Lumbini: After Ashoka visit

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The rich cultural heritage of Lumbini seems to have continued after the visit of Emperor Asoka. Religious monuments, including monasteries and stupas, are the important remains bearing witness to building activities. The big square stupas seen to the east and west of the Maya Devi temple date back to the 2 d century BC, the eastern stupa containing 16 small terra-cotta tablets. The monastery blocks, probably for residential and meditational use, date from the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD. The upper walls of the Maya Devi temple were raised on top of the 3rd century BC structures-evidence of different phases of construction from that time on. 

Coins of Sunga, Kushana and several other periods have been collected from the excavation among which the punch-marked coins are most striking. 

Aniong numerous male and female terracotta figurines found in Lumbini, the most significant is the one depicting the head of the Buddha set within a frame. Around the head is a plain halo that is round at the top but seemingly elliptical at the bottom. The lips are full, as in the Gupta tradition, and can be dated to about the 7'h century AD (Mitra, 201:1972 fig.cxxiii). (Pl. # 74) 

Another terra-cotta sculpture, also thought to be of the Gupta period, shows the slim, graceful body of the Bodhisattva in a transparent dress, his right hand raised in the protection pose. His elongated face features a straight nose, smooth cheeks and thick lips depressed at the corners (Rijal, 15:1976-78 fig.8). (Pl. # 75) 

A terra-cotta Dharmachakra with 32 spokes found on the eastern side of Maya Devi temple is considered to be part of a larger panel. Among other elements of the panel are two animals, one possibly representing a bull and the other a deer (Rijal, 16:1976-78 fig.7b). (Pl. # 76) 

The most remarkable piece of antiquity, and the most splendid relief, of Lumbini Garden is the nativity sculpture depicting Maya Devi under a tree grasping a branch with her right hand, and with her left hand resting on her hip. This is the earliest and the best of all nativity reliefs so far discovered in the subcontinent. The queen's waist is held by Prajapati, her sister, to her right. The far right of the panel shows the Figures of Brahma and Indra, wearing conical crowns, standing in devotion before he queen to receive the divine child, as narrated in Buddhist literature. At the bottom A the panel is the defaced standing figure of Gautama a halo around his head between Indra and Maya Devi (Pandey, 35:1986). 

Mukherji believes that this panel, an excellent example of ancient art, bears a style of workmanship generally associated with the time of Asoka, it being similar in material and contour to the Yaksha doorkeepers of Pataliputra (Patna) of the Mauryan period (Mukherji, 37:1969). 

V. S. Agrawala believes the work to be a Kusana period replica of an original figure commissioned by Asoka (Agrawala, 162-163:1965), while D. Mitra believes it to be stylistically ascribable to the Gupta period (Mitra, 198:1972). 

Mishra has given a detailed description of this panel and considers it to be one of the most natural depictions of the birth scene in Buddhist art. 

Other details seen in the panel include Maya Devi's curly hair and her ear lobes. A pair of heavy solid round anklets adorn her feet. The dress and other details of the body are lost because the upper layer of stone has flaked. An impression of her lower garment can be gathered from a slanted band of stone across her left thigh and right knee. Maya Devi has been depicted as the tallest and most prominent figure. To her left is Gautami Prajapati (her sister and the second queen of King Suddhodana), holding Maya Devi's waist in an active pose of rendering service to her sister. The infant Siddhartha, with a round halo (prabhamandala) behind his head, is standing on a platform in front of Prajapati and Brahma (the creator of this universe in the Hindu mythology). Brahma, exhibiting his typical head ornaments, is shown slightly bent towards Maya with outstretched hands to receive the newly bom baby. The platform on which the infant Siddhartha stood may have featured two rows of lotus flowers called padma-asana. The last figure on the left of the panel is Indra, wearing a crown and ear ornament and standing attentively next to Maya Devi (Mishra, 3:1990). (Pl. # 77) 

This sculpture seems to be free-standing, and this was noticed while shifting it to the new temple in 1993. At the bottom of the panel there is a stone shaft that probably was fixed to the base. There should thus be a base stone having a hole in the centre, to support the statue stand. 

The panel currently stands freely on a shaft with a height of 0.25 m and width of 0.39 in that used to be fixed to its base stone (Skt. # 10) 

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