The identity of the central figure in the present lot cannot be assertively identified, but it possibly represents Siddhartha before his renunciation of his royal trappings at the start of his quest for spiritual enlightenment. He is dressed in the garb of an Indian prince, with an elaborate turban with crested cockade, heavy earrings, a circular torc and garland-form necklace, and heavy robes that are secured at the waist with a beaded belt. His right hand is raised in abhayamudra, and his left is held at his hip, and he is shaded by a large parasol; in terms of iconography and style, the present work is not dissimilar to the green schist figure of a bodhisattva from lot 623, although here he stands in contrapposto, rather than the wide stance of lot 623.
Without the attendant figures at either side, the central figure could tentatively be identified as an anonymous bodhisattva. Although he is lacking any iconographic attributes, later depictions of bodhisattvas, including lot 613, are usually represented as wearing a similar turban and robes, and are sometimes identified as Avalokiteshvara. However, the presence of devotees in the present stele, including a bearded ascetic at lower proper right, a figure dressed in the garb of a prince at lower proper left, a bearded Herakles-type figure of Vajrapani at upper proper right, and a chauri (flywhisk bearer) at upper proper left, indicate that the central figure is likely to be some form of the Buddha Shakyamuni.
The most immediately recognizable of the attendant figures in the present stele is Vajrapani, in part due to the presence of the double-lozenge-form thunderbolt held in his proper right hand. The iconography and religious origins of Vajrapani are syncretic, incorporating aspects of the Vedic god, Indra, who was also known to wield an immutable thunderbolt, into a figure that became a bodyguard of sorts for the Buddha Shakyamuni. In the Gandharan context, Vajrapani takes on aspects of the Graeco-Roman mythical figure, Herakles, who was a popular figure in the Indo-Greek kingdoms of the Gandharan region. As a slayer of demons and a remover of obstacles, Herakles was quickly incorporated into the iconography of Vajrapani in the story of the Buddha. In the present stele, Vajrapani is garbed in clothing distinctly different from the other figures, resembling closer the Greek-style chiton. Although there is some wear and damage at his proper left shoulder, there is a possible indication of a lion’s head, a reference to the Nemean lion that Herakles slays and whose skin he wears as a robe afterwards. The muscled physiognomy and deeply-carved hair and beard are also characteristic attributes of Herakles-as-Vajrapani.
The chauri (flywhisk) bearer at upper proper left of the central figure is likely derived from earlier depictions of yakshas, nature-spirit figures that were worshipped as local deities and were often shown holding flywhisks. Sculptures of yakshas were among the first large-scale images of deities known in Indian art, and were assimilated into Buddhism as pseudo-guardian figures, as indicated by their presence at the gates of stupas such as at Sanchi. As elucidated by John Guy in “A Kushan bodhisattva and early Indian sculpture,” Art Bulletin of Victoria, no. 24, 25 June 2014, early depictions of the Buddha from the Kushan center of Mathura, such as the triad from the Katra mound and now at the Government Museum, Mathura, portray the Buddha Shakyamuni flanked by chauri bearers, who are stylistically and iconographically similar to Mauryan, Shunga and Kushan images of yakshas. The position of the yakshas/chauri bearers symbolized Shakyamuni’s conversion of the yakshas from independent nature spirits to protectors of the Buddhist dharma. Over time, with the development of Mahayana Buddhism and the rise in prominence of bodhisattvas and associated bodhisattva cults, the chauri bearers become proto-bodhisattvas, devoid of identifying iconography but fulfilling similar roles as the flanking bodhisattvas seen in later Buddhist sculpture, such as in lot 609. The presence of the chauri bearer here may represent a converted yaksha, or represent what John Guy describes as a proto-bodhisattva.
The two figures at lower proper left and right are also somewhat enigmatic iconographically. The figure at proper right is depicted as a bearded ascetic or monk, and the figure at proper left is garbed in the vestments of an Indian prince, resembling the central figure. Whether these figures indicate the simultaneous subservience of the sangha (monkhood) and royal figures to the dharma, or whether they also represent some form of proto-bodhisattva is unclear.
Taken as a group, the four attendant figures suggest that the figure at center is likely to be some form of the Buddha Shakyamuni, either prior to his renunciation of his royal title, or as a bodhisattva in a previous life. Despite the uncertainty of the identity of the central figure, the present stele captures an early and transitional period in the Buddhist art of the Swat Valley region of Gandhara, when iconography and the religious function of various figures and deities was still being developed.