I. This stele was obtained from the excavations carried out by the Archaeological Survey ar Sarnath, near Benares, curing the season 1906-1907. Its height is about one metre. We reproduce it from a photograph kindly lent by Mr. J. H. Marshall, and already published by him in the J. R. A. S., Oct. 1907, pi. 4. It is divided into eight panels, on which are represented the eight great scenes from the life of Buddha (cf. p. 23); they are:

1. At the bottom, on the left, the Nativity (Jati) near to Kapilavastu; at the left of Maya the child Buddha, standing, is bathed by the two Nagas, Nanda and Upananda; his pedestal, on each side of which two women are kneeling, seems to be composed of seven superposed lotuses, symbolizing the « seven steps » which he is supposed to have taken immediately after his birth (cf. for this detail Et. sur l'Iconogr. bouddh. de l'Inde, I, fig. 28).

2. At the bottom, on the right, the Perfect Illumination [Abhisambodhana), at Bodh-Gaya, symbolized by the Attack of Mara (Maradharshana); Buddha is seated and makes the classical gesture of the bhumisparca-mudra; at the top, on each side, are two demons; at the bottom, on his right, is Mara, and, on his left, one of the daughters of Mara.

3. At the top, on the left, the First Preaching {Dharma-cakra-pravartana), at the Mrigadava, near to Benares, symbolized by the gesture of instruction and the Wheel of the Law between the two gazelles facing each other, to which the two lions of the throne (simhasana) turn their backs; the two acolytes, who can only be monks, have, under the mechanical chisel of the sculptor, assumed the mien of Buddhas.

4. At the top, on the right, the definite Death (Parinirvana), near to Kucinagara, on the usual bed and in the accustomed position, with the habitual cortege of sorrowing monks. These are the four chief episodes; let us pass on to the four others.

5. In the second compartment on the right, starting from the top, is the « Great Miracle » (Maha-pratiharya), near to Cravasti: for the description cf. above, p. 159, and for the identification of the two attendants at the bottom, p. 164. Note further the two lotus flowers, which bend so as to fill the space underneath the seat of the central Buddha.

8. In the third compartment from the top, onthe right, « the Taming of the Maddened Elephant), at Rajagriha; on the right of Buddha, who stands, with his right hand in abhaya-mudra, the elephant is kneeling beneath a stupa; on his left, Ananda holds in his right hand his long mendicant's staff or khakkhara (cf. Ic. b. Inde, ibid., and Art g. b. du Gandh., p. 542).

II. This stele is derived, like the preceding one, from the site of the ancient Mrigadava, in the northern suburb of Benares. Offered to the Asiatic Society of Bengal by « Captain » Cunningham in 1835 - 1836, it is at present preserved in the museum at Calcutta and catalogued under no. S(arnath) 5 (cf. Anderson, Catalogue, II, p. 7). Its height is about m. 0,90. We believe it to be unpublished, and we reproduce it from a photograph which we took in January 1896.

Plate XX was made from a photograph taken as well as we could manage at Ajanta, in September 1897, in the gloom of Cave VII. It represents a portion of the left wall of the vestibule of the sanctuary. We may compare with it a drawing published by Fergusson and Burgess, Cave Temples of India, pi. XXXL

We limit ourselves to borrowing a description from Dr. Burgess,

Notes on the Bauddha Rock Temples of Ajanta (Bombay, 1879), p. 45:

«The sides of the antechamber are entirely covered with small Buddhas, sculptured in rows of five to seven each, sitting or standing on lotuses, with lotus leaves between them. The stalk of the lowest central lotus is upheld by two kneeling figures with royal head-dresses canopied by the many-headed ndga behind each; on the left are a kneeling figure and two standing Buddhas, and on the right a Buddha is behind the naga, and behind him are three worshippers with presents... »