Here we restrict ourselves to noting the general disposition of the stele in the form of a vihdra (cf. ibid., pp. 129 and 138), the fitting of the tenon into the mortise at the base {ibid., p. 191), the little columns in the Persepolitan or Corinthian style (ibid., pp. 227 and 234), the dog-tooth ornaments, the balconies with figures of women in the different compartments (ibid., pp. 223-224, the Cupid garland-bearers of the lower framework (ibid., pp. 239-240), the lion-headed brackets similar to those of plate XXV, 2, etc.

A teaching Buddha, seated on a raised lotus, is outlined against an oblong aureole and a round nimbus : above his head, a twisted garland hangs under a double streamer; under his right foot, which is sole upwards, a knot of stuff forms a round protuberance, which is also to be seen on plate XXV, 2, but which on the following plates is only a puffed out plait. The two Buddhas in the top corners, seated in meditation on inverted lotuses and under little viharas, seem to form an integral part of the composition; perhaps the case is the same with the three others lodged under the two-storied arch of the gable; in any case, the group at the top recalls by its arrangement the other great aerial miracle, that of the Descent from Heaven. This time the two divine attendants are seated on rattan seats. The one on the (Buddha's) right has, unfortunately, his face and left hand broken; his feet are crossed in an attitude often reproduced later in China and Japan. The turbaned attendant on the left, leaving his sandal on the ground (cf. Arch. Surv. Rep., 1903-1904, pi. LXVIII, b and c}, has bent up his right leg and must, as on plate XXV, 2, have rested his forehead on his hand, while at the same time he holds in his left the same looped object as does the right-hand attendant on plate XXIV, 2, - from the analogy of some newly discovered statues we should guess a bending purse.

In the bottom corners two kneeling worshippers, a monk and a lay female devotee -- strangers, it seems, to the scene and only inserted for a purely decorative purpose -- are, perhaps, the donors, perhaps two of the usual attendants. (Cf. above, pp. 173, note i, and 173-4).

JI. - The original of plate XXV, 2, measuring in height m. 0,45, comes likewise from Loriyan-Tangai and is preserved in the Calcutta museum. It has already been published by Dr. Burgess (J. Ind. A'rt and Ind., no. 69, 1900, fig. 22 == Buddh. Art in India, fig. 147).

Here the lotus which serves as a seat for the teaching Buddha is Supported by the two Naga-rajas, Nanda and Upananda,who are visible only as far as the waist. The one on the right (in relation to Buddha) is of a curious type of Brahmanic ascetic, with his beard and voluminous chignon; he holds in his right hand an object which reminds us very much of the dolphin similarly carried by certain of his congeners (cf. Art g.-b. du Gandhara, fig. 126), but which, in fact, seems to be nothing but the head of a serpent coming out of his neck. As for the one on the left, no less strange with his moustache and his striped hair, we cannot say whether he holds in his left hand a beidt paddle or a hooded serpent (cf. Arch. Surv. Rep., 1903-1904, pl. LXVIII, b). On either side of the Nagas kneel a monk and a nun, perhaps Maudgalyayana and Utpalavarna (cf. above, p. 174).

The two divine attendants are again seated on rattan seats; both rest their elbows symmetrically on their raised knees, while their foreheads, marked with the urna, recline upon the tip of one finger: we know that this pensive pose has been ascribed by Sino-Japanese art to Avalokitecvara. The attendant on the right, who, like Brahma, has no head-dress other than his hair. holds in his right hand the book (in the form of a palm-leaf manuscript) which will be one of the attributes of Manjucri; the turbaned one on the left holds in his left hand an object which, from its granular appearance and the fold which it makes at the bottom, we believe to be again a purse, fastened by a kind of clasp in the form of a medallion and analogous to those in the hands of the attendants on the left of pl. XXIV, 2 and right of pl. XXV, I , but which on plate LXVIII, c, of the Arch. Surv. Rep., 1903 - 1904 is plainly a lotus.