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The Indian Analyst
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North Indian Inscriptions |
PART B Barh Vol. II, (1934), p. 152 f., and Vol. III (1937), Pl. XC (134); Lüders, Bhārh. (1941), p. 159 ff. TEXT :
TRANSLATION : The Jataka to which the label refers was identified already by Cunningham[2] as the Mūgapakkhajātaka, No. 538 of the Pāli collection, although he could not avail himself of the text . S. von Oldenburg[3] was the first to be able to compare the sculptural and the literary representations of the story. In the Jātaka it is told that the Bodhisattva is born as the much desired only son of the king of Benares, Temiya by name. One day, when he is one month old, they bring him to the king who is sitting in the court of justice. The king fondly embraces his son, places him on his lap plays with him, while at the same time he passes a sentence of death on four robbers. The Bodhisattva is terrified, and his fear increases, when, recollecting his former births, he remembers that once he has been a king who had to suffer thousands of years in hell for the deeds he had perpetrated in that position. In order to avoid becoming king again, he follows the advice of a goddess to pretend that he is deaf and dumb and unable to move his limbs, and although various means are tried to find out his true mental condition, he succeeds in living as a seeming idiot for sixteen years. At last the king orders his charioteer to carry him on a chariot to the forest and bury him there. When the charioteer is digging the grave, the prince suddenly opens his mouth, revealing his true condition and declaring his resolution to take ascetic vow. The king, informed by the charioteer of what has happened in th forest, proceeds with a large retinue to the dwelling-place of his son, but his endeavours to lead him back to a worldly life are in vain. On the contrary, the discourses of the young ascetic make such an impression on the king that he also, followed by his wives and the citizens of the town, embraces the religious life.
The sculpture represents three different stages of the story. In the upper left corner the king appears seated cross-legged on a round chair with the young prince on his lap and two attendants behind him. Above this group there is the upper storey of a house with a balcony and a pinnacled roof, supported by two posts, evidently meant for the sabhā in which the king is sitting. In the foreground there is the chariot with four horses, from which the prince, who is represented to the right of it, has descended. On the left side the charioteer is seen digging the grave with a hoe[4]. In the right upper corner the prince in the attire of an ascetic, seated cross-legged between two trees, is conversing with the king who, attended by four of his courtiers, stands with folded hands before him.
S. von. Oldenburg was of the opinion that the scene could be explained in two ways─the
sculpture represents either the king who visits his son, who has become an ascetic, or the prince [1]The third akshara is distinctly pha as recognized by Cunningham. The horizontal stroke of the
i-sign of ki is preserved. The fifth akshara was read sa by Cunningham. Although it is much damaged,
it is practically certain that it was ya. The ā-sign of jā and the anusvāra of kaṁ, though not quite
distinct are very probable. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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