Railing Pillar: The Great Departure of Siddhartha
c. 100 B.C.E.
Asia: India, Madhya Pradesh, Bharhut
Sandstone
The Norton Simon Foundation
Prior to the development of anthropomorphic images of the Buddha, the great sage was represented by symbols associated with his divinity or royal lineage. This pillar chronicles the tale of Prince Siddhartha’s escape from his father’s palace and his pursuit of Buddhahood (enlightenment). The narrative begins at the top of the pillar, with Siddhartha leaving the palace, represented by his wheel-marked footsteps approaching his trusty horse and groomsman. Above the horse, two flywhisks and an umbrella—symbols associated with royalty—represent Siddhartha seated on his steed. On the lower register, flower petals are strewn on the ground to muffle the sound of the horse’s hooves and to symbolize the future Buddha’s divine presence.
Encounters with the Collection: Pillars from the Bharhut Stupa Railing
These ancient carvings are some of the oldest objects in the South and Southeast Asian collections, made when Buddhism was a relatively new religion. In a 2018 episode of Encounters with the Collection, former assistant curator Stephanie Rozman interprets two pillars from the Bharhut Stupa Railing, which were part of a reliquary mound in north-central India. The intricately carved stone objects came from an architectural decoration that demarcated the stupa as a sacred space. Rozman explains how the pillars’ iconography supported the young faith: One incorporates mythical beings into the Buddhist pantheon, and the other depicts the historical Buddha’s life. She situates the pillars in a long history of Buddhism that parallels changes in the visual arts seen throughout the South and Southeast Asian galleries.
