188 Dr. T. Blocli — Buddha worshipped hy Indra. [July, 



af Buddha^ as indeed might be expected, arid not even of Indra, being 

 found in the medalb'on. Sanchi has got a much better relievo of the 

 same scene. It is shown in Fig. 1 on Plate XXIX of Fergusson's Tree 

 and Serpent worship, and occu{)ies one of the compartments in the left 

 post of the northern gateway of the big Stupa. Here the cave is evi- 

 dently sculptured according to well-known models in the Barabar Hills 

 or similar Caves, some of which are still in existence. Indra with his 

 attendants form a group of two rows of figures (five in each) in the 

 lower half of the relievo. Indra I take to be the figure in the centre of 

 the Upper-most fow, turning his head towards the cave ; Pafica9ikha 

 Stands at the right end of the same row. Buddha's throne is shown as 

 if standing outside the cave ; this is merely due to want of skill on part 

 of the sculptor. 



The last three sculptures, viz., Bharhut, Gaya, and Sanchi, are 

 scarcely younger than 150 B.O. The date of the Swat sculpture is pro- 

 bably not before 150 A.D. To the same date also belongs a sculpture 

 from Mathuraj now in the Indian Museum, which is figured on Plate 60, 

 fig. 1 of Burgess. The ancient Monuments, Temples and Sculptures of 

 India (London 1897, W* Griggs, Part I). It agrees with the Swat sculp- 

 ture (1) in showing Buddha in person seated in the cave ; (2) in placing 

 Indra and Panca^ikha each on one side of the cave ; but it differs in 

 representing a huge elephant, Indra's vehicle, standing behind Indra's 

 attendant, and taking up with his trunk some flowers, apparently in- 

 tended as arghya for Btiddha. Among the Gandhara sculptures, finally, 

 the same scene occurs very often ; the Indian Museum has got no less 

 than six duplicates ; a further one is in Lahore, of which the Indian 

 Museum has got a cast and a photograph.^ In later Buddhist Art, I do 

 not remertiber to have met with this scene ; but perhaps it may be 

 found among the wall paintings of Ajanta. 



My object in putting together all these various sculptures is not 

 merely to deduct from this comparative study the well-known and often 

 repeated, but hitherto unexplained fact that figures of Buddha 

 occur first after Indian Art in touch with Greek or Roman sculptures. 

 It is also not my intention to dwell here at length on another not 

 Uninteresting conclusion which we might draw from a comparison 

 of these various sculptures. I am alluding to the advanced skill of 

 artistic composition which is evident, I believe, if we put together 

 the Bharhut and the Swat sculpture, and which we may safely 

 pronounce as due to Greek or Western influence. It is just the 



I It forms the upper^most compartment of a slab greater in length than in 

 breadth) nnd divided into five horizontal compartments. The technical name of 

 Buch a slab was iirdhvapatia as We learn from the Amravati Inscriptiong* 



