Andhra Jataka

On Re-Identification of ndhra Buddhist Jtaka Relief Sculptures
Author(s): Ratan Parimoo

Source: Artibus Asiae, Vol. 55, No. 1/2 (1995), pp. 125-154
Published by: Artibus Asiae Publishers
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RATAN
PARIMOO
ON RE-IDENTIFICATIONOF ANDHRA BUDDHIST

JATAKA RELIEFSCULPTURES*
paperdealswith re-identification,that is revisedidentificationof a few knownreliefs,and
Thisthe new identification of some unknown or little-known
narrativereliefs from the Amardvati
and Nagarjunakondastupas.
The sculptures discussed here are listed as follows:
I.
2.
3.
4.
UdayanaCycle,two slabs, Amaravati,Government Museum, Madras(fig. I).

KusaJdtaka,Amaravati,British Museum, London (fig. 2).
MahasutasomaJdtaka,Amaravati,British Museum (figs. 3, 4).
VessantaraJdtaka,
(i) Amaravati,British Museum (fig. 5).
Site Museum (fig. 6).
(ii) One drum slab and one fragment,
Ndgarjunakond.,
5. MatakabhattaJdtaka,
(i) One drum slab, Amaravati,Site Museum (fig. 7).
(ii) One pillar, one slab and one fragment, Ndgarjunakonda,Site Museum (figs.
8-1o).
6. LosakaJdtaka(also Mittavindaka),
(i) Amaravati,Site Museum (figs. II-I2).
SiteMuseum(fig.13)
(ii) Nagarjunakonda,
SiteMuseum(fig.14)
7. CullaPadumaJdtaka,
Ndgarjunakondd,
8. VdtamigaJdtaka,
Amaravati,
Museum,Guntur(fig.Iy).
Archaeological
However,this is onlya partof anongoingworkanddetaileddiscussionon manyaspectswhich
havenotbeenputforward
herewill be takenup in otheressays,sincethispaperdealsprimarily
with
the interpretation
of the subjectmatter.Eventhenthe severalaspectsto whichattentionhasbeen
drawnaremy attemptstowardswhatis beingtermedas "NewArt History".!Briefly,"NewArt
History"impliesnot just wideningof the methodologiesbut also going outsidethe limits of
in a way,is to constructa worldviewof the timesorperiods
historicism
whenpossiblehistoricism,
observations
couldbe
concerned.
In this, the earliestscholarsmayhavegonewrong.Furthermore,
made outside the framework of historicism and perhaps a conclusion could be the result of a
deductive process through the adoptation ofa certain methodology. One specific issue may be cited
here which concerns the important distinction between "narration"and "allegory"as part of our focus
on "meaning".I would propose that the Indian terms which are used not only in Sanskrit in general,
but specifically in the Buddhist writings as well, as appropriate equivalents of intended meaning,
namely titparya and abhiprayain comparison with the more usual word "artha".2In the continuous
Workin progressas a recipientof theJawaharlalNehruFellowship1991-93Essaysin theNewArt History
fromFrance(Cambridge,1988).
SNorman Bryson,Calligram:
andabhiprdya
arevaktdicchd,
2 Accordingto ProfessorVishishthaJha, the NaiyayikaSanskritistof PuneUniversity,both tdtparya
i.e. the "intentionof the speaker,"or "Ihaveintentionto communicate"as the initial position.ProfessorJha furtherexplainsthat
the Naiydyika'sdo not makeanydistinctionbetweenthese two terms.Forthe implicationof the term "abhiprdya"
in Buddhism,
125

discussions in western aesthetics, in recent years particularly, the "meaning" of a work of art has
occupied many bright minds and has widened to become part of"hermeneutics".3The debate has also
become very pointed in the realm of "semiotics".4The Jataka material is especially well suited for
this range of academic developments.
I. King Udayanaand His Queens

The depiction of the "Udayanaand his queens" cycle on an upright pillar from the Amaravati
stfpa railingwas firstidentifiedby RaymondeLinossier(fig. 1).' Her French-language

paperis not
available to me but it would be interesting to know how she studied what is really a difficult
of an unusualstory,eventhoughthis cycleof storieshasa veryprominentplacein the

portrayal
DhammapadaAttakathd.6 Calembus Sivaramamurtidepended on this identification and apparently
agreed with the way Linossierexplained the episodes depicted in each section of the two broken parts
in his large catalogue of Amaravati sculptures housed in the Government Museum, Madras.7
However, several interesting aspects about the written narrativeof the text, as well as the sculptural
version, have been missed by earlierscholars.
First, it is important to note how the Amaravatiartist devised the narrativescheme on each of the
upright pillars. From the great number of railing slabs now collected in the Government Museum,
Madras,and the British Museum, London, there are broadly three narrativeformats:one, the vertical
pillar, is the most prominent. Second, there are the horizontal coping stones or lintels and, third, the
more exclusive circular medallions. While earlier scholars including T.N. Ramachandran have
worked hard on matching the sculptural reliefs with passages from the literary texts, often involving
tedious reading, the links between the three narrativeformats and the subjects depicted in them have
not been explored.8
In the circularmedallions, severalepisodes are either telescoped together in a continuous narrative
system or the space may be filled with a single episode. The horizontal format is relatively easy to
handle, in which case the episodes can move from left to right or right to left around a central event.
But the vertical format of the pillar is difficult to manipulate, especially as it appears that this was
expected to serve a decorationalpurpose as well. The decorative function was accomplished by delineating half-circles at the top and bottom of the pillar slab and filling them with lotus petals. The
prominent circular medallion placed at the center both harmonizeswith the two semi-circular forms
and makes possible a kind of dynamic symmetry between the divisions constructed on the pillar sursee D. Seyfort Ruegg, "Purport,Implicature and Presupposition:SanskritAbhiprdyaand Tibetan Dgons Pa/dgonsGzi as
HermeneuticalConcepts,"in JournalofIndianPhilosophy
13(1985).
3 Forhermeneuticsin general,see HansGeorgGadamer,TruthandMethod(New York,1975).
4 Forsemiotics,see RolandBarthe,Elements
(New York,1967).
ofSemiology
'
RevuedesArtsAsiatiques
5 RaymondeLinnossier,"Unelegendel'Udena Amaravati,"
vi, 2 (1929-30),IOl-o2.
6 Eugene W. Burlingame, BuddhistLegends,Translatedfrom the OriginalPdli Text of the DhammapadaCommentary,
3 vols.
(Cambridge,1921).
7 CalembusSivaramamurti,"Amardvati
Sculpturesin the MadrasGovernmentMuseum,"Bulletinof MadrasGovernment
Museum,
new series(1942),20o-04.
8 SeeT.N. Ramachandran,
"BuddhistSculpturefroma StupanearGoli,"Bulletinof MadrasGovernment
Museum
(1929),7-12, 17-20.
Much of the informationabout the reliefs is containedin office notes left by T.N. Ramachandran
which formedthe basis of
Sivaramamurti'scatalogue (op.cit.), as the latter has acknowledgedin his introduction.Also see AlfredFoucher,Beginningof
BuddhistArt and OtherEssays,translatedby Thomas(Paris,1917);"Lessculpturesd'Amaravati,"
RevuedesArtsAsiatiques,V, no. I
(1928),9-24.
126

faces. Obviously, the central medallion would carrythe most crucial episode of the story. The top and
bottom sections above and below this central circle were subdivided into three sections each, with
important actions taking place in the middle of the three panels. This scheme of seven sections, with
the principal, circular one at the center and the remaining six in groups of three above and below, is
more or less uniformly repeated in most of the pillars preservedboth in Madrasand in London.9It is
thereforefascinating to observe the Amaravatisculptor's creativity, in illustrating the narrativetexts,
as he decided which was to be the principal episode to be highlighted by placing it in the center,
whereby the previous or subsequent actions would occupy the other panels (diagrams I-2).
The other factor, about which earlier scholars have remained silent, is the interpretative aspect of
the visual drama. It may be pointed out here that I intend to contrast the implications of the two
terms, "narration"and "interpretation,"frequently used in this paper.,o "Narration"will referto the
story with its episodes per se, as they occur or as they are selected and depicted in "readable"form.
sincethere
to "abhipradya",H
"Interpretation"
goesbeyondthisand,in Buddhisticterms,is equivalent
is aneventualmeaningor moralwhichthe Buddhawishesto pointout at the closingof the story,
both in the PaliJdtakas and the Dhammapada
texts.12
A.t.takathad
By considering these two factors together the structural scheme of the pillar-relief (see diagram I)
as well as the interpretative or abhiprdyaaspect - the revision of the identification of the episode units
- in different sections of this pillar seems begging for clarification. Indeed the reading I am
proposing should seem more logical, beginning with the act of joining separatephotographs of the
two parts of the pillar into one integral structural design as discussed above and as drawn in the
diagram. The first obvious realization is that the central circular section should contain the epochal
episode. Naturally earlier scholars missed this point and have not given the two broken parts of the
middle medallion the attention they deserve. My study of the narrativepractices in earlierIndian art
has revealed that at times the various frames of the relief also serve as different locales or sites of
action.3"This implication has also resulted in my revising the reading of the middle frame of the
lower triple section below the circularmedallion proposed by earlierscholars.
At the outset one could begin in a general way along with the eventual meaning, subsequently
uncovering both the meaning and facilitating the more convincing reading of the episode. While the
protagonist is Udayana, king of Kosambi, what is to be conveyed has been portrayed through the
actions of two of his three queens: Samavati is a noble and righteous consort; Magandiya out of
jealousy creates situations to falsely implicate her and, eventually, is exposed. While the third queen,
Vasaladatta, is not relevant to the sculptural depiction, though her name reminds us of Vasavadatta
and the well-known play, and probably also occurring at a particular, given time in history.14But
here the compiler of the Dhammapadamakes the king of Kosambi a contemporary to the Buddha,
which is explained as the cause of Magandiya's jealousy. She had been offered in marriage to the
9 DouglasBarrett,Sculptures
(London,1954).
fromAmardvatiin theBritishMuseum
'o RatanParimoo,"Adaptationof FolkTalesforBuddhistJdtakaStoriesandtheirDepictionin IndianArt:A Studyin Narrativeand
Baroda39-40, no. I (1990o-91).
SemioticTransformation,"Journal
Baroda,Humanities
ofM.S. University,
Number,
ii See footnote 2.
12 Burlingame,BuddhistLegends,
BookII, p. Ioo, gives an
interestinganalysisof the Buddhistpreceptsinvolved,in particular,in the

besides
episodescompiledin the Dhammapada
analyzingthe narrativestructurein general.
Attakathd,
- fromBharhutto Ajanta:A Studyof Narrative,SemiologicalandStylisticAspect,"in Art
SRatan Parimoo,"VidurapanditaJdtaka
(Delhi, I99I),315-41.
ofAjanta:NewPerspectives
14 A.K. Wardar,IndianKaryaLiterature,
vol. II (Delhi, 1990).Theplay "UdayanandVasavadatta"
wasperformedduringthe time of
Bindusdra(ca. 302 B.C.)and certainlywas knownduringthe third centuryB.C.It would appearthat the writerof Dhammapada
freelyadoptedepisodesfromthis playandalsointerpolatedotherepisodesinto the text.
127

Magandiya
and uncle
pretending
to discover
snake in the
lute.
Sa-mavati'sApartments
Angry king pulls at the
mighty bow, arrow returns,
Samavati unharmed, pleads
innocent.
3
Sa-mavati's
maids bow
to the king
3A
Main Palace
Diagram 2 Prototype of narrative
scheme on Amaravatirailing
pillars.
(Proposedby Ratan Parimoo)
King punishes Magandiya

and her relatives
5
Magandiya
and uncle
conspiring
I
Magandiyv'sApartments
Exposed now, king is angry
at Magandiya
4
Diagram I Amaravatistupa, second century. Government Museum,

Madras.Narrative structureof Udayanaand QueensCycle.
(Reconstruction by Ratan Parimoo).
I28

Buddha by her parents; in refusing Magandiya the Buddha reminded her parents of his victory over
Mara and other temptations of the flesh. Later, Magandiya's father left her to the care of her uncle,
who brought her before King Udayana. The latter fell in love with Magandiyaand promptly married
her. Magandiya'suncle became an accomplice in the intrigues they later staged in order to prove that
Samavati,a devout Buddhist, did not carefor her royal husband.15
It is not necessary to recount all the previous events and misdeeds that were successfully carried
out by the duplicitous Magandiya to arouse suspicion in the mind of the king against Samavati.But,
the incident depicted here is the crucial one leading to Magandiya'sown exposureand destruction.
We must follow the narrative movement from the bottom left side, assuming that the lower
three-fold sections are Magandiyv's apartments, while the top three are Samavati's and the central
medallion is a part of the main palace. Because the text tells us that Magandiya's uncle was her
collaboratorin the villainous deeds, this section has rightly been explained by Linossieras the uncle
and niece conspiring together.'6 The pot-bellied male characterwearing a tall but slightly tapering
cylindrical cap appearsagain in the upper left section, pretending along with Queen Magandiya to
have discovered the snake emerging from the lute that the king had just placed on the chair. Here we
may pause to mention the plot by Magandiya, who forewarnedthe king not to proceed to Samavati's
apartments because a dream made her fear that the latter had been scheming against his life. But the
music-loving king maintained his routine visit to Samavati, carrying with him his lute in which the
deceitful Magandiya had hidden the snake. The sculptor has deviated slightly from the text by
delineating the snake on the chair rather than on the bed. Yet the prominent positioning of the
coiled snake hissing on the chair and the placement of the villainous uncle and queen around it,
emphasized by their postures and gestures, adequately dramatize this episode.
The following event at the right is full of vigorous movement and dynamism, since the angry king
gathers all his strength to pull his mighty bow while the contorted figure prostrateat his feet is to be
identified as Samavatipleading her innocence, which is proven when the arrowboomerangs without
harming her. As described in the text, Samavati had instructed all her female companions to bow
down respectfully to the king and bear no malice towards him, which is how the group of female
attendants has been depicted in this section, lead by the bent figure of Khujjuttara, Samavati's
hunchbacked maid. It was Khujjuttarawho had inculcated reverencefor the Buddha in the mind of
her mistress.'7
Mlle. Linossier and Sivaramamurti have explained the middle section of the lower part of the
composition as depicting Magandiya pretending to stop the king from going to Samavati's
apartments.18 But it would be incongruous that the king should be depicted in so vigorous a posture,
just to represent him going towards his queen's bedroom. On the other hand, since the exposure of
the scheming Magandiya and the punishment meted out to her are the finale of the narrativetext, it
befits the narrative logic to see in it the king's anger at Magandiya. This will explain his
appropriately vigorous posture, while the disgraced queen begs for forgiveness. Samavati looks on
from behind the king.
The king has by now planned the punishment for Magandiya, who had ultimately succeeded in
burning alive the other queen along with her female companions, a heinous act executed by her
79-84.
16
Linossier,"Unelgende d'Udena,"101-02.
83.
18 Linossier,"Unelgende d'Udena,"op.cit.,andSivaramamurti,
Sculptures,"zol-o4"Amaravati
129

uncle. The climactic scene of punishment was reservedby the artist for the central medallion, which
is not only logical but also becomes convincing when photographs of the two broken parts of the
same pillar are joined together maintaining the same scale, as I have done here. Now it can be
convincingly seen that the king, standing prominently with a commanding gesture, holds a whip in
his raised right hand instead of the bent arrow which had rebounded without harming the innocent
Queen Samavati. The explanation proposed by Mlle. Linossier and Sivaramamurtidoes not fit the
very thoughtful narrativedesign which, according to my theory, the sculptor devised. Therefore,the
central circular section, in spite of a large part of it being broken, clearly depicts the punishment
meted out to Magandiya and her relatives who were all ostensibly invited to receive rewards.
According to the text they were trapped in a pit and burnt alive. This was the coupde grdceorderedby
the king. Enough of the lower portion of this circular composition has survived here to indicate how
the artist has delineated several female figures fallen on their backs as if at the bottom of the pit
writhing with pain, corresponding broadly with the intentions of the text. It need not be strongly
argued that the climactic episode should be given a prominent place in the sculptural slab (i.e. in the
center) so that even while narratingthe preceding event the commentator could begin there.
At the monastery in Kosambi, monks inquired of the Buddha as to why the good Samavatishould
have been burnt alive. He explained by citing some particular deed Samavati had done in a previous
life, thus stressing the inevitability of the fruits of past deeds and rebirths.,9Ultimately the Buddha,
by way of summing up, declares that the two queens exemplified between them the heedless and the
heedful: the heedless (Magandiya) even if alive are already dead, whereas the heedful (SNmavati),
though they be dead are yet alive, thus the heedful never die. This would be the hermeneutic
interpretation of the sculptural relief.
II. KusaJitaka(No. 53I)

This Amardvati relief housed in the British Museum (fig. 2), also in the form of a vertical pillar,
has been a favorite with scholars since its discovery and publication by James Fergusson.20 Although
always referred to as an unidentified scene, the relief was admired for its naturalism, the
foreshorteningof the forward-movingelephant and horse-rider,along with the thrust with which the
army has been depicted marching forwardas if on the offensive.
This relief nearly satisfies Europeanstandardsof naturalism, an aspect of the sculpture that evoked
high regardfrom foreign scholarsfor the reliefs from the Amaravatistapaand which prompted them
to write extensively about them, beginning with Fergusson'sdiscussion of the pieces sent to England
and subsequently with James Burgess's comments on the fragments which happily are displayed at
Madras.2'The relief in figure 2 has remained unidentified even when it was exhibited in the IndiaPakistan exhibition of I947,22 and also in Douglas Barrett's monograph on the British Museum
holdings of Amartvati sculptures.23It may be noted that Burgess was much better informed than
'9 Burlingame,BuddhistLegends,
84.
(London,1868),pl. 61.
20
JamesFergusson,TreeandSerpent
Worship
21
James Burgess, TheBuddhistStupas of Amardvatiandjaggayyapeta in the KrishnaDistrict.Archaeological
Surveyof SouthIndia
(London,1887).
SirLeighAshton,ed., TheArt of IndiaandPakistan:A Commemorative
22
Catalogue
of theExhibitionHeldat theRoyalAcademy
of Arts
(London,1947-48).
23 Barrett,Sculpturesfrom
AmaravatT
, pl. 33.
130

Fergussonabout Buddhist and Hindu subject matter in Indian art and how religious images could be
distinguished from one another.
I am happy to show how this relief in the British Museum matches a passage from the
culminating phase of the KusaJdtaka text which will make the entire vigorous composition more
meaningful. First as to its format, which deviates from the structural divisions I have proposed in
section I. This pillar is also divided symmetrically into a central medallion and two half-medallions
on top and bottom, but there is no figural or narrativecomposition in the middle, which has been
filled with a tracery of lotus petals. The space between the central medallion and the semicircular
lotus above has not been further sub-divided into the usual tripartite panels, but instead forms one
single frame within which is composed essentially a single episode. It is likely that the missing lower
frame was treated in a similar manner, thus there may be somewhere a bottom-portion of this pillar
which relates to the episode representedon the upper section. Indeed it is a piece of good luck that a
small fragment from the lower section is intact, which will be discussed at an appropriatepoint.
The Kusa is one of the laterJdtakas, in sequence, which have long and elaborate texts. In
particularit is less typical than the VessantaraJdtaka,which evolves consistently, pursuing the events
concerning its principal character,namely Prince Vessantara.The KusaJdtaka, although constructed
essentially around the parableof an ugly husband and his beautiful reluctant wife, is too worldly and
more of an adventure story involving long journeys and love affairs in the genre of the
Kathdsaritsdgaraand its lambakas,or chapters.24Its story relates how a not too good-looking prince,
Kusa, fabricated a beautiful golden image of a girl and succeeded in locating a princess, Pabhavati,
who resembled this metal image and married her without actually having been seen by her. But
when Pabhdvatilearns of Kusa's ugliness, she returns to the capital of her father'skingdom.2 Prince
Kusa employs many disguises to be near Pabhavati and yet not be discovered, even while reducing
himself to doing menial jobs such as cooking.
a first-century Sanskrit encyclopaedic
Ne.tya 9dstra,
theoretical text on dance and theater, terms such minor narrativeunits as the avasthdofprayatnaand,
according to structuralism, these would be termed as indices embedded within the famous story.26In
the end when the kingdom of his father-in-law is surroundedby enemy kings all claiming the hand
of Princess Pabhavati, Prince Kusa sees his chance to prove his valor and offers to trample the enemy
if the king permits and commits the royal army to be at his disposal.
In the upper right section of the relief Kusa is depicted conversing with the king. Having gained
permission to use the army and also to allow Pabhavati to ride with him on the elephant, the prince
initiates the offensive. The princess is seen seated behind Kusa on the elephant as they emerge out of
the city gate on the left. TheJdtaka text commentators usually draw attention to the classic four
segments of the Indian army and it has rightly been observed that in this relief all four segments are
represented:elephants, cavalry, chariots and infantry.27The foot soldiers are brandishing swords or
hold bows as they rush forward.The half-seen horse on the right may be pulling a chariot hidden by
EdwardB. Cowell,ed., TheJdtakas,6 vols. (Cambridge,I895-1913); BandantAnandKausalyanana,

Hindi Translationof the Pali
see Englishtranslation:CharlesH. Tawney,Oceanof
Text, secondedition, (Prayag,1985-87);SomadevaBhatta,Kathdsaritsagara,
theStreams
of Story,reprint(Delhi, 1968).
z25 LeslieGrey,in his A Concordance
of BuddhistBirthStories(Oxford,I990),hasreferredto motifssuchas "PsycheandAmor,""Beauty
andBeast,"and"TheUgly Bridegroom,"
70.
26 Parimoo,Adaptation
ofFolkTales,20-21.
24
27
KusaJdtaka, No. 531.See translation by Henry T. Francis in E. B. Cowell, ed., TheJdtaka, vol. V, 141-64. See page 162, footnote 2.
131

the frame. Otherwise one elephant and one horse-rider represent collectively two of the four
regiments.
The following description from the Pa-litext appropriatelymatches this relief, which the sculptor
chose to delineate as almost the high moment of the entire narrative.The term in Netya Sastra for
such an event is niyatdpti,which is the fourth avasthaleading to kdrya,as well as phaldgma.28
Then the Maddaking sent him an elephant, that had been trainedto stand impassiveunder
attack...Kusamountedon the backof the elephant...orderedPabhdvatito be conductedthere,
andseatingherbehindhim he left the city by the eastgate, escortedby a completehost of the four
arms,and as soon as he saw the forcesof the enemy,he cried,"Iam king Kusa:let all who value
theirlives lie downon theirbellies,"andhe roaredthrice...Sakkarightglad at heart...andto king
Kusagavea gem."9
Just as the elephant, the cavalier, a few foot soldiers and the partially visible chariot drawn by a
foreachof the "fightingarms,"similarly,theoneprostrating

malefigureis
horse,areabbreviations
anabbreviation
fortheentireenemyarmy,whoin orderto savethemselves
lie downon theirbellies
in compliance
with Kusa'sultimatum.Thefigureof Indradescendingfromthe skyhasalsobeen
dulyrepresented
bythesculptorat thetopleftholdinga garlandin hishandsin placeofa gem.It is a
suitablechoiceonthepartof theartistsincea gemwouldnothavebeenreadilyvisible.
Sincethe uppersectionof the reliefdepictsthepenultimate
momentin the seriesof pursuitson
thepartof thehero,I haveassumedthatthelowersectionpresented
episodeswhichareearlierin the
a
small
has
survived
on
the
bottom
left
andrefersto oneof the several
portion
sequence.Luckily
PrinceKusaundertook
so thathe couldstaycloseto themembersof the royal
kindsof occupations
to the princessandthe king. He workedincognitoas the apprentice
of a
household,in particular
musician,potter,a weaverof baskets,a garlandmakerandevena cookservingthe king'sfamily.
whichwas
designeda palm-leaffanforPabhdvati,
Accordingto the text, Kusaas a basket-maker
handedto herby the king but whichshe refusedto acceptas she hadby nowsuspectedKusa's
presencethroughthe dextrouslymadeobjectshe contrivedto sendher.Thefragmentof a female
figure holding a palm-leaf fan is clearly recognizable in the relief slab, leading to the conclusion that
the above-mentioned details may have formed the subject matter of this section. This fragment leaves
us in no doubt regarding the theme of this entire pillar relief.
The vartaman kathd which triggered the recounting of this story and its concluding moral
(hermeneutic) as propounded by the Buddha have a certain incongruity about them. The Buddha
begins the narrativeby mentioning a backsliding bhiksuwho fell in love with a woman to illustrate
that sages in the past lost their power as a result of having done so. But in the last section the Buddha
identifies himself with Kusa who adopts many guises to win the beautiful Princess Pabhavati. If one
has to suggest the paramiti allegorically implied in this Jataka then one could mention the valor or
viryaparamitdthat is allegorically representedin this relief.30 However, it is also interesting that this
Jdtaka must be a unique story of the Bodhisattva through his activities presented as a master
craftsmanexcelling in so many skills.
28 Manmohan Ghosh, English translation ofNdtya 9dstra (Calcutta, 1951).

29 KusaJdtaka, Francis, TheJdtaka, 162-63, 92-94.
30 Leslie Grey proposes the moral of thisJdtaka as that ofpanna=praija, 70.
132

(No. 537)
III. MahdsutasomaJataka
Thislintelorcopingstoneslabhousedin theBritishMuseumrunsintoseveralsections(figs.3,4).
The left handfragmentbeingthe mostinterestingsectiondepictinga royalprocessionmightily
in the Barrettcatalogue;the remainingportionalongwith the
proceedingforwardis reproduced
above-mentioned
sectionaretogetherprintedin Fergusson's
publication.3'
Barrettappears
to besatisfiedin readingtheentirereliefasa narrative
whereSuddhodana
andhis
to receivethe Buddhaduringhis firstvisit to the
armyemergethroughthe gatesof Kapilavastu
Thesubsequent
sectionsdepicthimpreaching
theLawto
familyafterexperiencing
Enlightenment.32
his kinfolkandthereliefendswiththeBuddha's
fatherpresentinghissonwiththegroveof banyan
trees. However,Barretthad a small doubt in that the figurehe identifiedas the Buddhais
representedwithout a halo in all three episodes.
I myself was not convinced with Barrett's reading and after going through the pertinent texts
carefully I am proposing another interpretation, which will indicate that the personage in the
preaching scene should be ideritified as a brahmin rather than the Buddha, hence the absence of a
halo. This brahmin also figures in the Jdataka texts relating both to King Sutasoma and King
Jayaddisa(No. 513).33
First I present the summary of the twoJdtaka stories:
King Jayaddisais setting out from the city to hunt a "flesh-eatingogre." A brahmin who supports his
mother stops the king so that he may recite some stanzas to him and receive money. The king
consequently orders that a dwelling place be assigned to the brahmin and continues on the chase. In
the forest he encounters the ogre who claims the king as his prey. The king introduces himself and
offers other alternatives but the ogre is obstinate. The king obtains leave from the ogre to fulfill his
duty towards the brahmin, promising to return the next day at dawn. On his return to the palace the
king summons the brahmin to recite the stanzas, pays him the money, and sends him away. The king
sends his son, Prince Alinasattu, to face the ogre. Alinasattu by his courage and wise dialogue
humbles the ogre who turns out to be none other than the prince's own uncle who had been snatched
away by an ogress soon after his birth. In the concluding section of thisJdtaka the Buddha identifies
himself with Prince Alinasattu, and the ogre with Afigulima-la,in a previous birth. However, the
vartamdnkathdof thisJdtaka is decisive in understanding this sculptural depiction, in that the story
was narratedinitially by the Buddha in appreciation of a monk who was taking care of his mother,
together with emphasizing his own role as the son in a past life who did not hesitate to replace his
father as the flesh-eating ogre's rightful food.34
In the Mahasutasomadtaka, the Buddha demonstrates how in the past, with still limited spiritual
powers, he tamed the cannibal Arigulimala, so it was not such a marvel that he was able to humble
this cruel robber without using any violence in this final birth. The Buddha was born then as
Sutasoma, a Kuru king, whose school-mate, the king of Kisi, had secretly acquired a taste for human
flesh and so had begun clandestinely killing citizens to satisfy his urge.
Eventually the king of Kisi was accused by his army commander and, after confessing his
cannibalism, was forced to abdicate and retire to the forest. There he unabashedly lived as a man3'
32
33
34
Fergusson,TreeandSerpent
Worship,
pl. 64.
Barrett,Sculpturesfrom
Amardvati,pl. 43.
Francis,TheJdtaka,11-19.
Ibid.
133

eating ogre, waylaying passers-by, murdering them and cooking their flesh. The king learned a spell
which gave him the power to move as swiftly as the wind. He managed to capture one hundred and
one kings, each of whom he seized by the feet, carriedhead downward, and hung on a tree. It was now
the fateful turn of King Sutasoma, who intended to come out of his palace to bathe at a certain holy
place called the Migacira Park, on a particularauspicious day.
The description of King Sutasoma's retinue in the text of thisJdtaka should be paid special
attention:
King Sutasomaquite early in the morning mounted on a richly caparisonedelephant,with a
completeforceof fourarms,salliedfromthe city. At that momenta brahminnamedNandafrom
Takkasila,bringingwith him fourstanzas...reachedthe city...At sunriseon enteringthe city he
saw the king issuing forth by the easterngate, and raising his hand he cried, "Victoryto the
King."Now the king being far-sighted,as he was ridingalong,andseeingthe outstretchedhand
of the brahmin...spokeafterthis manner..."todayI grant to thee Thy prayer,whateverit may
be."Then the brahminansweredhim: "Greatking...these fourversestaughtme by the Buddha
Kassapaareworth a hundredpieces of money each, and having heardthat you take pleasurein
libationsof somajuice,I am cometo teachyou."
The king apologized to the brahmin for his inability to turn back, since as he had first to bathe his
head on that auspicious morning.
From this description, the main actors and actions can be specifically pinpointed on the relief. The
king riding an elephant emerges conspicuously from the heavy fortifications, already extending his
hand, echoing the out-stretched hand of the figure who presumably is the brahmin youth thwarting
the progress of the royal retinue. Instead of the classic four types of regiments, four horses paired in
two groups, one on each side, are shielding the king along with some foot-soldiers, one of whom
sounds a conch shell as if heralding the arrivalof the king. The man briskly walking in the lead and
holding what looks like a scroll belongs to the royal guards, as his costume resembles those of the
other guards. The man with outstretched arm cutting across the procession in the foreground
wearing a plain cloth wrapped around him is undoubtedly the needy brahmin. Therefore the earlier
identification of this portion of the relief with the Buddha's father, Suddhodana,is no longer valid.
thatit will haveto be

the right-handportionof this reliefone mustappreciate
To understand
thatSutasoma's
consistentwiththeabovereading.It is apparent
promisesto thebrahminandogre,
ratherthanhishumblingof theman-eating
king,wereforemostin theartist'smind.
The remainingsectionof the reliefis nowquiteeasyto interpret.It is subdividedinto three
manner.Thefirstgroupdepictsthebrahminprominently
standingin
figuralgroupsin thestandard
the center venerated by the king who is kneeling; also included are other royal and lay personages
distinguished by their two kinds of costumes. In the second group in which all the figures are seated,
the brahmin has been delineated with his right hand in vyakhyanamudrd,implying recitation of the
stanzas. In the third group comprised of standing figures, the gratified king is symbolically offering
to the brahmin the daksind by pouring water onto his palm. The stipa forms placed between the
narrative sections may be considered auspicious motifs, almost like the mithuna couples used to
divide the narrativeunits in long horizontal slabs both at Amaravatiand Nagarjunakonda.
The Buddhistic value implied in both theJayaddisa Jdtaka and the MahasutasomaJataka are
briefly elucidated in the Chariyapittaka.35 In the jayaddisa, the Buddha emphasizes the "shila
(Poona,1949).
35 BimalCharanLaw,translated,Chariyapittaka
134

pdramitd"factor by showing how he, as Prince Alinasattu, carried out the dialogue with the maneater that eventually converted him. But as King Sutasoma, in theJdtaka of that name, the Buddha
draws attention to how he adhered to the oath given to the ogre even at the point of threat to his life.
It was as binding as the promise he gave to the brahmin youth. This leads to the dogmatic
But this sequence of reliefs is
interpretation that thisJdtaka is the allegory of the "satya
pdramitd.'"36
open to many layers of interpretation.
In parenthesis one may mention that the taming of the flesh-eating ogre or of Afigulimala in
previous births could also have been the subject of other reliefs, perhaps by now destroyed. The
known fragment depicting the conversion of Aigulimala by the Buddha, now housed in the Madras
Museum,couldhaveformeda partof the horizontalslabin the BritishMuseumsinceit is alsoin

horizontal
format.37
IV. VessantaraJdtaka(No. 547)
materialin the BritishMuseum(fig.
Thisnotedealswitha neglectedrelieffromtheAmaravati
book.
exceptfor a smallphotographpublishedin Fergusson's
5).38It has not beenreproduced
Barrett's
cataloguedoesnotmentionthe carving.To identifythe reliefas depictingthe Vessantara
it shouldbe notedthatit is a superior
version
Jdtakadoesnotposemuchdifficulty.Moreimportant,
from Amardvati of this Jdtaka story known by the relief housed in the Madras Museum.39 As
of
statistically
everystipashouldhavehada representation
explainedby me in anotherpublication,
this theme, because it was the last birth of the Buddha, before he was finally rebornas Siddhartha,40
when he achieved to prefection the virtue of charity.
Elsewhere I have called the relief an allegory of dadnapdramitd.It is also connected episodically
with the Enlightenment which the Buddha eventually achieved.4'Thereforeits mere existence in the
Amaravaticorpus is significant. Fergussonreferredto the relief as being not in good condition and its
subject matter as Chinese pilgrims being received by a Hindu Raja.42It has alreadybeen pointed out
that other than a few episodes of Buddha's life, the existence ofJdtaka texts and their sculptural
versions were completely unknown to Fergusson.
To the small fragment of a VessantaraJdtaka traced at Nagarjunakondd I am now adding an
interesting as yet unpublished slab (fig. 6). But the most interesting known representation of this
Jdtaka is the achievement of a Goli sculptor.43 The British Museum relief from Amardvati under
andcompares
fromthepointofviewof narrative
is equallyinteresting
discussion
approach
fairlywell
withthewell-known
greatfriezefromGoli.Togetherthesethreereliefsaresignificant
contributions
from the Andhra region towards sculptural pictorialization of a Buddhist didactic text.
Illustration of the VessantaraJitaka has a long history, prior to its handling by the Vengi artists.
The first known depiction as early as the second century B.C. on the Bharhut stipa railing in
36 Ibid.
191,pl. 40.
"AmardvatiSculptures,"
37Sivaramamurti,
pl. 65, fig. I.
Worship,
38 Fergusson,TreeandSerpent
"AmaravatiSculptures,"
39 Sivaramamurti,
pl. 63, 5.
40 Parimoo,Adaptation
ofFolkTales,appendixI, footnoteIo fora detailedanalysisof thisJdtaka.
4, RatanParimoo,Lifeof Buddhain IndianSculpture
(Delhi, 1982).
42 Fergusson,TreeandSerpent
Worship,
I85.
43 Ramachandran,
"BuddhistSculpture,"7.
I35

theopeningscenein whichVessantara
horizontal
formatrepresents
givesawaythe"state"
elephant.44
The sculptorat
Otherscenesaredepictedon the uprightpillarsin severalsectionsandfacets.45
Saifichi
duringthe firstcenturyB.C.chosethe long scroll-likeformatof the toranalintel slab,and
spread it out on both front and rear faces.46The VessantaraJdtaka was known in northern India as
forestlife
well, as thereis a depictionin verticalformatof the episodesdealingwith Vessantara's
of
the
the
Gandhdra
the
Mathura
school
reliefs,
Kusanaperiod.47Among
sculptures
among
in
the
have
survived
of
the
offered
delineations
openingepisode, elephantbeing
charity
fragmentary
beingamongthem.48
units
TheVengiartistswerealreadyawareof thesystemof treatingthetextin termsof narrative
nowthe fourknownreliefsfromthis
andtheirfurthersubdivisioninto minorunits.Considering
to
which
was
the
and
is
decide
earliest
thereforethe originalinnovating
region,the firstproblem
asagainst
narrative.
Thenit will bepossibleto explainwhicharethefixedepisodesto berepresented
it is
intothecomposition.
thosedetailswhichanindividualartistwouldliketo introduce
Moreover,
possibleto distinguishbetweenthe synopticdepictionin short-handandthe detailed,dramatic
form.Until now,the onlywell-knownVessantara
narrative
frieze,the Amaravati
piece,doesnot
thegeneralqualityof sculpturefromthatsite.49It is alsouncharactermatchin artisticrefinement
almosttheatricalnarrative
andso contrastswith the otherelaborate
istic in thatit is in shorthand
artistsfromboththe "lifeevents"of the Buddhaas well as the
scenesdepictedby the Amaravati
Thisfriezeis to be readfromrightto left;in theopeningscenePrince
previousbirthsfromJdatakas.
is seengivingawaytheelephantto theseekersbypouringwaterfromthepot,withonly
Vessantara
the trunkof the elephantbeing shown.Only this sculptorfoundthe episodeof the people
to becarved,asis donein the
to thekingof theirlossasbeingof sufficientsignificance
complaining
In the subsequent
orderedhis son'sbanishment.
nextcompartment
whereKingSafijaya
compartment,Vessantara
givesawaythe bullockcartin whichhe andhis familyleft forthe forest.Already
the artistchangesthe localeandcombineseventsnowby introducingthe trees,andshowingboth
theforestcarrying
theirsonanddaughter,insteadof
andhiswife,Maddi,havingreached
Vessantara
depictingthemtwice,oncein the cart(and/orleavingtown)andthe secondtimein theforest.The
in whichtheystarttheirlifein exilearedrawnat theotherend
hutswithroofsof leaves,orparnakuti,
of thefrieze.Thevarioussettingsof theepisodesarecity,palaceandforest.
forall timeamongtheVengi
is a masterpiece
TherelieffromGolidepictingtheVessantaraJdtaka
fourframes.Thedramatic
mannerin
It movesfromleftto rightandcomprises
narrative
sculptures.
betweena shorthand
the difference
whicheachof the episodesis composeddemonstrates
synoptic
the
In
the
methodanda detailedandanimatednarrative
approach.
opening"bija"
episode, elephant
is depictedin full majesty.The next framejuxtaposesseveralminorunits of the majorepisode(i.e.
leaving for exile in a bullock cart) when the prince gives away the pair of bulls as well as the cart on
the way to the forest: the locale being indicated by introducing monkeys and deer; while in the forest
the two children are given away during their mother's absence from the hermitage, she having gone
Art (London,1927),pl. 47Illustrationin AnandaK. Coomaraswamy,
HistoryofIndianandIndonesian
45 SatishChandraKala,BharhutVedika- (A CriticalStudyof BharhutSculptures
in theMunicipalMuseum,Allahabad)(Allahabad,
44
46
47
48
49
1951).
Marshall,AlfredFoucher,andNani GopalMajumdar,TheMonuments
of Sdachi,3 vols. (London,n.d.).
John
Versosof threeJambsfromBhutesar.
(New York,1929),vol. 2, pl. 94, "Mathura:
LudwigBachhofer,EarlyIndianSculpture
Art in Pakistan(New York,1957).
IslayLyonsandHaraldIngholt,Gandharan
Sivaramamurti,
"AmardvatiSculptures,"pl. 63, 5.
136

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Ce~jBg
to collect herbs and fruits for their food. The toiling lady carrying baskets on her shoulders with a
wild animal next to her, supposedly to protect her but also introduced into the composition to
indicate the deep forest, is a characteristicmotif from the later sequences of thisJdtaka, which is also
depicted in the only fragment discovered from Nagarjunakonda.In spite of her anguish at the loss of
her children, Maddi is the first to acknowledge the great deed of alms-giving, which is heartily
appreciatedby the celestial beings. The last frame in the Goli frieze depicts the partial reunion of the
family when the brahmin offers the two children for sale to their own grandfather,who cuddles them
on his lap (or hips according to the text). Both the Pali as well as the Sanskrit texts have long
descriptions of how Vessantara'sfather, King Safijaya,went to the forest with his vast army to receive
his son and invite him to return to the capital in order to take over the reins of the kingdom.
The ultimate event is mentioned here because this is the theme of the third and last frame of the
relief from the British Museum which will now be considered. It follows the narrativesystem that we
have observed at Goli. But if the Goli master was following the Amardvatitradition, then this relief
wasa prototypeforhimandtherefore
worthyof attention,evenif it is of modestsizeandits physical
of course,is devotedto
conditionis lessthanexcellent.Thefirstsectionof thereliefunderdiscussion,
theopening,germinalepisode:theprinceaccompanied
bytwootherpersonsasheofferstheelephant
dressedasbrahmins
almostlikeemblemsforthealmsto twoalms-seekers
completewithumbrellas,
seeker.The Amaravatisculptorhas developeda characteristicimage of the alms-seekerby
postureof bowingtorsoandbentknees,therebyalsosuggesting
delineatinghimin theconspicuous
hiseagerness.
Thissculptor,likethemasterfromGoli,evidentlydidnotthinkthattheepisodeof the
to the kingwasso important.Eliminatingthatmomentin the story,the next
peoplecomplaining
framepresentsthe forestas the settingandcombinesVessantara
givingawaythe bullocksandcart
as he offershis two
andalsoshowshim in the hermitage(suggestedby the deerandparnakuti),
childrenduringthe absenceof his wife,whois at a distancebringingherbsandfruitsforfood.The
to thetextshoulddepictVessantara's
wifebeinggivenawayto thebrahmin
thirdsectionaccording
The
other
than
Indra
in
entire
seeker,whowasnone
disguise.
episodeconcludeswithKingSafijaya
to theforestto invitehissonto returnto thecapital.Theupper
takingthearmyalongin a procession
tierwe areableto interpretasa ritualof givingby a seatedperson,perhapsIndra,whoreturnedto
hiswifeandgrantedhimtheeightboonsforwhichhehadpleaded.
Vessantara
his wife andtwo childrenwith
The lowertier of this sectionmaybe explainedas Vessantara,
in
at
the
the
of
whichwouldbe a
foldedhands,probablyarriving
presence King Sanijaya,
palace
from
the
do
not
seem
to
the
seated
to
deviation
text,although
figures
belong a royalassembly.
slight
andSafichi,Vessantara
startsthejourneyintoexilefrom
It is interesting
to notethatbothat Bhdrhut
the city to the forestin a horse-driven
cart.But theVengiartistsconsistently
depictedthe bullock
cart as the vehicle; this too is a deviation from the written text.
Besides the fragment from
already mentioned, depicting Vessantara's wife
NagarjunakondS.
Maddi collecting plants and fruit for food with the baskets hung on a pole laid across her shoulder,
locally called kawadi, the Nigarjunakonda sculptor surprisesus by depicting the VessantaraJ taka in
a synoptic manner which only a discerning person could identify. He has used the format of a stupa
drum slab and the iconographic convention of placing the Buddha seated or standing, framed within
what is a reconstruction of one of the cardinal entrances into the circumambulatory path. An
unsuspecting viewer would, at first sight, tend to see the figure as the meditating Buddha. But
careful observation will draw attention to the group of figures below the meditating personage,
145

which representsthe important episode of the forest-dwelling Vessantara,ritually pouring water on

the palm of the alms-seeking brahmin complete with umbrella. And the two promised children are
placed below the brahmin's extended arm. This is the epochal moment when the earth experienced a
severe shaking.
Vessantara'shair is tied up in a top-knot and shifted asymmetrically over his left ear, as is the case
with the meditating figure above who is surroundedby aparnakuti on his left, while on his right are
two couchant lions, representativeof wild beasts. In addition, an emerging human face, perhaps one
of Vessantara'schildren, is looking over his shoulder. Rather unusually, a standing female figure has
been squeezed into the composition, vertically, linking the upper and lower sections. Perhaps the
artist wishes the viewer to be certain that this image was not the Buddha. It is tempting to conclude
that the female figure might be Maddi, Vessantara'swife.
I would like to point to a very relevant passage from the Pali text, according to which Vessantara
had a premonition on that fateful day when Jdjaka, the brahmin alms-seeker, was heading towards
the hermitage in the forest.5oThe crafty brahmin had rightly guessed that Maddi had gone away to
collect food for the family and he wished to take advantage of her absence, as women do not approve
of alms-giving. The text continues,
the GreatBeing cameout of his hut, andseatedhimselfupona slabof stonelike a golden image.
"Now the suitor will come!"he thought, like a drunkardthirsting for a draught...his children
playingabouthis feet.
This short passage suggests that the rather slim, playfully posed female figure might be
Vessantara'sdaughter, Kahdjinaand the other figure looking over his shoulder his son, Jdli, and of
course his own "statuesque"stance is quite obvious. It can be proposed that these objects and persons
carvedon the relief, are signs which lead towards the signification that Vessantararemained unmoved
in a meditating silence while his children huddled beside him pleading that they not be given away
to the yaksa-looking man-eater. Yet, when reading more of the text, an alternative interpretation of
the relief could be suggested. The face over the upper right shoulder of Vessantara would be
identified as that of Maddi (her right hand is also visible), whose path in the forest is guarded as well
as obstructed by three (here two) wild beasts.
Eventually when Maddi returned to the hermitage, failed to see her children and suspected that
the worst might have happened to them, she wailed and cried raising her right hand while standing
on the left side of her steadfast husband. Altogether it is a remarkablyimaginative depiction of the
Vessantara narrative on the part of the NMigarjunakonda
sculptor, an appropriate example of what
Rajashekharacalls Kavi-pratibha,but many Indian scholars have hesitated to identify such a genius
even when his creation is before us.5I
V. MatakabhattaJataka
(No. 18)
The characteristic motif in thisJataka as well as its pictorial depiction is a ram or its female
counterpart, an ewe. English translatorshave adopted the nomenclature of ewe, perhaps because it is
more prized than the ram, as the story would exemplify. Strangely, previous scholarshave not written
5o E. B. CowellandW. H. D. Rouse,TheJataka,vol. VI,JatakaNo. 547,246-305. It hasnot beenpossibleto consultthe translation
of MargaretConeandRichardGombrich,ThePerfect
(Oxford,1977).
Generosity
ofPrinceVessantara
Hindi Translation;PanditKedarnathSharmaSaraswat(Patna,1954).
5I SeeRajashekhara,
KavyaMimamsa,
146

about these reliefs, one of which is the last section of a long cornice slab from Ndgdrjunakonda
comprising six episodes and six mithuna couples in alternating sequences (fig. 9), known since the
first report of the excavations there. Two independent slabs were also discovered and published with
such titles as "unidentified...depicting a pet ram"(figs. 8 and Io).52 An unpublished drum slab from
AmardvatiSite Museum has a number of episodes in miniature sections carved on it, in one of which
a sheep is delineated in front of someone who apparentlyis a king; perhapsthe sculptors did represent
the ewe after all, since any sign of its being a male is absent (fig. 7).
The Matakabhatta Jdtaka tale is recounted by the Buddha to reveal how he had preached in
previous births against the sacrifice of animals to celebrate the irdddha ceremony (offering meals to
deceased ancestors).53The characterwho narratesthe fruits of this deed (karmaphala),having suffered
through the cycle of past births, is a ram or ewe. The animal addresses the brahmin, its would-be
sacrificer,to warn him of the consequences he would have to suffer. But in the sculptural relief (fig. 9)
the sheep is depicted approaching someone who undoubtedly is a king on a throne or paryanka,
seated in ardhaparyankdsana,
the position appropriatefor a royalperson.
The king holds a flower in his hand which is being sniffed at by the sheep while eagerly stretching
its head forward. The extended position of the neck is significant because the episode concerns
decapitation. The king is attended by two female chauri-bearersstanding on either side, and several
other persons who could be witnesses to the event taking place. In another sculpture, which is broken
(fig. Io), the sheep approachesthe king as in the first case, almost engaging in conversationwith him;
the king holds a flower in his hand and, for a change, is seated on the throne in mahdraja lildsana.
Here we have to assume that the queen is sitting next to the king; her right leg is in
ardhaparyankdsanaand therefore her foot is visible on what is presumably a footrest. A young girl
peeps out from under the throne. In the third relief, two attendants bring the sheep near the seated
king, while a female figure faces the ruler as if engaged in some forceful argument. The woman
extends her right arm and the king appears to look on attentively; both of them are seated in
ardhaparyankisana,their right legs dangling from the throne and their feet supported on the footrest.
The sheep, which appears to have been washed and prepared for sacrifice, has been expressively
presented by the sculptor as meekly hanging its neck.
A search for other textual variations enabled me to locate the relevant passages in the
Dhammapada,in which Queen Dinna, wife of King Uggasena, argues with the king of Banaras,who
is keen on sacrificing one hundred kings and queens in gratitude to a tree spirit (rukhadevatd).54It is
possible therefore that the artists combined the two texts or, rather, that both versions or modes of
narratingthis important Buddhist precept were known to them.
Those scholars who have commented on the Dhammapadatext have also drawn attention to the
motif of "crying and laughing one after the other" by the characterto be sacrificed.55Incredibly and
almost surealistically, in the~dtaka text it states that when the ewe was washed in preparationfor the
sacrifice, it burst into laughter resembling the breaking of an earthen pot followed by loud cries, the
cause of which the animal claimed to its keepers that it would reveal in the presence of the master.56
Hence in the sculptural representationthe presence of the ewe in front of the king's throne; here the
Memoirs
52 A.H. Longhurst,TheBuddhistAntiquities
ofNdgdjunakondi.
oftheArchaeological
SurveyofIndia.No. 54(Delhi, I938),pl.26.
53
54
55
56
No. 18,translatedby RobertChalmers,in Cowelled., TheJdtaka,vol. I (Cambridge,I895),51-53.

MatakabhattaJdtaka,
sectionV (i) (c).
Burlingame,BuddhistLegends,
Grey,A Concordance
ofBuddhistBirthStories,91.
vol. I, 211-14.
Kausalyayana,Jdtaka,
147

andit is clearthattheartistconsciously
the
figurecertainlydoesnotlooklikea brahmin
represented
text,in whichQueenDinnais arguingwiththekingof
king.Thistakesus backto theDhammapada
Banaras
and,whiledoingso, shetoo "laughsandcries."In figure9 the womanseatedto the king's
left andtowardwhomhe is facing,is delineatedwitha weepingexpression
on herface.Shecanbe
of theDhammapada
withQueenDinnaandthusprovestherelevance
text.
associated
In fig.Io thefemalefigure,judgingbyhergesturesandfacialexpression,
seemsto bebothcrying
in turn,areindicatedbyhisraisedrighthand.Thetext
andarguingwiththeking,whoseresponses,
statesthatQueenDinnaconfessedto havingkilledanewein a pastlife to providefoodfora guest.
untilshecompletesa required
Sincethenshehadbeenrebornagainandagainonlyto be heheaded,
numberof birthsandundergoes
miseryin orderto atoneforthedeed.Thetextsometimesmentions
fivehundredrebirthsand sometimesa figureequalto the numberof hairson the fleeceof the
sacrificed
animal.This rebirthwasto be the last, afterwhichDinnawouldbe releasedfromher
shebothlaughedandcried.Laughed,forbeinghappy;cried,forit wouldbring
penalty.Therefore
thesameunendingcycleof punishments
to beundergone
by theking.TheJdtakatextis relevantto
in thatthelearnedbrahmin,
whohadorderedtheewe'sslaughterin thepastfor
thereliefsculptures
orfeastforthedead,washimselfbeingbornagainandagainasanewe
thepurposeof matakabhatta,
to endurethe sameseveringof the head,and this occasionwasgoing to be the last - the fivehundredthtime- it wouldbe beheaded.Hencethe brahmin's
laughter.Thereasonforcryingwas
that the person indulging in animal slaughter on the day of the annual anniversary of deceased
ancestorswould be doomed to undergo the same agonizing chain of rebirthsand beheadings.
The moral of the Dhammapadastory is that the fruits of past deeds have to be suffered for a given
number of reincarnations,whereas in theJdtaka, as told by the Buddha himself, he wished once again
to make people realize they should not kill animals, just as, when a ruhka devata, he had once
proclaimed it aeons ago in the sky.
An important aspect of the interpretation (titparya)of these reliefs still needs to be discussed even
though I am rather hesitant to do so. My proposal is to identify the king depicted in the reliefs with
the contemporaryruler at the time of the Buddha, namely Pasenadi, king of Kosala, and the queen as
his wife, Mallika. In the fifth chapter of the Dhammapadathe familiar motif of a king "falling in love
with a poor man's wife" is implanted onto Pasenadi, who chances to see the beautiful wife of one of
his palace employees, falls in love with her and, burning with passion, forces the poor man to
undergo difficult tasks so that he can be punished. Several other stories are embedded in this
principal incriminating story by very resourceful Indian story-tellers, as has been very interestingly
analysed by Burlingame.57Two of the latter stories are similar to the MatakabhattazJtakatext; both
are the vartmankathd and atita kathd sequences. Further on, the story about the woman killing the
sheep has been connected with Queen Dinna, who in turn has been named as the person belonging to
one of the past lives of the contemporaryQueen Mallika of Kosala. The turn of events is that just as
Dinna, in her earlier incarnation, had saved the lives of the kings from being sacrificed,Mallika was
responsible for a similar act. King Pasenadi, burning with passion for an employee's wife, heard some
terrible sounds one night as he lay restless. His brahmins advised a sacrifice of living creatures but
they were strongly opposed by Queen Mallika, who quoted her past life as Dinna. I am of the view
that these reliefs make no allusion to King Pasenadi's unbecoming infatuation but instead focus
unambiguously on the moral of the punishment against animal sacrifice. Nevertheless attention
notespertainingto storyV (i).
148

should be drawn to the telescoping of time, i.e. thousands of years compressed into a single moment
through the specific past lives of several personages, or, in reverse,a single moment of time apparent
in the sculpture expands into limitless time, just as it does in the literary text.s8
VI. LosakaJitaka (No. 41)

A small copingfragmentfromAmardvatihas been alreadydiscussedby Sivaramamurti
as
monkLosaka
someepisodesfromthepreviouslivesof theunfortunate
Tissa(fig.II).59
Inan
narrating
kathi
it
elaborate
described
is
No.
told
how
Losaka
been
had
rescued
by the
vartaman
inJdtaka 41,
ElderSdriputta
as a miserablechild,pickingup leftoverfoodlike a scavenger
bird,whohadbeen
ordained
asa monk.6?
Thestrangefactthatanyfood-offering
would
subsequently
broughtto Losaka
disappearbeforehe couldgrabit, and his recentpassingawayinto arhatship,had triggereda
ofhisstorybytheBuddha.
recounting
A reliefslabfromthe recentexcavations
in Amaravati
of the
providesa secondrepresentation
samethemewhichhasremainedunnoticedfromthe site museum(fig. 12).Similarly,a slabwas
recoveredfromNigarjunakonda
duringthe last phaseof excavationsin the 195os- beforeits
in Marg1965- described
andpublication
submergence
merelyasa villagescene,is alsoundoubtedly
didactic
yetanotherdepictionof thesametheme(fig.13).6,Thetwoexamplesindicatethesignificant
value of the subject which is repeated very briefly inJatakas Nos. 82 and Io4. ThisJtaka has an
rolein whichthepreviousbirthsarethesourcesof drstdnta

foremphasizing
essentiallyhermeneutic
certaindoctrinaire
dutiesorhumanconduct.Thesignificance
of thisJdtakaandthenumberof times
artistsdepictedit remaina neglectedmatter.Theprotagonistin the presentbirthwasbornof a
motherwhosefamilyhadbeendiscovered
to beasbreeder
of misfortune
forthefishingvillagewhere
theyweremakingtheirliving.ThefamilywasdrivenawayandwhenLosakawasborn,his mother
hadabandoned
him.In a previousbirthasa beggarcalledMittavindaka,
Losaka
wasalsothecauseof
misfortune
to thevillagewhere,withhiswifeandtwochildren,hehadbeengivena hutto livein.As
in the caseof the fishingvillage,this villagetoo hadsufferedthe vengeanceof the king'ssoldiers
seventimes,whiletheirhutsalsowereburnedasmanytimes.Similarly
thevillagers'
watertankshad
driedup seventimes.Eventually
thepeopleof thevillagefelt compelledto drivethefamilyout of
theirvicinity.
Topinpointthecauseof Losaka's
dueto badfortunefromonepastbirthto theotherand
suffering
its connection
with immoderate
foodhabits,it is toldthatin a previousbirthhe wasa self-seeking
monk.Once,afterbeingwell fedby a richhouseholder,
Losakawasaskedto carrya portionof the
food to an elderly monk; instead of doing so, he cunningly hid the food away without serving it to the
elderly monk. The consequences of that act stuck to Losakafor five hundred reincarnationsduring
which he never received enough to eat.
The above-mentioned series of events may be termed sequence "A".But a second sequence of the
story is elaborated in Jtakas No. 369 (Mittavinda) and No. 439 (Catudvera), which resembles the
Divydvadina and Maitrakanyakaversions.62Interestingly this part of the sequence is represented in
58 Fora discussionof the conceptof time, see PaulRicoeur,TimeandNarrative,vol. 2 (Chicago,I985).
Chalmers,TheJdtaka,vol. I, No. 41,Io5-1.
59
60 Ibid.
6
AmitaRay,"Sculptures
of Nagarjunakonda,"
(Delhi, I983).
Marg18,no. 2 (MarchI965),9-40; LifeandArt ofEarlyAndhradesa
"Avadana
Kalpalatd.
62 SeeKshemendra's
149

It is sequence"A",thesubjectof threereliefs,withwhichweareconcerned
Gandha-ra
here.
reliefs.63
In the newly-discovered
reliefnowat the Amaravati
SiteMuseum,someof the motifswhichare
Museum.At the top is showna
delineatedarerelatedto thoseon the relieffragmentin theMadras
andhis wife with two
couple,eachholdinga child,whichis to be understoodas Mittavindaka
children.Themotifof themothercookingandfeedingoneof thechildrenwhois nowgrownup,on
therighthandside,refersto theperpetual
problemofobtainingfoodthatthefamilyhadto face.The
elephantsandhorseridersin the lowerhalf,identicalto thosein the previousrelief,implythe
of theking'ssoldiers.Theelephantin theforeground
vengeance
apparently
raisingits trunkperhaps
refersto thedried-upwatertank,adjacentto whichstandsa treethroughwhichis peeringthe tree
spirit.Thecouplebeingdrivenoutof thevillagemayhavebeendepictedon thelefthandsideof the
whichis badlyrubbed.
composition,
TheNagarjunakondd
reliefwill haveto be readslightlydifferently.
Thefamiliardried-upwater
causedbythepresence
tankis quiteobviouslyvisiblein thelowersectionasoneof themisfortunes
of
andhis family.Next to the watertankthe presenceof the soldiersis a
the cursedMittavindaka
On theuppersectionseveralminorepisodesaredepictedcarefullyseparated
similarmisfortune.
by
of figuresin theirsetting,consistingof thetwohuts.Ontherightthewomanholding
theplacement
thebabyimplieschildrenbornto Losaka's
wife,whomtheartistdepictedwithpendantbreastsasa
to the
meansof usingheruglinessto suggestherpoverty.Thesecondsection,framedbytheentrance
hiswifeandonegrownchild,whosegestureof foldedhandsis rather
hut,hasthreefigures:Losaka,
all threefiguresarestandingin unhappyanticipation.
the
Alternatively,
intriguing,butapparently
manwithfoldedhandsis insistingthatthefamilyleavethevillage.Thethirdsectionis verytelling,
anddevelopedin a progression
towardsthedenouement
in themannerof the
almostmelodramatic,
The ill-fatedfatherandthe two teenageboysmoveforwardwith
proverbial"Rake'sProgress."64
handsraisedon theirheads,creatinganimpendingsenseof tragedyasthefamilyhasbeencompelled
to leavethe village;the gesturesof the manplacedaheadof the familyleaveno doubtabouttheir
trailingbehind.A crowontheroofof thehutanda dogamong
meaning.Themotheris submissively
asmotifsdevisedby the
thepeoplearenotmentionedin thewrittentext,butshouldbe understood
of a poorfamily.
artistto completetheenvironment
in continuous
narration
witha sequence
ofminor
Theentireupperportionof theslabis composed
events,alongwith the king'sarmyattackingthe villagedepictedonceagain,eventhoughit is
alreadydelineatedbelow;perhapsthe seven-foldattacksareindicatedby repeatingthis motif.In
spite of the damagethe lowerpart of the panelhas suffered,the reliefis a good exampleto
demonstratethat at times the Nagarjunakonda
artist excelledthe Amaravatisculptorin the
presentation of an elaborate pictorial narrative.All the elements of narrativecomposition are placed
in sequence on one single horizontal plane. The internal rhythms created by the positions of limbs
and postures of the figures establish a continuous movement from the viewer's right to left, following
also the time sequence to the episodic climax. The compositional scheme may be grasped thus: the
events concerning the family are on the upper tier, while the disastrous events resulting from their
ill-fated presence are placed in the lower tier. An alternative exegesis of the figure groups could be:
Art in Pakistan,48, pl. 363 LyonsandIngholt,Gandharan

64 John Sunderland,Paintingin Britaini525-i975(London,1976),27. I believeit is possibleto comparethe "Rake'sProgress,"which
wasthe subjectof a seriesof paintingsby the eighteenth-centuryEnglishpainter,William Hogarth.
15o

(I) The birth of ill-starred Mittavindaka, who is held by his inglorious mother, metaphorically
suggested by her ugliness.
(2) Mittavindakaas a defiant teenager running away from his parents.
(3) Mittavindaka now an adult with his family, his wife and two children. The fact that they bring
bad luck to the village is "signified"on the right by the king's soldiers and on the left presumably by the village messenger, who is asking the family to leave the vicinity, the coupdegrace.
If the bottom left side of the slab were intact, it would be possible to verify whether it represents
both the vartamdnkatha and atita kathd simultaneously, just as these are narrated together in the
written version. Thus the telescoping of the present actual time with the past imaginary time (as
mentally conceived) may be what the artist attempted on this slab, further adding to its qualities as
an artistic masterpiece.
VII. Culla PadumaJ dtaka (No. 193)
This relief from NMigarjunakondd
has remained unidentified even though it was published by
Longhurst and subsequently by Amita Ray, as late as I983 (fig. I4).65This is one of the manyJdtakas
which deal with the treacheryand ungratefulness of women as propounded by the Buddha himself,
when one of the bhiksusshowed a tendency toward back-sliding. In the UmmadantiJdtaka(No. 527)
there is a detailed description in the vartamdnkathd concerning a back-sliding monk who became
desperately love-sick, but in the Mahipaduma(No. 472) and KudlaJdtakas(No. 536) the treacherous
behavior of ungrateful women is fully elaborated.66
Thisparticular
reliefillustrates
in a synopticandpithymannerwhatis alsoquitea briefnarrative
of thepastbirthwhentheBuddhahimselfwasbornasPadumakumar,
a sonof thekingof Banaras.
Padumakumar
hadsixotherbrothers
as
to
were
Ononeoccasion
who, theygrew adulthood, married.
thekingbecamefrightened
whenallofhissonsattendeduponhim,fearingthattheymightevenkill
him in order to seize the throne. Therefore, the king orderedhis sons to go away and return only after
his death to claim the kingdom. The brothers left Banaraswith their wives and, when they became
very hungry and no food was available, the brothersdecided to eat the flesh of their wives while their
plight lasted. On the first day the flesh of the wife of a younger brother was cut into thirteen pieces
and distributed. Padumakumarinstructed his wife to save one of the two pieces of flesh given to them
and to divide the remaining piece between them. During the next six days the couple saved six pieces
of flesh, which they offered to the other brothers on the seventh day, while taking advantage of the
opportunity to escape secretly.
Thus, Padumakumarwas able to save his wife, whom he carriedon his shoulders when she could
not walk any further because of extreme exhaustion; when she became very thirsty, Padumakumar
offered her his own blood, which he obtained by slashing his thigh. Eventually, the couple reacheda
riverbankwhere they began to pass the days in a hut. Once Padumakumarheard the wailing of a thief
who had been floating in the river, tied in a sack with a bleeding nose, hands and feet. The prince
brought the thief to his hut and tended to his wounds, and he fed his wife and the hideous creatureby
regularly going into the forest to collect food for them. In the course of time, Padumakumar'swife
65 Longhurst,NdgarjunakonadS,
pl. 27(a),andRay,"LifeandArt of EarlyAndradesa,"
pl. 211.
66 JatakaNo. 193,translatedby W. H. D. Rouse,in Cowell,ed., TheJdtaka,vol. II, 81-85.
I~I

became attracted to the ugly wretch and even decided to put an end to her husband by taking him to
the top of the nearby hill. While pretending to circumambulate around Padumakumar as her
respectful husband, she pushed him down the hill. Happy to be rid of her husband, the wife carried
the unseemly cripple to the nearest town where she had to feed the two of them by begging for food.
In the later part of theJdataka,Padumakumar, who was miraculously saved, became king following
the death of his father. When he discovered his treacherous wife together with the thief,
Padumakumarpronounced a suitable punishment for them.67
The later episodes of the Jdtaka do not concern us here. But I think the artist has quite
appropriately selected the central episode of the story, when Padumakumarsaves his wife by lifting
her onto his lap and moving away in swift steps, as shown in the left frame of the stone relief. The
Pdli text mentions that Padumakumar carried her on his shoulders. To indicate that the wife is in
danger, two men are shown wielding clubs behind the fleeing couple. Probably to highlight the
treacherouswoman as the protagonist of the narrative, she is depicted in the lower corner, proudly
standing in the foreground with the deformed-looking figure suggesting the hideous thief. The
curvatureof the woman's elegant tribhaiga posture simultaneously is a continuation of the rhythm of
her body as she is lifted by her husband, and also runs in opposite direction to it. The other six
brothers,grouped in another compositional space framed by a tree, are conferring among themselves;
their circular formation and hand gestures suggest their discomfiture. Thus the required characters
andepisodesarepithily delineatedin this relief,makingit a significantworkof artof its own kind in

the
corpus.
NMigarjunakond.
VIII. VatamigaJdtaka(No. 15)

of
Thelastreliefto be discussedherehasbeenlyingfordecadesin theArchaeology
Department
the AindhraPradesh Government at their Guntur Office (fig. 14).68 A small museum is being set up
there in which this relief is expected to be a prized exhibit. The ancient site of the Amaravatistnpais
located not very far away, therefore this relief could be from the Amardvatischool, with which it has
very close stylistic affiliations. However, the broad format of the relief suggests that it cannot have
formed part of any of the railing copings; moreover, it does not conform to any kind of the known
railing structural members, like the circular medallions or the uprights. Apparently this slab
originally was even larger, as the upper section is broken and, perhaps, a part of the right hand side
also is damaged.
The relief has a very interesting composition, every figure being full of animation; careful
observation shows that all the figures appear to focus on one particular direction. Apparently the
setting is a royal court or palace interior, where the king is comfortably seated on a throne, gazing
forwardand surrounded by a row of female attendants, who also appear to be joining spontaneously
in what they regard as an amusing sight. Significantly all the faces are delineated with a smile. Next
in importance to the king is the queen, who is placed prominently on the left, seated on a wicker
stool and attended by female dwarfs.
andslant
BookIV, StoryNo. 7 in Panchatantra,
320-22, hasan identicalstoryof an ungratefulwife. The Buddhistreinterpretation
arequite obvious.Seethe Englishtranslationby ArthurRyder,reprinted,JAICO(Bombay,1991).
68 The authorwould like to acknowledgethe help of Dr. KrishnaShastri,Directorof Museumsand Archaeology,Governmentof
AndhraPradesh.
67
I5

In the foreground
is a deerwith femaledwarfs,wholookat the animalin amusement.
On the
is a malefigure,ratherrubbed,standingin frontof anentrance
rightis whatprobably
gate,seeming
to bein pursuitof thevulnerable
animalthatis trottingalongwithits headdown,probably
chewing
that
It
is
the
hornsof thedeerareunclearbecauseof weathering
of thestone
honeyedgrass. possible
surface.
Forsometime,I wondered
whetherthisreliefmightdepictthepreaching
of thedeerin thecourt
at Banaras,
thesequelto theeventsthattookplacein theforestwhenthekinghadbeenimpressed
by
the human-voiced
in thewell-knownRuruJataka
fromBhdrhut.69
goldenantelope,as represented
But then,in thisreliefthe Bodhisattva
asa preaching
deerhasnotbeengiventhehonoredplacehe
hadwhenpreaching
to thekingin hispreviousbirthasa swan(in
taka)andasa peacock(in
HarmsaJ
the
other
deer
I
that
found
the
relates
Therefore,
stories,
reviewing
MoraJdtaka).70
VitamigaJtaka
to thisrelief(fig.I4).71
quiteconvincingly
I beginbydrawingattentionto thehermeneutic
is anallegory,as
aspectof thestory.ThisJdtaka
theBuddhaexplainsin thevartamdn
anonlysonwhoseparentswishedhimto
katha,abouta bhiksu,
leavethe monasteryand returnto the familyfold. The bhiksu'sundoingwas precipitatedby a
whoofferedhimtastyrecipesaspartof herfoodofferingswhenhe madehisdailyrounds
courtesan,
foralms.TheBuddhacontendsthatin his previousbirthsthissamemonkhadbeensusceptibleto
thatotherwise
ranawayfromhumans,
worldlysnares.Hencewelearnthattheartlessdeer,a creature
becameaccustomed
to humanpresenceby beingenticedto eatbladesof grassthatthegardener
had
coveredwithhoney.
deliberately
I thinktheAmarivatisculptorwaskeenlyawareofhowto depictthesuddenentryof thedeerinto
the composition and how to make it the focal point of action, almost as if in a theater. This is not a
serious scene depicting the deer arriving to deliver a sermon, instead the entire figural group in the
palace hall looks with amusement at how the deer, followed by the gardener,walks through the door.
The composition involves a strong diagonal rising from the feet of the gardener at the bottom
right, which is also the converging point of the feet of the female dwarf and the hind legs of the deer.
The diagonal rises leftward through the inclined figure of the female dwarf linking it with the maid
who approaches the king. Then the diagonal rises with the king's outstretched knee, following
alongside his waist, shoulders and right elbow, which rests on the throneback. The diagonal
continues through the ingeniously posed pair of maids, one of whom has placed her arm around the
neck of her companion. The leftward thrust of the diagonal then rebounds rightward with the
slightly lowered faces and glances as everyone looks delightedly at the duped deer. It is an
appropriate situation to provoke a feeling of humor. The lines intertwining over the surface of the
compositional web formed by the full-bodied figures give the sculpture the character of a
monumental painted mural; it is a worthy predecessorof the paintings in the Ajanti Caves.
69 SeeB. M. Barua,Bharhut,BooksI, II, II, Reprint(Patna,1979).

70 Hamsa
Jataka at Amaravati.see Sivaramamurti,
Jtaka at Ajanta,see G. Yazdani,Ajanta,vol. IV (Oxford,I955),40-41. ForMora
Sculptures.
"Amardvati
71 Cowell,TheJataka,vol. I, 44-45.
153

Conclusion
Conclusion
wiwith
th
ssets
ets
oof
f sculptures
tthe
he
oof
f tthe
he
of
These
stories,
sculptures
essentially
depictjataka
exception
Theseeieight
ght
story
essentially
exception
story
of
depictJitakastories,
I
t
whi
c
h
deri
v
es
f
r
o
m
t
h
e
t
e
x
t
.
a
n
d
h
i
s
t
w
o
h
a
s
be
e
n
observed
he
r
e
Dbammapada
Udayana
Udayanaandhis twoqueens,
queens,whichderivesfromthe Dhammapada
text.It hasbeenobservedhere
i
n
f
i
n
al
narrative
t
h
e
nnot
ot
concerned
tthat
hat
whiwhile
le
tthese
hese
aare
re
t
he
donors
re
relreliefs,
iefs,
ysis
essentially
essentiallynarrative
in the finalanal
analysis
the
donorswewere
concerned
i
n
I
t
o
f
event
s
t
o
i
s
t
h
e
Buddhistic
erms
wi
t
h
t
h
e
event
o
r
s
e
ri
e
s
b
e
withthe eventorseriesof eventsto be represented.
solsolely
ely
represented.
It is thesignificance
significance
in Buddhistictterms
iinitial
nitial
nd
tthese
hese
relreliefs.
iefs.
Once
his
hhas
as
tthat
hat
tthe
he
reason
or
wawas
s
selecting
commissioning
significance
reasonffor
selectingaand
commissioning
Oncetthis
significance
he
r
f tthe
he
artartist.
ist.
Indeed
e
aalso
lso
ne
isis aable
ble
tto
o
bebeen
en
uncovered,
creativity
ingenuity
mamay
y
uncovered, oone
appreciate
appreciatetthe
creativity oor
ingenuity oof
Indeed wwe
iit
t iis
n
ffact
act
tthat
hat
s tthis
his
ch
hhas
as
aalso
lso
us
he
Buddhistic
to tthe
helped
looking
Buddhistic intention
intention whiwhich
helped
us iin
looking
t
h
e
relevant
t
h
e
t
e
x
t
s
a
n
d
through
through the texts and locating
locating the relevant passages.
passages.
draw
draw attention
attention
to
Glossary
Glossary
abhiprdya
abbipraya
aardha
rdha
paryankdsana
paryankdsana
meaning"
"i"intended
ntended
meani
ng9
wiwith
th
aand
nd
tthe
he
oother
ther
ffrom
rom
tthe
he
assumed
he
oof
f a a god
or
oone
ne
ent
sseated
eated
sseat,
eat,
dangling
by tthe
image
god
leg bbent
position
position
leg
dangling
assumedby
image
or
kking.
ing.
kathd
ati a
atita
kathd
avasthd
ofprayatna
avasthdofprayatna
daksdaksina
ina
ddina
aina
pdrami
tad
pdramitd
dridrishtdnta
shtdnta
kdrya
kdrya
Kathdsaritsdgara
Kathdsaritsdgara
kdwadi
kdwadi
iin
n tthe
"bi"birth"
rth"
he
text.
tthe
he
aactual
ctual
Palijdtaka
sstory,"
tory,"
story
story
text.
PdliJdtaka
"4past
oof
fa a plplay,"
ii.e.
.e
"arri
val
at
t
o
avas
t
h
d
"successi
v
e
gas
t
r
a
,
Nat
y
a
si
g
ni
f
i
e
s
tages
ay,"
accordi
n
g
accordingto Natyagastra,avasthdsignifies"successivesstages
"arrival
at aa purpose"
purpose"
iin
n reachi
means
a hehero's
ro's
eeffort
f ort
hhis
is
tto
o
((here
here
narrati
ve);
ng
goalgoal."
."
prayat
na
applapplied
ied
narrative);
prayatna
means""a
reaching
f a a relreligious
rrite.
ite.
tto
o
a brahmin
aat
t
tthe
he
igious
iest
completion
ggift
ift
a brahminprpriest
completionoof
"4past
of gigiving"
(or
ving"
"generosity").
"prefection
(or
"generosity").
"prefectionof
iin
n whiwhich
n
ch
a statement
s iillustrated
l ustrated
oof
f speech
by aan
example.
igure
spe ch
a ffigure
a statementiis
by
example.
a
means
f eeach
ach
source
one
f tthe
he
tto
o
gdsgdstra,
tra,
NatNatya
ya
arthaprakritis
((prakriti
prakriti
accordi
ng
according
one oof
arthaprakritis
means"proper
"properdevelopment
developmentoof
source
r
e
s
u
l
t
o
f
a cause."
means
or
"denouement,"
elelement");
ement");
"necessary
kakarya
rya
means
or
result
of
a
cause."
"denouement," "necessary
f Somadeva's
t
tthe
he
translation
oof
f StStories."
ories."
SSee
e
"Ocean
eleventh-century
compilation
y
Engl
ish
English
translationoof
Somadeva's
eleventh-centurySanskri
Sanskrit
compilationbby
"Ocean
H
.
Charl
e
s
(
L
ondon,
CharlesH. Tawney
Tawney(London,1924-28).
1924-28).
acros
with
two
horizontal
carried
shoulder
baskets
aa contraption
tterm),
erm),
pole
comprising
(regi
onal
(regional
contraptioncomprising
aa horizontal
pole
carried
across
aa shoulder
with
two
baskets
to
to
even
oon
n
either
held
(or
end,
car y
car y
elderly
persons).
by ropes
ropes
goods
either
end,
hanging
hangi
ng
held
by
to
carry
goods
(or
even
to
carry
elderly
persons).
kkavi
avi
pratibha
pratibhd
oof
f tthe
he
aand
nd
poet.
"imagination"
"geni
us"
"genius"
"imagination"
poet.
llambaka
ambaka
matakabbatta
matakabhatta
in the
Kathdsarita
each
adventure
the
based
on
sagara.
"chapters,"
"chapters,"
based
on
each
adventure
in
sdgara.
Kathdsarita
iin
n hohonor
nor
oof
f departed
oof
f deceased
atives.
Cooked
oof
f annual
rrites
ites
oon
n
tthe
he
occasi
on
ffeast
east
(Pili)
occasion
annualfunerary
funerary
departed
spirits
spirits
deceasedrelrelatives.
Cooked
(PMli)
=Sanskri
t
fform
orm
oof
f matmataka).
fofor
r
ththe
e
dedead.
ad.
rrice
ice
aka).
((mritaka
mritaka
((meal)
meal)
=Sanskrit
9ds9dstra
tra
Ndrya
Nditya
aand
nd
theoretical
text
on
dance
theatre.
Sanskrit
encyclopaedic
first-century
first-centurySanskrit
encyclopaedic
theoretical
text
on
dance
theatre.
niyardpti
niyatdpti
f tthe
he
""near
near
oof
f achievement."
one
tto
o
avast
has,
9ds9dstra,
tra,
certainty
Ndrya
accordi
ng
according
one oof
avasthas,
certainty
achievement."
Ndtya
pairamita~
pdramitd
theBuddha
eachof
ofhis
hispast
the"perfections"
accumulated
Buddha
births.
bythe
througheach
pastbirths.
"perfections"
"perfection,"
"perfection,"
the
accumulated
by
through
See
W.
ofParamitas.
Davids'translation
translation
ofParamitas.
W. Rhys
SeeThomas
Thomas
RhysDavids'
Parna
hut
in aa forest
hutmade
madeof
ofleaves,
forest(or
kutior
orparna
hermit's
(ordenoting
"forest").
leaves,usually
usuallyin
denoting"forest").
parnashdSla
parnakuti
sh~Salaa hermit's
phaldgamaa
phaligamaa
according
to
the
five avasthas,
"fruition."
thelast
lastof
ofthe
toNa~tya
thefive
avasthas,
NatyaSLdstra,
according
SLastra,
"fruition."
satya
satyapdramitd
p~artamt
"perfection
of
one's
one'sword").
oftruth"
truth"("keeping
word").
("keeping
"perfection
shila
shilapciramitad
pa~ramita~
"perfection
of
moralpractice."
ofmoral
"perfection
practice."
shradddha
shraiddha
annual
rite
spirits
relatives.
in honor
relatives.
honorof
ofdeparted
ofdeceased
deceased
ritein
annualfunerary
departed
funerary
spiritsof
tdtparya
titparya
"purport
of
ofproposition"
"purport
proposition"
vaktad
icchad
vaktad
icchai
"speaker's
intention."
Similar
and
toabhiprd~ya
intention."
Similarto
andtdtparya.
tarparya.
"speaker's
abbipra~ya
vartanan
kathad
vartaman
katha;
"introductory story,"
part
of
present
Palijctakatext;
ofthe
theimmediate
immediate
the
ofaa PaliJcdtaka
thefirst
(orthe
text;literally,
literally,"story
"story
present(or
"introductory
story,"the
partof
Girst
current past)."
past)."
current
vyakihyana
mudrad
mudra~
vyakihyana
the
"explicating."
of"teaching,"
thehand
handgesture
gestureof"teaching,"
"explicating."
154
I04


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On Re-Identification of ndhra Buddhist Jtaka Relief Sculptures

Author(s): Ratan Parimoo

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ON RE-IDENTIFICATIONOF ANDHRA BUDDHIST

Thisthe new identification of some unknown or little-known

narrativereliefs from the Amardvati

UdayanaCycle,two slabs, Amaravati,Government Museum, Madras(fig. I).

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I. King Udayanaand His Queens

stfpa railingwas firstidentifiedby RaymondeLinossier(fig. 1).' Her French-language

of an unusualstory,eventhoughthis cycleof storieshasa veryprominentplacein the

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interestinganalysisof the Buddhistpreceptsinvolved,in particular,in the

This content downloaded from 202.41.10.30 on Mon, 16 Feb 2015 01:56:52 AM

King punishes Magandiya

Diagram I Amaravatistupa, second century. Government Museum,

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This content downloaded from 202.41.10.30 on Mon, 16 Feb 2015 01:56:52 AM

II. KusaJitaka(No. 53I)

This content downloaded from 202.41.10.30 on Mon, 16 Feb 2015 01:56:52 AM

EdwardB. Cowell,ed., TheJdtakas,6 vols. (Cambridge,I895-1913); BandantAnandKausalyanana,

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foreachof the "fightingarms,"similarly,theoneprostrating

28 Manmohan Ghosh, English translation ofNdtya 9dstra (Calcutta, 1951).

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This content downloaded from 202.41.10.30 on Mon, 16 Feb 2015 01:56:52 AM

thatit will haveto be

This content downloaded from 202.41.10.30 on Mon, 16 Feb 2015 01:56:52 AM

Museum,couldhaveformeda partof the horizontalslabin the BritishMuseumsinceit is alsoin

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::: : :::::: :::::::::::::::: : ::::1:

Fig. 2. KusaJdtaka. Amaravati, British Museum,

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Amaravati, British Museum, London.

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Fig. 5. Vessantarajdtaka. Amaravati, British Museum, London.

Fig. 6. VessantaraJdtaka.Nagarjunakonda,Site Museum.

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Fig. 7. Matakabhattajdjtaka.Amaravati, Site Museum.

Fig. 8. MatakabhattaJtaka. Nagarjunakonda, Site Museum.

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Fig. 9. Matakabhattajdtaka. Nagarjunakonda,Site Museum.

This content downloaded from 202.41.10.30 on Mon, 16 Feb 2015 01:56:52 AM

Fig. 12. Losakajdtaka. Amardvati, Site Museum.

This content downloaded from 202.41.10.30 on Mon, 16 Feb 2015 01:56:52 AM

Fig. 13. LosakaJdtaka.Nagarjunakonda,Site Museum.

N-garjunakonda, Site Museum.

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Fig. 15. Vdtamigajdtaka. Amaravati, Archaeological Museum, Guntur.

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which representsthe important episode of the forest-dwelling Vessantara,ritually pouring water on

This content downloaded from 202.41.10.30 on Mon, 16 Feb 2015 01:56:52 AM

No. 18,translatedby RobertChalmers,in Cowelled., TheJdtaka,vol. I (Cambridge,I895),51-53.

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VI. LosakaJitaka (No. 41)

rolein whichthepreviousbirthsarethesourcesof drstdnta