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bas-relief of the left-hand pillar that | some person or object is being worshipped by women in the usual attitude, and on the right-hand pillar that Buddha himself is seated in the usual cross-legeed attitude, and being worshipped by his followers. We can, however, restore with. tolerable certainty the upper representation on the left of the left-hand pillar by comparing it with the left-hand pillar, Plate LI., or Plate- LXXIIIL., Fig. 2. The man" whose legs only appear, almost certainly bore a tray on his head, on whieh stood a cup or some similar object, and the others are oe it, WHMCIEE it may have been. ' It will be observed the representation of Buddha. here is very far in advance of anything found .on the Gateways at Sanchi, and much more nearly resembling the - modern representations found everywhere. . The whole scene, indeed, shows @ progress which fully accounts for, the 300 years that elapsed between. the xecution, of the two monuments. * ‘Tivandsl Burmese Legend of Buddha, p. 229, Journal Amer. ‘Or. Soc. IIL. 69. His having entered the .priesthood by no means precludes his haying succeeded to the throne of Kapilawastu'on the death of his grand- father. In Burmah, at.the pfésent day, nothing is so common as for members of the upper classes to become priests. Some remain so, but many more resume their civil status after three or four years’ probation, A young Burmese gentleman looks on entering the priesthood very much as an undergraduate in one of our monastic colleges at Oxford or, Cambridge regards his wearing a surplice in chapel. Many in our country remain in the priesthood, but as many return to civil life. , e peg oe Uy em PLATE 4X. "a _ 7 ao MLEYATION OF INTERNAL FT ACES OF TWO PILLESS OF OUTER ENOLOSUBA on. ‘ Se@sue-l IncH FO.1 Foor. — ; a? wim ee eeOt ad ‘ Or fod DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. i PLATE LX. Tur palace scenes pourtrayed on the two pillars in this Plate are among the most elegant of the Amravati sculptures, and interesting as pictures of life in India during the fourth century, though it is not easy to affix any particular story to the scenes they represent. Still, as the seated figure in the upper part of the central circle of the right-hand pillar has a glory round his head, we cannot refuse to recognize him as the Prince Siddhartha; and if.so, the scenes ‘represent the Harem at Kapilawastu, which he deserted to devote himself to save his fellow creatures from ‘sin and death. In front of him, two of the ladies of the Harem are playing at Pachisi, or drafts, or some such game, while others are looking on; and in front of them a very graceful figure is dancing, while another plays on the flute, a third on a guitar,,and one on a drum. Others are listening or applauding, and one child (is it the infant RAhula ?) appears in the foreground. In the lower bas-relief the same Prince is seated on a couch, in conference with a Naga Raja, and in front of them two women are seated, apparently as attendants.' On the left are the Naga Raja’s people. On the right the country people are bringing presents of cattle, fruit, &e to the seated Rajas. | The head of the principal figure of the circle of the left-hand pillar is so - completely destroyed that we cannot now know whether Me had a nimbus round his head or not, nor consequently whether he is the same as the person represented on the right-hand pillar. Most probably he is. The object of the sculpture is to represent the entertainment of two distinguished guests. They are seated on a dais, on the King’s right hand, with a table in front of each. The major domo stands between the Raja and his guests, and presents - something to the nearest; while a girl in front offers apparently something to drink. In front of her, with his back to the spectators, is a man seated in one of those. square-hacked chairs which are common in these sculptures. The Queen sits on the Raja’s left, in a chair of another and. more elegant pattern, but extremely like the modern chairs we now use. To those familiar with Indian habits at the present day, few things are more curious than the fact that all dignitaries in these sculptures are always seated on chairs or sofas, like Europeans; never on the ground or on cushions cross-legged, as is the universal practice now-a-days. The only difference seems to be that the seat of the chair or throne must always have been made wide enough for the sitter to put up one leg on it, which seems to have been the fashionable attitude. In the central picture some of the women are seated on stools, some on chairs; but in both the circular bas-reliefs, as in the lower one on the left hand of the left-hand pillar, the Raja is seated on a throne with a square back, ornamented with lions’ heads. In the centre of the foreground of the circular bas-relief of the left-hand . pillar, is a child attended by two women, one old and one very much younger. _ 176 THE TOPE AT AMRAVATL This would seem to connect’ the two bas-reliefs as representing the same persons, and if that is so, it scarcely admits of doubt but that the principal figure is intended for the Prince Siddhartha, and the child in that case must be his ‘son Rahula. . In the central lower bas-relief of the left-hand pillar, the Raja is cutting some- thing with his sword, which a man with a steelyard is standing behind him ready to weigh. What the object is cannot be made out from this representation. In the right-hand lower bas-relief a man, with a curious tall mitre or hat, is seated outside the palace gate, doing justice. The same head-dress is repeated several times in the sculptures, but whether it indicates that the wearer is always the same person is not clear. The central picture looks as if intended to represent. the hero of the right-hand bas-relief cutting the Gordian knot which his legal acumen could not untie. ; The Gateway in this bas-relief is curious, as almost literally’ reproducing those at Sanchi. There are at Amravati at least a dozen representations of the same thing, all nearly. though not exactly alike; but all evidently intended to represent a wooden erection, such as it can hardly be doubted suggested those at Sanchi. Though these are in stone, this material. did not at once supersede the wooden form which continued. to be employed long afterwards in India, as it is at the present day in China. a3 YAY VIVYXNVY *Y Birra A AMT a <7 FIG,1. . _ AMBAVATIL YS NITY TWO PILLEBS OF OUTER ScALE 1 INCH TO 4 Foor. ‘ey RAAN CLOS i YYD yy Ww AsALe . j PLATE -LXI. = — ~~ DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 177 PLATE LXI. THERE does not seem to be any sign or symbol by which we can attach a name to any of the actors in the scenes portrayed in the principal circle of the right-hand portion of Plate LXI., though it is easy to describe the action. It is evidently a dis- | putation held between two men, one of whom, of superior rank, sits in the middle of the picture, and lays down the law in an authoritative manner. The other, on a lower seat, is evidently represented as beaten in argunent. Between the two disputants sits an old man with something like a book on his lap, the arbiter in the contest, and behind him an attendant apparently with refreshments. Another man is standing in a gateway of the Sanchi type, and turning to listen. The rest of the audience are all women, ten of them are there as listeners only, an eleventh bears a fan, and a twelfth food. This presence of women in such scenes as these is one of the remarkable features of the sculptures, both here and at Sanchi. Not only do they take part in every action almost without exception, but seem almost. as important as the male actors. Certainly the idea of a veiled or Purdah woman had not occurred to the Hindus when these sculptures were executed. In the lower bas-relief the king or prince issues from one of these. Sanchj, . portals, followed by his wife, to meet or feed a body of mendicant friars or monks. It is ‘the first appearance of these noted priests in these sculptures, and is the more remarkable as there are only two other instances in which they appear at Amravati, and as before mentioned no trace of them is to be found at Sanchi. Both in costume and appearance they differ entirely from the people I have there desig- nated as Dasyus, so that with the knowledge we now possess it seems impossible to confound the two, but this will become more apparent as we proceed. The absence of priests is the more remarkable, because if we were to believe Buddhist books, they flocked in thousands and tens of thousands from. all parts of India to attend the great convocations held five or six centuries before these sculptures were commenced. The story of the left-hand pillar is perhaps more graphically told than almost any other on these pillars. A king is seated on his throne, to whom a messenger ‘with clasped hands brings intelligence or solicits orders. In front of him a part of the army is seen defending the walls of the citadel, and on the left hand the moveable force is sallymg from the city gate. In front the infantry, in attitudes of great excitement, are seen advancing to the fight, and. the rear is brought up by horsemen and elephants, all remarkably well drawn foreshortened. In the foreground one of the enemy falls on his knees to beg pardon and mercy. If the lower part of the pillar had been preserved, we might have seen the result of this sally. It no doubt was successful, and as women appear in the fragments that remain the whole ended probably in triumph. (4799.) . Z 178 THE TOPE AT AMRAVATI. According to the Lalita-Vistara*. and other Indian works, a perfect army always consists of four arms, elephants and horsemen, chariots and infantry.