Eastern Gateway (Exterior)
Here's a closer shot of the eastern gateway. Each gateway has a particular design motif; the eastern gateway supported by elephants.
Photo November 2005.
Here's the upper torana (arch) of the eastern gateway. When Sanchi was built the Buddha was not pictured in a human form, since with enlightenment he was believed to have transcended all limitations. Instead, his presence was depicted by symbols standing for the four great events in his life: a lotus or elephant for his birth, a tree and a throne for his enlightenment, a wheel for his first teaching (the Four Noble Truths), and a stupa for his bodily demise. In other cases (see below) he is represented by a pair of footprints.
This carving shows the seven past Buddhas, represented symbolically by two trees and five stupas. All Buddhists believe that there have been Buddhas before Siddhartha Gautama (although they appear only rarely on the earth), and that the future Buddha, Maitreya, is even now working towards Buddhahood. Past Buddhas are important because a future Buddha's vow to attain enlightenment must be confirmed by a living Buddha, who validates his vows. The Theravada and the Mahayana disagree on whether there can be more than one Buddha at a time-the Theravadins deny this, and the Mahayana affirm it.
Middle arch of the eastern gateway exterior. This panel depicts the Future Buddha's Great Departure--when he renounced his royal status and became a homeless wanderer searching for supreme enlightenment.
The story is told sequentially from left to right: at far left is the town of Kapilavastu, with houses and residents. The Buddha (symbolized by the tree in the middle) left his home on a horse named Kanthaka (which is also covered by the royal umbrella, indicating the Buddha's presence). In the center panels the gods are holding the horse off the ground, muffling its hooves to keep from rousing the Buddha's family (and frustrating his desire to go). At far right the horse is being led back toward the town, with a kneeling worshipper venerating the pair of footprints that were another symbol of the Buddha.
The bottom torana of the eastern gateway depicts the emperor Ashoka visiting the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, the site of the Buddha's enlightenment. Ashoka's piety is shown not only by his visits to these sites, but also his patronage in establishing sites such as Sanchi. Such public piety was also good a public relations move, since they depicted Ashoka as a righteous king, but other evidence clearly shows that at a personal level Ashoka was a pious Buddhist.
Here the tree (symbol for the Buddha) is in the center, and around it stand Ashoka and his court making appropriate reverential gestures. One of Ashoka's wives was from Vidisha--which is only 6 miles from Sanchi, so he had strong connections to the region, and good reasons to spread patronage there.
At left is one of the elephant supports for the upper gateway (complete with mahout on its back). The supporting bracket is a stylized tree, to which is clinging a yakshi or nature sprite (often associated with trees in ancient India, and worshipped by leaving offerings at the tree's base). Yakshis were associated with the fertility of nature (as were yakshas, their male counterparts). She is wearing a headdress and various types of jewelry, and the bend in her body and arms suggests the action of a vine clinging to the tree.
This sculpture is super famous, and will be cited in just about any Asian art book. November 2005
The gateway also depicts stories from the Buddha's ministry, this one the conversion of the Kashyapas, who became his disciples when he walked on water and read their thoughts. This scene shows the Kashyapas in a boat going to rescue him, and later standing on the bank making reverential gestures. The Buddha himself may be indicated by slab above the standing men or the the tree at left floating in the water.
According to tradition the Kashyapas had a thousand members; one of the factors behind the Buddha's success was his ability to incorporate other sects into his own.
November 2005
This scene of a royal procession was just below the scene of the Kashyapas The king is down in the lower right in the chariot (covered by the umbrella), preceded by his retinue. Townspeople watch from their windows. This image gives snapshot vision of life at that time (at least, royal life).
November 2005