, No. 1 284, may be mentioned,
as images with the feet crossed at the ankle are com-
paratively rare in Gandhara.
Case 48. Among the Takht-i-Bahi fragments of 1909,
included in this case, special attention may be drawn to
the excellent little Buddha No. 1298 and to the* group
representing the Tutelary Couple, No. 1299, where again
92 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
Pafichika is seated on the left as in No, 1093. The heads
numbered 1301, 1302 and 1303 are all good, the last being
specially remarkable for the sculptured outline of the
pupil in the eye, rare in the early art of Gandhara, though a
regular feature of the later images from Shah-ji-ki-Dheii.
The badly damaged sculpture No. 1320 is valuable as an
extreme instance of the exaggerated size sometimes given
to the main figure in a group, the attendants to right and
left being in this case dwarfs in comparison, and for the
interesting form of the pedestal. But the most note-
worthy of all the pieces in this case is the very well carved
block No. 1319. On each side one scene is sculptured,
enclosed on either side by a wide Corinthian pilaster with
square shaft with leaf and dart moulding. The scenes
represented are those of the cycle of Mahaparinirvana,
but the order, curiously enough, is the exact reverse of
what is customary. The Death itself (Introd. 39) is the
first of the series. Next to this on the right, instead of
on the left, as was to have been expected, conies the Cre-
mation (Introd. 40) with two attendants pouring water
or milk upon the flames. This is followed on the right by
the Guarding of the Relics, where these are shown draped
and garlanded under the watch and ward of two of the
MalLa chieftains. The fourth and last scene appears to
represent the cult of the Buddha after the Mahaparinir-
vana. The Buddha is shown seated in meditation (dhydna)
with Indra and Brahma standing in adoration to his left
and right respectively. In other words, this sculpture,
believed to be unique, represents the Apotheosis of the
Buddha and his worship by the heavenly host.
Case 49. - Most of the sculptures in the cases of the
lower gallery were obtained in excavations carried out
subsequent to 1907 at various sites in the neighbourhood
of Peshawar. Those in Cases 49-54 were recovered by
Dr. Spooner at Sahribahlol in 1909-10. Of the decorative
details Nos. 1321 and 1322 are of special interest, for the
scroll of vine leaves with grapes and tendrils, though
definitely a foreign motif, has become thoroughly accli-
THE SCULPTURES. 93
matised and monkeys and a peacock seem quite at home
in the volutes. Cf. No. 109. The winged Atlantes,
No. 1323 and double-tailed Tritons and winged dragons
of No. 1325 are fitting companions of the winged adoring
centaur. No. 1330 and of the more militant centaur with
shield depicted in No. 1331. Cf. No. 1G58. The unique
relief No. 1327 showing a water pot with lotus flowers
and buds flanked by curious standards with long pennons
is possibly a representation, in the manner in the Ancient
Indian School, of the Birth of the Buddha. Lamps appear
to have been common offerings at these Buddhist shrines
cf. No. 74-L, and the Museum possesses several specimens,
but No. 1341 is the largest example so far recovered.
Cf. Nos. 769-M., 770-M., 1687, 1688, 1689.
Case 50. The reliefs in this case are almost entirely
devotional in character showing adoration of the Budclha,
Bodhisattvas or of relics. In No. 1345 a monk on the
left leads five adoring females into the presence of a
seated Bodhisattva while on the right a similar monk
precedes four worshipping male laics. The Nagas shown
in Nos. 1354 and 1355 must be from some representation
of the Miracle of Sravasti of which No. 1361 is an abbre-
viated version and where on the pedestal an adoring donor
kneels on either side of an elevated incense burner. But
the most interesting sculpture is No. 1364 a pair of
hands holding a miniature shrine such as is carried by the
image No, 1427 and found at the same site.' The hands,
although obviously not those of a Buddha, bear traces of
the so-called " webbing " between the fingers.
Case 51. The legendary scenes of this case are of
special interest and several await identification. No. 1366
is seemingly an incident in the life of that monomaniac
of charity, the prince Visvantara and shows him pre-
senting the state elephant to the Brahman (Introd. 3).
Whether No. 1367 represents the Yava-Maj jhaklya Jataka,
in which a sorely tested and faithful wife succeeded by
a stratagem in freeing herself from the importunities of
94 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
her suitors by getting them all into one box, is doubtful.
The absence of the Buddha from No. 1369 would seem to
relegate this incident to some jdtaJca or to a legend where
the intervention of the Buddha occurs later in the story.
The centra] emaciated figure appears to be crossing a
stream indicated by wavy lines on the relief and on the
lower edge. The Buddha putting his arm through the
walls of a cave suggests the story of Buddha re-assuring
Ananda, but confirmative details are lacking and No.
1370 still needs interpretation.
The Mahaparinirvana reliefs are recalled by No. 1372
but the recumbent figure is not that of a Buddha and the
usual monks and other personages are likewise absent
so the relief cannot definitely be identified.
The story of Angulimala (Introd. 30) is depicted most
graphically and vigorously in No. 1371. The garland
of fingers both in the headdress and when fallen to 1he
ground leaves no doubt as to the identification of the
robber.
The conversion of Kasyapa and particularly the inci-
dents dealing with the victory over the snake in the fire
temple appear to have been favourite themes for the
sculptors of Gandhfira and No. J373 is a more detailed
representation than usual. Cf. Nos. 1376, 1378, 1890.
The relief on the pedestal shows very appropriately the
Buddha in meditation with the snake about to creep into
the alms bowl.
Case 52. No. 1374, a well preserved stucco relief
of the Birth and Seven Steps (Introd. 6) still preserves
traces of its original colour.
No. 1377, a fragment from a relief showing the Flight
from Kapilavastu (Introd. 13), depicts both the horse,
Kanthaka and the groom Chandaka who holds aloft the
royal umbrella. The popularity of the Kasyapa legend
is again evidenced by Nos. 1376, 1378. but in each case the
left hand holding the alms bowl with the snake is missing.
THE SCULPTURES. 95
The Dlpahkara-jataka (In trod, 1) is treated on an
unusually large scale in No. 1379 and the deer skin and hair
under the feet of Dfpankara Buddha are very realistically
rendered.
Cases 53-54. The Bodhisattva figures of Case 53
present no new features. Nos. 1381, 1383, 1385, 1387,
1388 and 1389 appear to be Maitreya and the hand No.
1382 is from a statuette of that Bodhisattva, The long
necked vase adored by two kneeling donors on the pedestal
of No. 1387 strengthens the identification of that image
as one of the Bodhisattva Maitreya. But the most
striking sculpture is No. 1390, the portrait head of an
aged monk. The markedly aquiline nose and small but
determined lips indicate a stern and commanding per-
sonality, while in the high forehead is found an indication
of intellectual power sufficient to explain why such an
exceptional honour as a portrait statue was accorded to a
monk. The unfinished hand, No. 1391, bearing a minia-
ture shrine, would appear to have been part of this un-
usually fine and unique statue. Cf. Nos. 1364, 1427.
In Case 54 the so-called " webbing " of the fingers
is very noticeable in Nos. 1400, 1401 and in the right
hand of No. 1402. The centre scene of No. 1417, a sculp-
ture from Case 55, represents the story of the White Dog
whir-h barked at the Buddha (Introd. 28). Cf. No. 794.
Case 55. The sculptures in this case were recovered
by excavations at Takbt-i-Bahi and Shah-jI-ki-Dheii
during the years 1908-11.
No. 1412 is the lower edge of an elaborate representa-
tion of the Miracle of Sravasti (Introd. 32). Emerging
a mi-corps from the water on either side of the lotus stem
are the two naga-rajas, Nanda and Upananda, one armed
with a spear, the other having a lotus flower in the right
hand and a dolphin round his right shoulder. Cf. No.
1735. A couple of haloed divinities are similarly depicted
on either sido of the lotus throne and on both ends of the
relief are smaller lotus pedestals for the usual attendant
96 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
Bodhisattvas and divinities. No. 1415 is in curiously
low relief but presents interesting details of female cos-
tume, coiffure and jewellery. Few more interesting and
detailed representations of the martial exercises than No.
1408 have been recovered and the Bodhisattva is seen
engaged in archery, and about to take part in a tug of
war, while one of the competitors prepares a sling (Introd.
9). Statues of the emaciated Buddha are comparatively
rare but No. 1413 from Shah-ji-ki-Dheri is clearly from
one of these compositions.
In No. 1416 Panchika and Hariti are represented with
considerable vigour and much wealth of detail. Of. No.
241.
Case 56. The exhibits in Cases 56-65 were obtained
in 1912 by Sir Aurel Stein, K.C.I.E., from a small mound
at Sahribahlol. The stucco fragments and reliefs, some
of which were found in situ, are representative of the
school towards its decline when artistic effort was weaken-
ing. With these productions should be compared the
stucco remains in Cases A, 1, 45, 46, etc.
Case 57. The miscellaneous sculptures of Case 57
call for no special mention but the Atlantes Nos. 1496,
1498, 1500 from cornices are typical details. No. 1501 is
a medallion from the headdress of a Bodhisattva such as
No. 1384 and has a tapering mortice behind like No. 221.
Unusually large and well rendered is the lion No. 1506.
Smaller lions fed by little yakshas or Cupids are com-
monly found on the ends of the thrones of images. Cf.
Nos. 238, 1433. The fragment No. 1505 is from such a
pedestal. An examination of the pedestal of No. 1436 will
reveal how these lion figures were so easily separated.
Cases 58-60. The sculptures of Case 58, principally
pedestals of images, show seated Buddhas and Bodhi-
sattvas receiving the adoration of both monks and laity.
Scenes, however, more spirited in action were once depicted
on either side of the Bodhisattva of No. 1517. Though
now fragmentary the scene to the right was probably
THE SCULPTURES. 97
the Submission of Apalala (Introd. 29), that to the left
the Conversion of Angulimala (Introd. 30).
With the exception of the decadent relief No. 1525
the sculptures in Case 59 are all forms of the Miracle of
Sravasti. No. 1528 is a typical specimen with the dupli-
cated images of the Buddha in little shrines on the upper
corners. A more abbreviated but pleasing example is
No. 1527, PI. 2 (a), resembling Nos. 158, 171. Fragment
No. 1526 from the upper left of an elaborate composition
such as No. 1554 shows the Buddha with an aureole of
flanking Buddhas on either side. Cf. No. 1734.
In Case 60, Nos. 1529, J540, are likewise fragments
from similar scenes, the former displaying the very ela-
borately treated stem of the lotus. One of the most
interesting sculptures in the Museum is No. 1534 where
we see an image of the Buddha being presented to the
Buddha himself ! As before noted the Buddha image is
due to the school of Gandlr.ra, which arose some four
hundred years after his death. The sculptor, has, there-
fore, been guilty of an anachronism, but with such a relief
before them it is easy to realise how the unsuspecting
Buddhists came to believe that there were images of the
Buddha during his life-time and why the Chinese pilgrims
refer to images contemporary with the Master.
No satisfactory identification of the very striking
sculpture No. 1537 has yet been advanced but the com-
position of which it is a fragment would appear to have
been on an unusually large scale.
Case 81. An exceptional feature, the haloed Bodhi-
sattva in the arms of his nurse, and not in the lap of Asita,
is seen in No. 1541, the Horoscope of the Bodhisattva.
C/. No. 1726 (Introd. 7). No. 1543, though only doubtfully
a form of the Miracle of Sravasti, is clearly founded upon
such reliefs as is evidenced by the pose of the hands, the
lotus throne and the princely attendants. No. 1544
is certainly from such a relief.
98 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
On the right of the seated Bodhisattva of No. 1549
we see the Buddha presenting the snake in the alms bowl
to Kasyapa. Cf. No. 1710 (Introd. 23). The elephant
of No. 1550 emerging from a gateway is Nalagiri yet to
be subdued by the Buddha. Cf. No. 1850 (Introd. 37).
The costume of the headless figure on the left of No. 1551
is worthy of examination.
No. 1545, the Presentation of the Four Bowls (Introd.
20), formed part of the false niche of a stupa, of which an
almost complete specimen is seen in the now combined
fragments Nos. 1548, 1552.
Case 62. Both Nos. 1553 and 1554 are elaborate
representations of the Miracle of Sravasti (Introd. 32).
No. 1553 seemingly of late date shows the Buddha on a
throne supported by a lotus and with small meditating
Bodhisattvas to right and left. The cherubs supporting
the crown above the Buddha are well preserved and
explain the purpose of such figures as Nos. 1492, 1494.
Much variety of pose is exhibited by the divine figures
flanking the Buddha. The scene on the upper left shows
him with an aureole of standing Buddhas, that to the
right a seated Buddha between two monks and a bearded
Vajrapani.
A still more complete relief is No. 1554. Here ele-
phants support the lotus, and a small Buddha figure is
upheld by the trunk of the centre one. The elephant
is not entirely inappropriate here as the word ndga has
the double meaning of both serpent and elephant. Two
small haloed figures are also upheld by these " nagas "
near the shoulders of the Buddha.
The Indo-Persepolitan columns and capitals, the
balconies with female spectators, the modillion cornices,
the double domed chapels, and the stupa with its pinnacle
of umbrellas, and flanking lion-crowned pillars are worthy
of detailed examination. Not an inch of space is left
undecorated and even legendary scenes are found between
THE SCULPTURES. 99
the little stupa and the chapels, the Dipankara Jataka to
rigfit (Introd. 1) and the Offering of the Handful of Dust
to the left (Introd. 27).
Cases 63-65. No new features are represented by the
Bodhisattvas of Case 63 which fall into the two types
already described. No. 1560 in very low relief seems to be
of late date. The evidence that the second and third
fingers of the large hand No. 1566 were additions to the
stone is not without interest and accounts for their loss.
The Buddhas of Case 64 exhibit several forms of the
treatment of the hair, by natural wavy lines, light curls
and a modified naturalistic form as in No. 1575. Two of
the ever popular Kasyapa scenes again appear in Nos.
1569, 1577 (Introd. 23).
The ornamented edge of the halo of the late relief
No. 1567 should be noted. Cf. No. 1424. No. 1572 is,
in reality, the head of a small Bodhisattva figure.
Most of the sculptures of Case 65 are late and decadent
but No. 1584 showing the Bodhisattva Maitreya with
adoring figures is not without interest, and No. 1591, the
Bodhisattva seated in easy attitude on a draped cane
seat is a very successful effort. The sandal from which
the right foot has been withdrawn is cleverly and realisti-
cally rendered.
Case 66.- Cases 66-74 contain sculptures obtained
by Sir Aurel Stein, K.C.I.E., during the excavation of
Mound C. at Sahribahlol in 1912.
The stucco fragments present much variety, archi-
tectural details, heads of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, monks,
ascetics, laics and even horses being shown. The frag-
mentary friezes Nos. 1606, 1607, 1608 are stucco very
successfully coloured to imitate the local stone. No. 1635
is a terracotta figurine and differs not only in technique
but in costume, jewellery and coiffure from the images
of the Grandhara school and appears to be an importation.
Cf. No. 1043. Nos. 1645, 1652, 1653 were found in situ
adorning the base of a stupa.
100 SCULPTURED IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
Cases 67-68. The fragments in Case 67 present no
novel features but No. 1658, the armed centaur, No. 1677
a double-tailed Triton, and Nos. 1679, 1682, ichthyocen-
taurs and the curious fish-tailed bull, No. 1681 are striking
productions. Three stone lamps Nos. 1687, 1688 and
1689 are presumably votive offerings. No. 1690 is the
fragment of a stone umbrella from a stupa.
Scenes of devotion form the subject of most of the
reliefs in Case 68 but the costumes and coiffures of the
worshippers, notably on Nos. 1695, 1701 and 1703 de-
serve attention as these were, almost certainly sketched
from life. Noteworthy too are the Yavanls treated as
caryatides, in Nos. 1697 and 1698.
Case 69. The identified legendary scenes represented
in this case are No. 1708. The Offering of the Handful
of Dust (Introd. 27) ; No. 1710. Presentation of the
snake in the alms bowl to Kasyapa (Introd. 23) ; No. 1718.
The Bodhisattva preparing for the flight from. Kapila-
vastu, where Kanthaka and Chandaka are both shown in the
royal bedchamber (Introd. 13) ; No. 1723. The approach
to the Bodhi Tree (two scenes) (Introd. 18) ; No. 1726.
The Horoscope (Introd. 7) ; and No. 1716. The Visit of the
Naga Elapatra (Introd. 38). This last relief, a unique
specimen, shows Elapatra twice, first as a princely figure
in adoring attitude on the extreme left with a cobra
forming a canopy over his head, and again in his natural
animal form before the throne. This visit is reputed to
have occurred at Benares and is probably why the general
form of the First Sermon is preserved in this relief, even
to the presence of five monks.
In No. 1719 the Bodhisattva is seen riding a ram.
Cf. No. 131. Nos. 1712, 1713, 1717 and 1720 are pro-
bably scenes from JdtaJcas but await certain identifica-
tion, as does No. 1714 which recalls a similar figure in
No. 1426.
Cases 70-71. The reliefs in Cases 70 and 71 , excepting
perhaps No. 1734, deal with the Miracle of SravastI and
THE SCULPTURES. 101
witness the growing popularity of these compositions
as the art of the school declined, for though Nos. 1729 and
1735 still display some feeling and vigour most of these
reliefs exhibit a lifeless mediocrity (Introd. 32). Con-
siderable variety is shown in the attendant figures but the
Buddha seated in the preaching attitude on a lotus, or
throne supported by a lotus, and flanked by standing
Bodhisattva figures continues to form the central feature.
The position of the Bodhisattvas is not constant. The
duplicate Buddha images are absent in Nos. 1729, 1731
and 1736, but appear as standing figures, four on each
side, to form an aureole to the central Buddha of No. 1734
which, it should be noted, is in the attitude of meditation.
In this relief elephants support adoring divinities on their
trunks. Cf. No. 1554.
The watery world with ndgas, lotuses and waterfowl,
is well rendered in No. 1735 where the dolphin 1 again
appears on the right arm of one of the ndga-rdjas. Cf.
No. 1412. The sculptor of No. 1738 displays some teme-
rity in representing the flanking Buddhas a mi carps in
the little panels but lacks the hardihood of the artist of
No. 1553 who ventured to chisel the crown above the
Buddha in almost full relief.
Case 72. The Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara appears
to be represented by Nos. 1740, 1743, 1745, 1746 and
1747 so that the Buddha in the headdress of No. 1740
seated with hands in the attitude of meditation may be
assumed to be the Dhyani-Buddha Amitabha. Cf. Nos.
221, 222.
No. 1742 is the Bodhisattva Maitreya but the real
interest of this case is centred on No. 1739, PL 1, for this
is the only certain image of the Bodhisattva Siddhartha
in the Museum. The identification is assured beyond
dispute by the ploughing scene on the right of the pedestal
1 The dolphin is one of the Hellenistic details of the Graeco-Buddhist school.
H
102 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
and the composition as a whole represents the First
Meditation of the Bodhisattva (Introd. 12).
In reality the sculpture is a legendary scene where the
figure of the protagonist is so enlarged as to become an
image, the other part of the action being relegated to the
pedestal. This suggests the interesting question, whether
images may not have been evolved by similar methods
from legendary reliefs. The figures to the left of the
incense-burner are donors. With No. 1739 should be
compared the Kasyapa scene No. 1577 where the Buddha
is out of all proportion to the rest of the figures and be-
comes a free statuette when the pedestal is broken. Cf.
No. 1842.
Case 73. The Buddha images in this case appear to
represent a long period of artistic effort. Between the
execution of No. 1751 and No. 1748 a considerable time
must have elapsed. Where the hair is treated in natural
wavy lines, the technique is usually superior to that
where a meaningless schematic treatment is given to the
hair. The small image No. 1760 might have been placed
in a miniature shrine such as No. 602.
No. 1763 is one of the few sculptures in the Museum
where the Buddha is given a trefoil aureole.
Case 74. To the tedious monotony of endless Buddha
and Bodhisattva figures welcome variety is afforded by
the images of Case 74. From the treatment of the dra-
pery. No. 1767 appears to be of late date. The costume,
no doubt sketched from life, resembles that worn by the
females in No. 1701. Very noticeable are the elongated
lobes of the ear.
No. 1768 is somewhat like the head No. 268 in Case
12. The hair generally is treated naturally and despite
the small looped lock the head is undoubtedly that of a
layman as it lacks the urna. In all probability it formed
part of a statue such as No. 1427 and may have been a
portrait.
THE SCULPTURES. 103
The striking figure No. 1770 with its long robe sug-
gests at first glance a monk, but the earrings and hair
make it certain that it is a figure of some layman. The
crown of the head is tonsured save for a little lock of hair
(choti) in the centre. It is unfortunate that the right fore-
arm, probably upraised in the act of scattering flowers,
is now lost but the left hand still holding them shows
that the figure is of some adoring follower of the Buddha.
No trace of " webbing " is found between the fingers t of
the left hand. A similar flower-bearing figure on a smaller
scale is No. 1769 which exhibits interesting details of
costume.
The most arresting image is No. 1773, PL 4 (6), where
we see Hariti clothed exactly as is the adoring figure No.
1767. Artistically this cannot be compared with the
gracious figure of No. 241 but iconographically it is of the
greatest possible value as showing the progress of Indiani-
zation. Prom her yaksha spouse, Panchika, she has
borrowed the wine cup and weapon (now become a tri-
dent) but the auspicious water pot in her lower left hand
and the little child in the corresponding right hand still
mark her as the goddess of fertility. Her demonic nature
has not, however, been forgotten and is indicated by the
projecting tusk-like teeth. The elongated ear-lobes, the
veil, the elaborate coiffure and abundance of jewellery
should be noted. Her advancement to divine rank is
proved by the halo but the presence of the urna is in-
explicable. The upper left hand shows traces of " web-
bing " between the fingers. The two standing figures
at her feet are donors. With this four-armed image
compare No. 1926.
Case 75. No. 1774, the Bodhisattva preparing for
his flight from the palace (Introd. 13), shows Chandaka
and Kanthaka more reasonably placed outside the royal
bed-chamber. Of. No. 1718. The object borne by Chan-
daka is the royal turban (ushnlsha) which later became an
object of worship. The Offering of the Handful of Dust
104 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
appears again in No. 1776 (Introd. 27) and the First
Sermon in No. 1781. Panchika still armed with a spear,
but now seated on a lion, is seen in No. 1779.
Structural railings are rare in Gandhara but three
ornamented pillars of a railing with four cross-bars are
seen in Nos. 1780, 1784 and 1790. It will be noted from
the mortise holes that the cross bars of the railings were
plano-convex, not double convex like those of Central
India.
The sculptors of Gandhara do not appear to have
worked in marble and the fragment No. 1777 is clearly
an importation and of later date than the other sculptures
in this case.
Case 76. The stucco figures from Mound H. Sahri-
bahlol should be compared with those from Mound C. at
the same site and exhibited in Case 66. These are well
preserved and show great variety. Slight traces of
colouring still remain on NovS. 1797 and 1809. No. 1839
has an aureole resembling the sculpture No. 1763. Cf.
1631.
Case 77. Some idea of the wealth of sculptures
which formerly adorned the monastery in Takht-i-Bahl
may be formed from the interesting reliefs exhibited in
Cases 77 and 78, recovered from a very small area in 1912-
13. Two scenes from the Advance to the Bodhi Seat are
seen in No. 1840, to the right the Offering of the Grass-
cutter, to the left the Buddha by the Bodhi Seat, at the
foot of which kneels the spirit of the tree (Introd. 18).
An emaciated Buddha is seen in No. 1841 (Introd. 16).
The statuette No. 1842 is from a Kasyapa scene, the
figures of the ascetics being lost by the breakage of the
stone. Cf. No. 1373. The pedestal shows the snake
about to creep into the alms bowl while the Buddha sits
lost in meditation (Introd. 23). Four of the five panels-
of No. 1844, PL 6, are well known legendary scenes : A.
Mara's Attack (Introd. 19) ; B. The First Sermon (Introd.
22) ; C. Unidentified ; D, Devadatta's hired assassins
THE SCULPTURES. 105
(Introd. 37) ; E, The Mahaparinirvana with the disciple
MahSkasyapa touching the feet of the Buddha (Introd. 39).
As three of the four scenes of No. 1846 deal with the
Mahaparinirvana it seems probable that the uppermost
panel is connected with that event but its meaning so far
eludes us. The Mahaparinirvana scene requires no com-
ment and the Division of the Eelics to the eight claimants
is clearly depicted, while the last panel is a fitting conclu-
sion as it snows the relics of the Buddha enshrined in a
stupa flanked by pillars with lion (?) capitals and receiv-
ing the worship of both monks and laity (Introd. 41 ; 42).
The story and actors of the principal panel in No. 1 847
were no doubt well known to those for whom it was
created but the clue is now lost and for us it is merely a
scene of adoration by nameless worshippers.
Case 78. The right panel of No. 1849 illustrates the
Invitation of Srigupta (Introd. 34) but the scene with the
curiously drooping figure is unidentified. As the left
panel of No. 1850 shows one of the attempts of Devadatta
to slay the Buddha it is not improbable that the scene
to the right deals with the attack of his hired assassins
(Introd. 37). No. 1852 with its miniature stupa appears
to have been flanked by the same legendary scenes as that
in No. 1554.
The curious headdress of the bearded Vajrapani No.
1858 is strongly reminiscent of Indra from whom also he
must have originally borrowed his thunderbolt.
If the seated meditating Buddha with its aureole of
standing Buddhas is not a representation of the Miracle
of Sravasti it certainly owes its inspiration to such reliefs.
In No. 1862, The First Sermon, the deer are omitted but
the wheel of the law resting upon a tri&ula still remains.
Cases 83MJ4. In Cases 83-84 the sculptures obtained
from various sources exhibit much variety. In Case 83
1 Cases 79, 80, 81, 82 contain arms.
106 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
the fragment of acanthus capital No. 18-L like the winged
Ichthyocentaur or Triton No. 14-L, PL 8 (a), is one of the
importations of the school. The scene in No. 1-L awaits
identification for though the little child might possibly
be Rahula, the Buddha's infant son, the Master is not
shown in the palace of the Sakyas, the scene of their
meeting, but under a tree in a garden. No. 3 1-L is a
fragment showing the Life in the Palace while No. 33-L
depicts the subsequent flight from Kapilavastu. Cf.
No. 1882. Considerable detail is shown and Chandaka
with the umbrella, Mam with the bow and the disconso-
late City Goddess with crenellated crown are all pre-
served, as well as traces of the ycikslias who formerly
upheld the forefeet of the now lost Kantliaka (Introd. 13).
Another of the many statuettes of Buddha presenting the
snake to Kasyapa is seen in No. 1890. A unique and
interesting GlaTiula head, No. 913-M, is apparently of
Hindu origin and certainly of later date than the rest of
the sculptures.
In Case 84 the three friezes, Nos. 22, 23, 24-L, PL 8 (6),
all from the same monument, appear to be purely decora-
tive. Though they show details of Indian costume they
exhibit very strong Hellenistic feeling and rank high
among the productions of the school. The submission
of the Naga Apalala, No. 28-L, PL 5 (a), differs in detail
from No. 336, for here while Apalala is shown outside the
tank two nagis are still in the pool (Introd. 29). A late
representation of the Birth of the Buddha is seen in No.
32-L and No. 16-L, the forepart of an elephant from under
a cornice is better modelled than usual. No. 15-L exhibits
an uncommon but pleasing and decorative design of pipctl
leaves and tendrils, PL 8 (c).
Case 85.- -The sculptures in this case, for the most
part recent acquisitions from various sources, aie of
exceptional interest. No. 1938 showing two wrestlers
bears in Kharoshthi characters the word Minamdrasa
THE SCULPTURES. 107
' of Menander'. From its form and treatment ifc is un-
likely that it ever adorned a, religious building, and though
it might have been an ex voto of a wrestler Menander, it
could equally well have served some secular purpose
as it is cut behind seemingly for convenience of handling.
With the vigorous treatment of the wrestlers on Menan-
der 's relief may be contrasted the stiff and doll-like figures
of No. 30-L where is seen the Wrestling Match (Introd.
9). No* 1902, a mounted archer discharging an arrow,
is probably part of the same story of the Martial Exer-
cises of the Bodhisattva.
Two scenes from the story of Nanda (Introd. 24) are
seen in No. 1892 ; the upper one shows him with his wife
before the intervention of the Buddha, the lower one the
shaving of his head before ordination. Unfortunately
the damage to the figure of the barber on the extreme
left has destroyed the implements of his trade. The
little standing Buddha from Tordher, No. 1935 is of special
interest as it bears the remains of a copper torque, pro-
bably the gift of some devotee more devout than orthodox.
Representations of Brahma and Indra begging the newly
enlightened Buddha to preach his doctrine (adhyeshaua)
are rare in the Peshawar Museum but No. 1915 appears
to depict this important event. The Invitation of $ri-
gupta (Introd. 34) is seen in the fragmentary sculpture
No. 82-L. One of Devadatta's attempts on the lii'e of
the Buddha (Introd. 37) appears to be represented in No.
1898, but the story figured in No. 1918 still has to be
interpreted. A particularly striking form of the Great
Miracle of Sravasti is seen on No. 85-L, the flames from the
shoulders and the streams of water from the feet leaving
no doubt as to the identification (Tntrod. 32). The ascetic
Buddha, No, 1912, calls for no remark (Infcrod. 16) but the
similar sculpture No. 1911 at the bottom of the case is
noteworthy for its absurd anatomy and the extraordinary
treatment of the veins as well as the curious nimbus.
No. 1900, the Bath of the Buddha, is believed to be unique
108 SCULPTURES 'IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
in Gandhara as it represents the two ndga-rdjas in animal
form (Introd. 6). The Bath of the Buddha and the
Return from Lumbini appear again in No. 1903, and two
other scenes from the nativity, the Birth and Horoscope
in the curved frieze, No. 643-M, and the Birth alone in
No. 1936. The White Dog which barked at the Buddha is
shown in No. 35-L (Introd. 28) and in the fragment No.
1914 is seen the Bodhisattva fleeing from Kapilavastu
(Introd. 13).
Portions of two miniature stupas appear in No. 1 897-A,
1897-B while No. 1920 is the bottom half of a relic casket.
APPENDIX.
EXCAVATIONS IN GANDHARA.
1902-03. Excavations at Charsada (Pushkaravati), the ancient
capital of Gandhara by Sir John Marshall and Dr.
Vogel. Cases 25-29, Table Cases E, F, G.
A. S. /., 1902-03, pp. 141-184.
1906-07. Excavations at Sahribahlol near Mardan, by Dr. Spooner.
Cases Ml, Table Case A.
A. S. L. 1906-07, pp. 102-118.
1907-08. Excavations at Takht-i-Bahi about 3 miles from Sahri-
bahlol, by Dr. Spooner. Cases 30-48.
A. S. /., 1907-08, pp. 132-148.
1908-09. Excavations at Shah-ji-ki-dheri about one mile east of
Peshawar City, by Dr. Spooner. Table Case H,
Case 55.
A. S. /., 190849, pp. 38-59.
1908-11. Excavations at Takht-i-Bahl and Shah-jl-kl-dheii. Case
55.
1909-10. Excavations at Sahribahlol, by Dr. Spooner. Cases
49-54, Table Case N.
A. S. /., 1909-10, pp. 46-62.
1910-11. Excavations at Shah-ji-kl-dheii, by H. Hargreaves.
Table Cases H. and N.
A. S. L, 1910-11, pp. 26-38.
Excavations at Takht-i-Bahl, by H. Hargreaves.
A. S. /., 1910-11, pp. 33-39.
1911-12. Excavations at Sahribahlol, by Sir Aurel Stein. Cases
56-76.
A. S. L, 1911-12, pp. 95-118.
109
110 SCULPTURES IN THE PESHAWAR MUSEUM.
1912-13. Excavations at Takht-i-Bahi. Cases 77-78.
Excavations at Takht-i-Bahi and SahribahloL Table
Case L.
1920-21. Excavations at Jamalgarhi by H. Hargreaves. Table
Case M.
1920-24. Sculptures recovered during conservation at Jamalgarhi
and Takht-i-Bahi.
In the window openings of the lower galleries.
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Coomaraswamy
Fouoher .
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PLATE 2.
(a) No, ot pp. 8, 11, 42.
(b) No. 508, YAKSHAS AND GARLAND, p. 8,
PLATE 3,
799, ASCETIC BUPDHA, pp. 8, 29, 85,
4
gg
I 10
IM
1*~*
o o
?D &
(a) No, 28 L, OF HACIA pp. 8, 11, 39, 75,
(6) No. 1891, SYAMA JATAKA, pp. 20, 59.
PLATE 6,
No. 1844, (A) THE TEMPTATION. (B) FIEST SERMON. (C) UNIDENTIFIED SCENE.
(D) DEVADATTA'S ASSASSINS, (E) MAHAPARINIRVANA, pp. 31, 34, 44, 46, 104 (
No. 241, HABITI AND PANCHIKA, pp. 44, 50.
8*
(a) Ho. 14 Lt s pp. 8, 11, 83, !()(>.
No. 24 L 9 FKCK/.E otf STANDINCI FitnfiiMK ? pp. 8, Jl,
(r) Ko. 15 L, CONVENTIONAL DESIGN ox pipal LKA.VES WITH TENDRILS, T>P. 11. 10(5.
&ATE 9.
(a) No. 1430, BUDDHA WITH CRYSTAL
urya, pp. 8, 17, 52,
(b) No. 1427, ROYAL FEMALE WITH
MJMA1UBE SBBIKE, p. 53.
10.
KANISHKA RELIC CASKET (BRONZE), pp. r>, 10, 47,
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Oxford Book and Stationery Company, Delhi and
Calcutta.
Supdt., American Baptist Mission Press, Rangoon.
The Modern Publishing House, Ltd., 80, Phayr
Street, Rangoon.
Burma Book Club, Ltd., Rangoon.
Manager, The "Hituvada," Nagpur.
Bhisey Brothers, Booksellers and Stationers, Sita-
baldl, Nagpur.
S. C. Talukdar, Proprietor, Students & Co., Cooob
Behar.
The Manager, Ceylon Observer, Colombo.
The Manager, The Indian Book Shop, Benares City
Nandkishorc & Bros., Chowk, Benares City.
The Srlvlliiputtur Co-operative Trading Union, Ltdf,
Srivilliputtur (S. I. R.).
Raghunath Prasad & Sons, Patna City.
Tho Students' Emporium, Patna.
K. L. Mathur & Bros., Guzri, Patna City;
Dandekar Brothers, Indore City.
Pusht tkalaya Sahayak Sahakarl, Ltd., Baroda.
The Hyderabad Book Depot, Chadergbai* Hydera-
bad (Deocaxi).
Thaknr & Co., Amraotl.
8. Krhhnaswami & Co., Teppakulam P. O., Trlchl-
National College Teachers' Union Book Depdt,
Trlchlnopoly,