Three scenes are carved in this approximately triangular section of bone (probably elephant bone). The first shows the miraculous birth of Siddhartha—ater to become the Buddha. He emerges from the right side of his mother, Queen Maya. Her raised hand grasps the branch of a tree, and her left arm is supported by her sister, Mahaprajapati.The second scene depicts the temptation of Siddhartha as he meditates at Bodhgaya immediately before attaining enlightenment and becoming the Buddha. His right hand touches the ground in a gesture that calls forth the earth goddess to testify that through merit accumulated in earlier existences he has the right to become the Buddha.The third scene is a rare representation of the crowned and jeweled Buddha. He sits on a lion throne in a crosslegged yogic posture. His preaching gesture symbolizes the setting into motion of the wheel of law, a reference to his first sermon at the Deer Park at Sarnath.
