Iconographic Analysis of Buddha's Descent from the Tushita (Trayastrimsha) Heaven

This relief sculpture from the Ishvaku culture of India, which decorated the lower section of a stupa from Nagarjunakinda, depicts the descent of the Buddha Shakyamuni from the Trayastrimsha Heaven. In Buddhism, the belief is held that after the Buddha's enlightenment, he traveled to the heaven of Trayastrimsha, or the Thirty-three Gods, to preach his doctrine to the inhabitants there, including his mother who passed away before hearing her son's creed. He returned to earth, after living in the Heaven for three months, to Samkashya, one of the eight customary sites for religious Buddhist pilgrimages (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Tushita is described as "heaven where future Buddhas dwell, awaiting the right time to appear in this world" (Reading Buddhist Art 208). The discrepancy between the two titles is not mentioned, though either title is plausible for this piece.

In this particular depiction, the Buddha is seen floating in the upper right, preaching to the gods in the upper left of the panel. In the center of the piece he is shown again, yet this time he is portrayed in the moment of his return from the Heaven. He is standing on a lotus flower, which was a common depiction during the time period. The lotus pedestal is often used when portraying divine beings to represent superhuman, phenomenal birth and holy character. The lotus is also seen as a strong symbol of purity (Reading Buddhist Art 13). Depicted alone, it also denotes the Nativity in early Buddhist art (History of Indian and Indonesian Art 43). The imagery of the lions is also an important feature of the work, because it was accepted that lions were majestic animals "believed to roar out the Buddha's teaching throughout the world" (Reading Buddhist Art 13).

To the Buddha's right, is a figure bearing a thunderbolt scepter, most likely representing the ruler of the Trayastrima Heaven. He is also accompanied by two kneeling women in the foreground, and two larger figures on the left and right. All of the figures and animals are fairly slim and elongated, which was a common element in Nagarjunakonda art (The Metropolitan Museum of Art).

Previous to this period, Buddha had never been portrayed in a human form, but rather as a suggested presence, natural element or symbol. His presence was known to be depicted as a pair of footprints, an empty altar, a wheel or a tree. The third century, however, brought with it a new style of Buddhist art when religious developments created the need for an image rather than a mere ideal. Through this development, sculptors adapted the images of the Yaksa (worshipped mother-goddesses and nature spirits) to fit their needs. However, since the Buddha was a monk, the traditional Yaksa form was shed of its massive amounts of jewelry, lavish clothing, and other symbols of wealth. These status symbols were replaced with simple traditional monastic robes (The Sculpture of India 28-29). In this relief, the Buddha is depicted in the attire of the period, with his right arm and shoulder bare. This distinctive fashion tied into the monastic regulations stating that a robe should be worn across the body in such a way as to leave the right shoulder uncovered. (Return of the Buddha).

A traditional means of depicting the Buddha was to portray him with his right hand raised to around shoulder height with palm facing outward demonstrating the abhaya mudra (freedom from fear) gesture. The other hand usually remained near the waist, or holding the pleats of his robe. This depiction was a Mathurian variation of the typical way in which a Yaksa was portrayed. The Yaksa, however, usually held a fly whisk in the right hand and a small bag in the other. (The Sculpture of India 28-29).

In this piece, however, the Buddha seems to be portrayed in a way more closely resembling that of the Ghandhara school of sculpture. The Ghandhara images do not have the strong ties with the Yaksa images of the school of Mathura, which emanate a great sense of strength and power. Though they do retain the symbolisms of the hand positions, there are very clear variations, giving the Ghandhara images a feeling of compassion and piety. One example of this variation is that the cloth of the robe is much more substantial, shows pleated, geometrically rendered folds and it noticeably covers the body. This was quite a step from the traditional transparency and minimal coverage that the Indian treatment of drapery usually contained. This extreme departure from the Indian norm was most likely influenced by the Greco-Roman culture that was simultaneously occurring nearby (The Sculpture of India 30-31). Though the reliefs do show some Greek and Roman influence, for the most part, the sculpture maintained its very distinctive Indian traits.

The Ikshvaku culture also influenced many others with their Buddhist reliefs and other forms of art. The Buddhists were one of the first peoples to exclusively use stone for their religious monuments, or stupas (Indian Sculpture 154). Due to their location near the sea trade routes, Buddhism spread through Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and finally China, Korea and Japan. Monks and merchants oftentimes carried written accounts of the Buddhist teachings along with portable sculptures of Buddhas which helped to further their influence on Chinese and Central Asian art. Their beneficial location also helped to finance the building of the stupas, such as the one in question, that were so meaningful to their culture (The Metropolitan Museum of Art).

Through this piece of artwork, much can be learned about the Indian and Buddhist culture during this time period. It clearly maintains their ideals and a sense of the religious world view in place at the time through the symbolism, traditions and innovations that it contains. The impact that the Ikshvaku culture had on the surrounding areas is also apparent through the art seen throughout the region in the times during and shortly after this era. Though much of the practice of Buddhism has died out in the region since, the effects it has had on the culture of eastern India and of those surrounding it are difficult to deny.

Works Cited

Chandra, Pramod. The Sculpture of India: 3000 B.C.- 1300 A.D. Cambridge, Massachusetts
and London, England: Harvard University Press, 1985.

Coomaraswamy, Ananda K. History of Indian and Indonesian Art. New Delhi: Munshiram
Manoharlal,1972.

McArthur, Meher. Reading Buddhist Art. London: Thames & Hudson, 2002.

Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Sculpture: Volume 1. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University
of California Press, 1986.

Return of the Buddha: The Qingzhou Discoveries. Florence, Italy: Conti Tipocolor Arti
Grafiche, 2002.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2000-2006. < http://www.metmuseum.org >.