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The Indian Analyst
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North Indian Inscriptions |
PART B The twenty gods represented in the sculpture are arranged in two rows, one above the other, each row being again divided into two groups of five figures. To make the division quite clear, trees are placed between and at the end of each group. The figures, which according to the labels are representatives of the Suddhāvāsa gods (B 24), the three Savaganisisas (B 25), and the six thousand Kāmāvacharas (B 26), do not differ from each other in their outward appearance, all standing with their hands reverentially joined and carrying their dupaṭṭas over their right arms. Greater individuality is exhibited only by the group of the left lower corner, the label of which unfortunately is missing owing to the breaking off of the stone. Here four gods are represented in exactly the same attitude as the gods of the other three groups, but the first figure on the right has wings and the two figures on the left are characterized as Nāgas [1] by their snake-hoods. The winged figure is probably a Suparṇa[2]. The fifth figure is seated on a rock, supporting his cheek with his left hand and scratching the ground with a stick. This is the typical attitude of the mourning Māra, as is shown below (B 77), and I have no doubt that here also the figure is meant for Māra who is mourning, while all other gods celebrate some happy event in the Buddha’s career. We do not know the name of the last group, but we may be sure that it was assigned to the Western quarter.
In my opinion the position of the relief below the panels showing the Bodhi tree as well as the attitude of the figures shows clearly that the gods are represented as paying attention, not to the tree, but to the dance of the Apsaras in the lower relief[3]. This is of importance for understanding the distribution of the quarters among the different classes of deities.
The quarters are evidently allotted to the gods according to their rank. In the Buddhist
cosmological system the Śuddhāvāsikas are the inhabitants of the five higher Rūpabrahma
worlds. As the inhabitants of the still higher Arūpabrahmalokas do not have any corporality at all, the Śuddhāvāsikas are the highest gods that could be depicted. Among the
quarters, the East was at all times looked upon as the most prominent quarter, and it is therefore duly assigned to them. According to the system the Kāmāvacharas, on the other hand,
are the gods of the six Devalokas standing at the end of the heavens. Therefore we should
except that the Western region is assigned to them. Instead of that the Southern quarter has
been reserved for the Kāmāvachara gods. This, however, becomes understandable at once,
when we realize that in the relief Nāgas appear in the western region, probably also
Suparṇas. Thee beings can at the be called demi-gods and stand beneath the real gods;
therefore the last region, the dighaññanāmavhayanā disā as it is called in J. 535, 58, is rightfully
attributed to them. Lastly the Savaganisisas, even if their name remains unexplained, can
only correspond to the gods of the eleven lower Rūpabrahmalokas of the later system. So
they stand beneath the Śuddhāvāsikas, but higher than the Kāmāvacharas, and hence it
is quite understandable that the Northern region, which generally enjoys precedence over
[1]The snake-hoods are indistinct in the Plate, but Anderson, Cat. Vol. I, p. 72, expressly states that
the two figures are Nāgas. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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