1898.] Dr. T. Bloch-- Buddha worshipped by Indra. 187 



the cave, along the slope of the mountain ; some have their hands 

 folded in the altitude of worshipping, others throw down flowers indi- 

 cative of the puspavrstl or rain of flowers, which, according to Buddhist 

 legend, used to fall down wherever the Blessed One sat or walked. The 

 principal figure among them is the one standing at the bottom of the 

 sculpture next to the cave. His high rank can be easily recognised by the 

 fact that he enjoys the benefit of having an umbrella worn over him, 

 which, in ancient Indian Art, is always the sign of a royal person. A 

 second figure stands parallel to the king as we may call him at present 

 on the other side of the cave ; head and upper portion of body is gone, 

 but from what remains, it is evident that he was represented as playing 

 a musical instrument, apparently a harp. 



Whom are the two figures, the king and the harp-player, intended 

 for ? There can be no doubt that the scene is identical with a relief oi 

 the Bharhut Stupa (figured in Plate XXVIII of Cunningham's Stupa 

 of Bharhut), which is labelled by an ancient inscription as Idasalaguha, 

 or ' the Indrasala Cave.* The story to which this refers, is told by the 

 Chinese pilgrims Fa-Hian and Hiuen Thsang, and also by Spence 

 Hardy according to some Ceylonese author.^ The gist of the story is 

 that Indra once showed an eager desire to pay his reverence to Buddha, 

 and taking with himself his musician Pancagikha, went to the Indrasala 

 or Indrapaila mountain where Buddha was seated meditating in a lonely 

 cave. Panca9ikha sung a number of stanzas in praise of Buddha, which 

 he accompanied on his harp, and hereafter Indra proposed forty-two 

 questions to Buddha, writing each one of them singly with his finger 

 upon a stone.2 



In the Bharhut relievo, the harp-player stands outside the cave ; 

 Indra is seated inside, surrounded by his attendants, his face turned 

 towards a throne which is surmounted by an umbrella, the usual sign 

 in the Bharhut sculptures to indicate tlie presence of Buddha, he 

 himself being never represented here. A few animals and a tree are 

 seen above the cave. 



The same scene is also found in Sancbi and Gaya. The latter 

 (Plate Till, fig. 7 in Cunningham's Mahabodhi) is very poor, only one 

 person, apparently the harp-player, standing outside the cave ; no sign 



1 Travels of Fah-hian, translated by Beal, Chapter xxviii, p, 110; St. Julieu's 

 Hiouen Thsang, Vol. ii, p. 59; Hardy, Manual, p. 298 ; see also Cunningham, Stupa 

 of Bharhut, p. 88. 



2 I need not mention here that Cunningham has tried to identify the Indra^aila- 

 guha with a locality in the neighbourhood of Giryek. It is near this place that 

 a long inscription in "shell characters " is found. Now if Fa-Hian tells us, that 

 " ^he traces of these questions yet exist," are we to assume that those so called 



' shell characters" already existed in his time ? 



