Description

The tradition of the portrayal of Buddha’s life continued to flourish in different artistic traditions with the incorporation of new iconographic elements. Sarnath school developed a new format which new presented the scenes in a well-arranged and schematic manner that differed from the early Indian reliefs. Gupta steles of Sarnath seem to be devoid of their architectural functions, rather these biographical scenes became independent icons on which devotees could focus their devotion rather than undertake pilgrimages to the hallowed sites. These stone steles carved with the illustration of the life of the Buddha acted as pilgrimages and were probably installed as major objects of veneration against a flat wall. This rectangular stele comprises of three horizontal registers displaying multiple scenes are arranged in a horizontal and vertical sequence. The narratives in the lower and middle register are juxtaposed yet the sequence of narratives is clear but the appearance of the composition seems dense.