72 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANATOMICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL 



one side, a man and woman on dromedaries, on the other, on horses ; 

 along the crossbeam are animals adoring the Sacred Tree, among which 

 are well-depicted Indian buffaloes, and uncouth animals, no doubt 

 meant for foreign ; the five-hooded snake also appears. The volutes at 

 the extreme ends of the crossbeams are probably derived from snake 

 forms. This is more obvious in the case of the gateway of the ruined 

 stupa. On the third crossbeam are figures on horned lions, one 

 holding a cluster of grapes, indicating their foreign character. Can 

 there have been here in the mind of the sculptor a reminiscence of 

 the Legend of Dionysos, the lions taking the place of the tigers of the 

 Greek sculptors ? 



On the top, on one side, is shown the symbol of the Trisiila and 

 Disc ; no doubt the same emblem was shown, when the gateway was 

 complete, in the corresponding place on the other side. The figure 

 riding on one of the elephant supporters under the lower cross- 

 beam carries a standard having the same emblem on the end of the 

 pole. 



The Trisula existed as a symbol before it became, along with 

 the Disc, an emblem of authority in Buddhism. It is, in the Hindu 

 system, the Trident of Siva, the Destroyer. But what is it, this 

 Trident ? It is nothing else but the forked lightning of Heaven. 

 The development is not a difficult one to follow, and is sufficiently 

 established. But it seems an open question whether, as Griinwedel 

 puts it, "the thunderbolt as an attribute of the Gods was introduced 

 by Greek influence, or whether the gleaming sheaf of lightning-flashes 

 of the Babylonian- Assyrian Gods should be considered as the model ". 

 Whichever way this may be, we identify it with the Thunderbolt 

 of Jupiter and the Trident of Neptune. It is always represented in 

 these sculptures along with the Disc. But the Disc itself, originally, 

 according to the legend, formed from the Sun, was a thunderbolt ; 

 and the Trisula and Disc became thus a duplicated emblem, having a 

 similar meaning. In these sculptures the Disc is conventionalised 

 into the Lotus, pre-eminently the flower of Buddhism. 



The consideration of the Trisula is bound up with that of another 



