The Life and death of Buddha from Gandhara at Pakistan

Dating back to 2nd Century CE, Buddha’s story of life and death is told within a frieze that spans about 9 feet and has a height of 2 feet. It’s the Sequence of relief sculptures depicting the life and death of Buddha.

The first image is of the birth of Buddha. He was born as prince Siddhartha Gautama, born in the year 563 BCE. Later, he was referred to as Buddha. The picture (below) is showing Buddha coming out of his mother’s (Queen Maya), torso. The person to the right of her, receiving him out of her right hip is the God Indra.
There are large leaves which looks to be peacock feathers, and elegantly dressed people. There is a theme of respect recognition of nobility.

The second section below, Buddha sits beneath the Bodhi tree while the soldiers and demons of the evil Mara surround him in attempts to distract him from his quest for knowledge, but they are unsuccessful.

The third frieze depicts Buddha seated in the deer park at Sarnath with his right hand raised in gesture of blessings. This is when he preaches his first sermon in which he reveals his eightfold path to enlightenment. At this point, he was known as Shakymuni, which means “the wiseman of the Shakya clan”. This set in motion the wheel of the law. The four noble truths were all based on suffering and overcoming it.

Finally in the last frieze, shows the death of Buddha. As he lies there dead, he is surrounded by his devotees. They all mourn and cry, while one monk who resides at his front bedside is calm. Among the others, he recognizes that Buddha has been permanently released from suffering, so the monk remains tranquil in meditation.

Chaitya Hall, Karle.

Dating back to approximately 100 CE, the Chaitya Hall of Karle was first discovered in the beginning of the nineteenth century. It was a carved cave used by monks when it was raining to meditate. Halls of worship were built all over Indi, such as this one, either of brick or excavated from rocks. It was similar to the brick and wooden structures of Ashokan times. This particular one was excavated from a semi-circular steep rock with a stream flowing below. It had stairs that lead down to stream, as well as a vaulted dealing with a huge horseshoe-shaped window. These halls were usually found in valleys near rivers and lakes. It belonged to the first phase of Hinayana creed of Buddhism.

Cave 19 of Ajanta atIndia

Dating back to the 2nd half of 5th century

This image shows the interior, and the actual representation of Buddha that is depicted. The inside of the cave contains lots of shrines. Everything within this was hand sculpted. The standing Buddha on the interior cave is covered with drapery and is topped by a majestic three-tiered umbrellaà symbolizes divine protection by the Gods.

Here in figure two, is the entrance to the cave. It has a huge chandrasala which depicts the ordaining of successors by Buddha. The arches above the central hall are barrel- volted with stone ribs. There are also carvings of a variety of images of the Buddha, mountain riders, and lion-heads at intervals of vegetation, which is a big theme of divinity.