Red sandstone
1-100 CE
Details
Culture/Civilisation
Ancient India
Theme
Later Civilisations of Land and Sea
Subtheme
Ancient India: 6th Century BCE to 5th Century CE
Display Location
Coomaraswamy Hall
Findspot
Bharhut, Satna district, Madhya Pradesh, India
Accession Number
AM-SCL-54
Description
A lesson from a previous life! In Mediterranean cultures, the soul had only one presence on earth followed by a long afterlife. Yet in ancient India, Buddhism believed that the soul is reborn repeatedly on its journey towards enlightenment, based on its good or bad karma (past deeds) along the way.
The Buddhist Jatakas stories narrate incidents from the previous lives and deaths of Buddha to impart moral values. This sculpture shows Buddha in his earlier life as Prince Vessantara selflessly giving away his elephant, chariot and even his children.
