Dipamkara Jataka

Schist. North West Frontier Province,
Pakistan (ancient Gandhara).
1st-2nd century AD. Height 50.1 cms.
OA. 1980. 2-25. 1.

In the centre of this relief panel set within a pointed arch, is a standing Buddha image, flanked by monks and other figures. The edge of the panel carries a lotus-flower meander, a motif of long-standing popularity in the art of ancient India.

To the far left of the Buddha is a young ascetic, naked to the waist. Immediately below is a prostrate figure, now damaged and visible only in outline. This arrangement suggests that the relief illustrates Dipamkara Jataka. This tells the story of the Bodhisattva later to become the Buddha Sakyamuni, as the ascetic Megha. After vowing to pursue enlightenment, Megha encountered Dipamkara, the first of the twenty-four Buddhas. He threw himself down and wiped Dipamkara's feet with his hair. This was a popular story in ancient Gandhara and is shown here in continuous narrative, that is, with two stages of the story in one relief panel. This was a standard convention in early Indian art, and used throughout the subcontinent