“The wise have always praised the life of the wandering monk because it provides salvation for oneself as well as salvation for other beings,” said the Bodhisattva. “Herein lies the happiness of life, the draught of immortality and the fruit of existence.”

Return to: Lalitavistara Reliefs - First Gallery, Southwest walls Panels 31 - 45

Reliefs 46 through 49. The Bodhisattva participates in the competitions. When the Bodhisattva attempted to demonstrate his skill as an archer, every bow that he drew broke asunder in his hands. "Is there any bow to be found here in the city that is suited to my reach and power of body?" asked Gautama.

“Your grandfather's bow is preserved in a temple nearby, where it is honored with perfumes and garlands,” replied Gopa's father. “but never has another man been able to bend it to his will.”

“Let the bow be brought, my lord," answered Gautama, "so that I might make a trial of it."

When the bow arrived, the Bodhisattva grasped it with his left hand and without rising from his seat or uncrossing his legs, he drew it back with a single finger. He then stood up and unleashed an arrow that pierced seven iron drums, a row of seven trees and an iron boar before it finally entered the ground and vanished.

Relief 50. Gopa defends herself again the reproach of going unveiled. After the Bodhisattva had successfully demonstrated miraculous abilities during each of the competitions, Gopa’s father offered his daughter’s hand in marriage and she was accepted by king Suddhodana for his son. Gopa did not veil her face in the presence of anyone, not for her mother-in-law, nor for her father-in-law, nor the people of the palace. Because of this some people indicated their disapproval.

“This young woman is surely not modest for she remains always unveiled,” they complained.

When Gopa became aware of their condemnation she spoke the following words:

“Though those whose mind knows no cover, who have no shame or decorum, who have no such virtues and do not speak the truth, should cover themselves in a thousand garments, yet do they walk the Earth more naked than nakedness. While those who veil their minds, have always their senses under control, are satisfied with their spouse, whose unveiled countenance is as the Sun and Moon. Having no thought for anyone else, why should they cover their faces?”

Delighted by her comments, the prince’s father gave Gopa two pieces of wearing apparel sewed with many jewels, a necklace of pearls, and a golden wreath set with genuine red pearls.

Relief 51, 52 and 53. The Bodhisattva installs Gopa as his chief spouse and  the Devas visit the Bodhisattva in his apartment to encourage the young prince to fulfill his destiny.

Relief 54. The Bodhisattva’s three pleasure palaces. King suddhodana had a dream in which he saw his son fleeing the palace in the company of a heavenly escort. Once again the Bodhisattva’s father began to fear for his son's future.

“Without a doubt we must never allow the prince to discover the true nature of the world,” proclaimed the king to his advisors the following morning. “We must ensure that he will amuse himself right here in the court.”

The king then commanded that three palaces be constructed for his son’s pleasure, one for each of the three seasons of the year. The one for the summer was only cool, that for the rainy season had the qualities of both the others, and the winter one was naturally warm.

Relief 55. The Bodhisattva is guarded in his palace. To make it all but impossible for the Bodhisattva to leave unnoticed, the king commanded 500 men to guard the entranceways to each palace. Within the pleasure palace, the Bodhisattva enjoyed the five incomparable kinds of love in the company of young women who were ever ready to entertain him with music, song and dance.

Reliefs 56 through 58. The Bodhisattva’s first encounters with sickness, old age and death. When the Bodhisattva set out for Lumbini Park by passing through the city’s eastern gate, he encountered an old man by the roadside who had swollen veins, broken teeth and gray hair. As he muttered inarticulate sounds, the feeble old man had to lean on a stick to remain upright because his body trembled uncontrollably. When the coachman informed the Bodhisattva that old age awaits all human beings, the shaken young man turns round and heads home again.

When the prince set out for Lumbini by passing through the city’s southern gate, he saw a disease-ridden man whose feverish body was soiled by his own excrement. And when the Bodhisattva set out for the pleasure gardens of Lumbini through the western gate, he saw the body of a dead man that was laid out on a bier and under a linen sheet.

The body was surrounded by a troop of relations who were all weeping, wailing and lamenting. Adorned with ashes on their heads, they beat their breast and cried out as they followed behind the body of their dead relative.

“If there were no old age, no disease and no death, neither would there be the great misfortune,” said the prince. “Wherefore should man always be bound by age, disease and death? I shall return home and meditate on the salvation.”

“The wise have always praised the life of the wandering monk because it provides salvation for oneself as well as salvation for other beings,” said the Bodhisattva. “Herein lies the happiness of life, the draught of immortality and the fruit of existence.”

Relief 60. Gopa’s unsettling dream. Gopa has a dream while lying on a couch next to her husband in which the earth trembles, the trees are uprooted and torn apart by the wind, and the Sun, Moon and stars fall out of the sky. then she saw her hair cut off by her right hand and then her diadem drop into pieces. When she related the dream to her husband, the Bodhisattva said:

“Rejoice for no evil shall befall you. Only those whose former existence has been virtuous have dreams of this nature. Be comforted and have no care; fear not. Soon joy and happiness shall be given to thee as these tokens are favorable.” (4)

FOOTNOTES

(4) Krom thought it rather doubtful that the relief in question actually corresponds with this section of the text because none of the women in this relief are in any way identifiable as Gopa. This may be one of the rare occasions when Borobudur’s Lalitavistara reliefs do not correspond to known version of the source text.