Two Episodes from Life of Prince Siddharth
Gandhar School , 1st Century CE
Multiple narrations are the hallmark of Indian Art. Here the Gandhar sculptor simultaneously depicts two incidents from the life of Prince Siddharth : on the top the Prince is enjoying the palace life as a young man. In the bottom part, he is about to leave his sleeping wife, Yashoda and take to sanyasa ( the way of the mendicant ).
Sacrifice and seeking enlightenment is considered an important part of life. We have shunned materialism. The outward journey of trying to understand matter is immaterial for us. It is the inner journey of trying to control the mind, to discipline the instinct and to liberate the soul which is essential. For Prince Siddharth the journey has just begun.
Both these panels are interesting as they depict the life-style of 1st Century AD. Notice the horse-shoe shaped arches, the ones we find in Ajanta and Ellora. Notice the female guard on the left side. According to Kautilya, a King should have female guards as the are more loyal, more brave, more strong than men !
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