ClassificationsAsian Art
Megha Makes an Offering to a Buddha of the Past
PeriodKushan
Date2nd-3rd Century CE
MediumGrey schist
Credit LineGift of the Georges Ricard Foundation
DimensionsMaximum: 8 × 9 × 2 in. (20.3 × 22.9 × 5.1 cm)
Object number2018.010.140
Label TextAlthough two figures in this frieze are badly worn, the scene is clear. It shows the moment when Megha, a spiritual seeker, first sees Dipankara (standing at right), a Buddha of the distant past. When he sees Dipankara, Megha is overcome with awe. He falls at Dipankara’s feet, spreading his long, matted locks on the muddy ground so the Buddha will not soil his feet. Megha then utters an oath – known as the Bodhisattva vow – to not cease his spiritual striving until he, too, becomes an awakened Buddha. After three incalculable eons, Megha awakens as Shakyamuni, the Buddha of our era.Looking on from the left is a young woman who also takes a vow – to be reborn as Megha’s companion in all his future lives. In Megha’s final life as the prince Siddhartha, she becomes his wife, Yashodhara. After he awakens as the Buddha Shakyamuni, she awakens as the Buddhist nun Bhadda Kaccana.
This story was especially popular in Gandhara, as it was said to have taken place near Hadda, a Gandharan Buddhist site in present-day Afghanistan.
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, August 28, 2021 - Present
ProvenancePossibly purchased by Georges Ricard (1921-2012) from Hotel des Ventes du Prado, Marseille, France, December 1, 1973, lot 102. Ex coll. Musée de l'Égypte et le Monde Antique, Collection Sanousrit, Monaco, 1975-1982. Ex coll. Georges Ricard Foundation, Santa Barbara, California.
Status
On viewCollections
- Asian Art
10th Century
2nd-3rd Century CE
15th Century
13th-14th Century
2nd-3rd Century CE
2nd Century CE
early 17th Century
14th Century
11th-12th Century
11th Century
10th Century
