The Birth of the Buddha

The polished stone sculpture illustrated here depicts Queen Mayadevi, wife of King Shuddhodana of Kapilavastu of the Shakya clan, giving birth to Siddhartha in the grove at Lumbini. It is one of the most famous artworks of Nepal. This stone relief was earlier installed inside the Jayavagishvari Sundhara fountain in Deopatan. It was likely moved there from a nearby Buddhist site in Chabahil, such as the Dharmadeva Chaitya (Charumati Stupa) or the Charumati Maharajavihara, with a number of stone sculptures from the Licchavi period (ca. 400–750 or 879) still left in situ. Queen Mayadevi stands in an exceedingly bent posture with one foot crossed in front (padasvastika). As characteristic with representations of Mayadevi giving birth to Siddhartha, her lifted hands hold the branch of a tree, variously identified as Sal, Ashoka, or Plaksha tree, for support. This is known as the “tree posture” (vrikshasana), or as the “breaking a branch of a Sal tree” (shalabhanjika) posture. Mayadevi’s garment, rendered in a transparent manner and only sparsely decorated with double incised lines, is secured by a broad cowrie-shell girdle from which a long sash hangs down between her legs. Her upper body is nude except for an ornate headdress, a pair of earrings, bejeweled necklaces, and bracelets and armlets.

Beside Mayadevi stands the newborn naked Siddartha on a double lotus. Immediately after his birth he took seven steps in the four directions, signifying his spiritual sovereignty. His right hand is raised in the gesture of reassurance (abhaya mudra), while the left hand is lowered, reminiscent of images of standing buddhas holding the hem of a monastic robe. Above the infant two cloud gods (devaputras), shown embedded in clouds, pour elixir from full vases (purnakalasha) filled with lotus flowers. In association with the rainy season, they are also known as varshavalahaka devaputras. The two gods Indra and Brahma, often included in Siddhartha’s nativity scene (fig. 2), are not depicted here. This Jayavagishvari Sundhara stone carving is unique in its style among the surviving sculptures of the Kathmandu Valley. The earliest known representation of the birth of Siddhartha, generally dated to the third or fourth century, was discovered at Lumbini in the Nepal Terai region. The taller than life-size, very damaged red sandstone relief, carved by an Indian artist, however, bears little resemblance to the Jayavagishvari Sundhara image (fig. 3).1

Buddha’s Eight Great Miraculous Events

The nativity scene is the first of Shakyamuni’s “eight great miraculous events” (ashtamahapratiharya). These took place at the “eight great places” (ashtamahasthana), which became popular as sites of pilgrimage. The eight events are the birth of Siddhartha—the future Buddha Shakyamuni—at Lumbini; the defeat of Mara (maravijaya) and subsequent enlightenment under the bodhi tree at Bodhgaya; the first sermon, known as setting in motion the wheel of the doctrine” (dharmachakra-pravartana), in the Deer Park at Sarnath; the multiplication and fire and water miracles, known as the “great miraculous event” (mahapratiharya) of the yamakapratiharya and the buddhapindi at Shravasti; the descent from the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (Trayastrimsha) Gods (devavatara) at Samkashya; the taming of the wild elephant Nalagiri at Rajgir; the gift of honey by a monkey at Vaishali; and the death of Shakyamuni (mahaparinirvana) at Kushinagara. Among the stone sculptures of northeastern India and Burma (present-day Myanmar) are quite a few depicting the eight great miraculous events. The only one known in Nepal was actually made in northern India during the Pala dynasty (ca. 750–1200).2

Apart from this sculpture, depictions of only individual great miraculous events have become known in the Kathmandu Valley. They include the birth of Siddhartha, the defeat of Mara (maravijaya), the first sermon, and the descent from the Heaven of the Thirty-Three Gods.

The historical Buddha Shakyamuni is the prime focus in the countries practicing the ancient Theravada forms of Buddhism. In the regions where Mahayana/Vajrayana Buddhism is popular, which include Nepal and Tibet, the transcendental buddhas or tathagatas are more important. This explains the scarcity of stone sculptures in the Kathmandu Valley illustrating the eight great miraculous events or eight great illusory displays (ashtamahapratiharya) of the life of Buddha Shakyamuni.3

Disputed Dating

There are few Nepalese stone sculptures that have caused so much disagreement regarding the date of manufacture as the Jayavagishvari Sundhara carving. The range of opinions covers a wide spectrum. According to John Huntington and Dina Bangdel, this work dates from the fifth to the sixth century,4 disputing Pratapaditya Pal’s dating of it from the tenth to the thirteenth century.5 However, comparisons with early Nepalese stone carvings bearing undisputed dates lead to valid arguments for an attribution as early as the Varman period (until ca. 400) or the Licchavi period (ca. 400–879). The lotus pedestal on which the newborn Siddhartha took his first steps closely resembles the lotus pedestal of the earliest known Nepalese standing stone Buddha at the Vajrayogini Temple compound, dating from about the fourth century.6 In addition, many stylistic similarities with the two Vikranta stone carvings from Lazimpat in Kathmandu and Tilganga near Pashupatinatha, both consecrated in 467 by Licchavi King Manadeva I (r. ca. 464–505), support an early attribution.7 The high polish is another characteristic of many stone carvings made during the Varman and Licchavi periods.

Buddha’s Eight Great Miraculous Events in Nepalese and Tibetan Paintings

Nepalese paintings (paubha) tell a different story. Some paintings in small square cartouches arranged as narrative panels on the border present the life of Buddha Shakyamuni, including the eight great miraculous events. Such compositions are not restricted to paintings in which Buddha Shakyamuni is the principal image, although such compositions contain two additional vertical registers portraying the sixteen arhats together with Hwa shang and Dharmatala.8 Illustrations of the life of Buddha Shakyamuni appear also on the inner side of wooden manuscript covers of some Nepalese manuscripts.

The only representations of Shakyamuni’s eight great miraculous events discovered in Tibet are small steles carved in yellowish-beige stone. They originate from northeastern India and Burma and date from the eleventh to twelfth century.9 It can be assumed that some of the miniature stone carvings were presumably manufactured in Bodhgaya, while others may be replicas produced elsewhere. No Tibetan cast images are known that illustrate any of the Buddha’s great events. This is not surprising, because the subject is far better suited to the medium of painting. Two illustrated thangkas are among the few Tibetan paintings that take the birth cycle as the principal subject.

The first of these thangkas bearing scenes from the early life of the Buddha originates from western Tibet or western Nepal and dates from the fourteenth century (fig. 5). Between the eleventh and fourteenth century, this region was ruled by the Khasa Malla Kingdom. The principal subject depicts Mayadevi giving birth to Siddhartha. But unlike in the Jayavagishvari Sundhara stone carving, Mayadevi here is attended on her proper right side by Gods Brahma and Indra. On the proper left side are Mahaprajapati Gautami, the sister of Mayadevi and stepmother of Shakyamuni, together with a companion. Above on either side, some divinities are embedded in clouds, among them two cloud gods pouring elixir from full vases (purnakalasha). As pointed out by Pal, this painting likely belonged to a series of four paintings. The other events would include the enlightenment under the bodhi tree at Bodhgaya, the first sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath, and the death of Shakyamuni (mahaparinirvana) at Kushinagara. In the lower registers are some narratives of the life of Siddhartha that would have continued on the other three thangkas of this series.10 The very colorful second thangka, adapted from a Derge xylograph, was painted in the late nineteenth century (fig. 6). It also features Mayadevi giving birth to Siddhartha as its principal subject. Indra and Brahma, shown here with only one head instead of four, receive the newborn Siddhartha in a white blanket. The painting, like the Khasa Malla thangka, additionally includes other events in the life of Shakyamuni.11