Elephants carrying Buddha’s relics

Description

The coping stone fragment from the Bharhut Stupa, shows a processional scene of five elephants with caskets on their heads walking towards a group of female dancers. The narrative relief refers to the transportation of Buddha’s relics after his parinirvana. Mentioned in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, after Buddha’s passing away there ensued a fight among the seven kingdoms to worship his bodily remains. The eight kingdoms that fought for Buddha’s remains were – the Lichchavis of Vaishali, the Shakyas of Kapilavastu, the Koliyas of Ramagrama, the Mallas of Pawa, the Mallas of Kushinagar, Brahmanas of Vishnudwipa, Buliyas of Allakappa, and Ajatshatru of Magadha. Buddha’s remains were later enshrined in stupas for worship by these clans.