Sculpture: stories, symbols, popular traditions

The sculptures at Sanchi tell stories, read like a scroll. A carving that looks like a simple 'rural scene', with thatched huts and trees, is actually a story from the Vessantara Jataka, about a generous prince who gave away everything.

Early sculptors did not show the Buddha in human form. They used symbols:

• an empty seat under a tree: the Buddha's meditation and enlightenment;
• a stupa: his mahaparinibbana (passing away);
• a wheel: his first sermon at Sarnath, which 'set in motion the wheel of dharma'.

Many sculptures came from popular traditions, not only Buddhist ideas: the shalabhanjika (a woman hanging from a tree, believed to make it flower), many animals, the serpent, and a woman surrounded by lotuses and elephants sprinkling water, whom some call Gajalakshmi (goddess of good fortune) and others Maya, the Buddha's mother.

The paintings at Ajanta also show Jataka stories, with shading to give a sense of depth.

The Scottish historian James Fergusson, who did not know the Buddhist texts, thought Sanchi was a centre of tree and serpent worship. To understand images, we must read them with the texts and the traditions behind them.